GE Nautilus Dishwasher - The soap door is stuck partcially open

Hi,

There are three common problems that cause the Soap Dispenser or Cup not to open. I have a tip that will explain these problems in detail....

Dishwasher Repair Problem Detergent Cup does not Open

heatman101

Hi,

There are three common problems that cause the Soap Dispenser or Cup not to open. I have a tip that will explain these problems in detail....

Dishwasher Repair Problem Detergent Cup does not Open

heatman101

This may or may not be the answer you are looking for but I know with mine the soap dispenser will not close unless the outside dial is completely in the "off" position. Trying turning the dial clockwise very slightly. If you hear a click and it resets the soap dispenser position that should work. Otherwise I have no idea. :)

Run it a few times with a soap tablet in the cutlery basket. The door is just sticking and doing this normally cleans them up.

The dispenser is opened by a control rod inside the door. There is probably something amiss with this. Remove the back panel on the door and you'll probably see the problem.

is your soap door open when this happens if it is then make sure there's no water or other liquids in the dispenser from loading the washer one tablespoon of water in there will clump up the soap and it won't drop when it pops open

Hi Lisa in AR

I'm Harvey the Master Plumber.

Your question is: Why won't your soap dispense anymore?

Yes, you're correct. This is best looked at by a local pro! You may want to compare the cost of repairing a six year old dishwasher now verses temporarily putting the soap in manually till you can find a good price on a new one. Personally, I loath throwing good money after bad so I go for the latter and we're coming up on the holiday discount season.

Feel free contact me again!
Please give me a rating here at fixya.com before you sign off
Thank you,
Harvey your Master Plumber

you might take door apart and check to see if insulation has fallen on dispenser arms. Ive ran into this alot.

Your soap is clotting because there isn't enough water being sprayed around inside.  The water spray washes the soap out of the dish, if all is working well.  My machine had the same problem.  I had sufficient water level, but the spray head wasn't spinning very well.  I found the end-most hole in the spray bar to be plugged.  It is the end hole that provides a jet that makes the head spin.  I cleaned a bunch of debris out of the hole and the mchine started working and cleaning like it was new.  That was quite an axccomplishment since the machine is 15 years old.

Make sure the dial that you turn to start the dishwasher is all the way to the beginning. Sometimes my little grandson comes by and plays with it, turning it. I load, add soap and the dispenser won't close. I check the outside dial, and sure enough, set it to the very beginning and the dispenser locks in place!