Dishwasher is not washing as well any more

Carpenter

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We have a 3 year old De Dietrich integrated dishwasher, which up until relatively recently gave sterling service in terms of performance, but I'm having problems with the machine lately. Dishes in the top tray are no longer "clean" after the wash cycle- there's nealry always a small residue of dirt baked onto glassware and crockery after each wash now. It's very annoying. I've tried using a more intensive wash programme, cleaned the machine thouroughly, checked the arms for blockages etc. All this without any noticeable improvement. I'm stumped. Does anyone have any other ideas? Some of the dishes are pretty old I suppose (glaze is dull etc), so I'm wondering does this affect their washability (maybe I need to replace?). There are no plumbing or waste issues.
 
Check the salt levels - sounds like mine when the salt runs low. I need to put in about a kilo of dishwasher salt into mine every 3-4 months, and the difference is immediate and very noticeable once the salt has been topped up.
 
Recently we suffered severe performance problems with our dishwasher e.g. unclean dishes and significant "hazing" of glassware. Turns out the council had put us onto a new water supply high in lime which was giving us hard water. We have since installed a water softener on the main supply which has solved the problem . In addition you need to use little or no salt and rinse aid. The water is also now far more pleasant to drink, make tea or shower in.
 
Thanks's for that Clubman, I hadn't thought about Wikipedia- I see some useful information there which might be worth investigating.
 
I have a separate water softener for the whole house which also supplies the dishwasher, so I don't think lime is at fault. I'll check the "sump" and filter for blockages as well as topping up the rinse aid.
 
Take the water arms off and inspect closely. The little holes often get clogged (lemon pips are a common culprit) and then the items at the top don't get properly clean. Same thing happens with my dishwasher occasionally, and this is always the reason.

Of course, you should keep filters etc clean and have the salt topped up too.
 
Thanks, I've checked the arms a couple of weeks ago but I'm going to go through the whole process again to see if I've covered all possibilities.
 
I know of a couple of people who changed their dishwashers to integrated and found problems with drying. I was advised by my kitchen supplier not to go with the integrated dishwasher for this very same reason. Now I see leading dishwasher detergent producers advertising new dishwasher tablets that help dry your stuff better - go figure!
 
I had a tricity bendix that was malfunctioning the same way as yours was. It had been cleaned thoroughly to no avail and I called a repair man. My husband said that there was a second filter that was less accessible that needed to be cleaned. He knows where it is - I don't - but it might be worth your while if you end up having to call somebody, to keep looking over his shoulder at what he does to fix it. That is, if it is the same problem you have that we had.
 
Thanks Joanmul, I'm going to investigate this tonight, I'll report with my findings in due course!
 
Have you recently got any new dishes which might sit abot lower than your old ones & catching th arms? Try spinning the arms before you put the machine on & be sure they spin properly. And as above, double check nothing in the arms (ideally see if you can split open the arm to clean out completely)
 
Have you recently got any new dishes which might sit abot lower than your old ones & catching th arms? Try spinning the arms before you put the machine on & be sure they spin properly. And as above, double check nothing in the arms (ideally see if you can split open the arm to clean out completely)

I've tried all these, this is why I'm really stumped, but I'm going to get forensic with the machine this evening! (No smutty comments please!)
 
If you don't fancy having to remember to put in salt, buy an all-in-one dishwasher tablet that takes care of everything. A bit pricier but I swear by them.
 
If you don't fancy having to remember to put in salt, buy an all-in-one dishwasher tablet that takes care of everything. A bit pricier but I swear by them.

I was just going to say I would be interested to see what happens if you use the powerball tablets - just out of curiosity.

You being a sensible fella an' all I'm sure there's no need for me to mention in passin' like somethin' as silly as wooden handled cutlery ;)
 
I live in a hard water area and was using the powerball tabs - still streaks etc. so added salt and rinse aid and the powerball tablets - great results. swear by the fairy active burst ones!
 
I know of a couple of people who changed their dishwashers to integrated and found problems with drying. I was advised by my kitchen supplier not to go with the integrated dishwasher for this very same reason. Now I see leading dishwasher detergent producers advertising new dishwasher tablets that help dry your stuff better - go figure!

I also have the same problem with an integrated Bosch not drying properly. Water left on bottom of cups. That's interesting that it might be the integration that's causing the problem.
 
A good tip for a great sparkle is to put quarter to half a cupful of white vinegar into the final rinse
 
Had a similar problem recently and it turned that I had put he top shelf back in the wrong position after having it out to clean the arm. Dont know why there would be 2 levels if one wont work but it was slightly embarassing when the engineer called and just moved the tray to the other level. Fair play to him he didnt charge.
 
Hi Carpenter: How did you get on? It so happened that our dishwasher started acting up and the switch wasn't going on to the finish of the programme. I only noticed this after you posted your query. Mr Mul and myself decided it needed a proper look. He took out the usual filters and then he looked a bit further in. (I was away playing golf so I don't know how much further in). However, he said there were three pipes that were totally clogged up with rubbish and he did a serious clean out. We put it on and you wouldn't believe it even sounded different - more silent. We've decided it needs to be done every now and again - not when things start to go wrong.
 
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