Dishwasher not cleaning dishes properly

noelphobic

I've got an intermittent problem with my dishwasher not cleaning the dishes properly. It heats up and goes through the cycle but it's not washing them properly. The half dissolved tablet is always in the bottom of the dishwasher.

I've used a cleaner on it recently. Also cleaned the filter and removed and cleaned the spray arms. This has happened several times and it starts working again for a few days and then packs up again. It is making funny noises while it's working.

It's quite old so feel more inclined to buy a new one rather than pay for someone to try to fix it. However, the last time it was fixed the man who did it said it might be hard to remove it when I get a new one, as the legs had gone rusty (I had major damp problems a while ago). It's fully integrated.

I_have_spoken

Sounds like one or both of the spray arms are not rotating or the belt to move them is slipping

noelphobic

I_have_spoken wrote: »

Sounds like one or both of the spray arms are not rotating or the belt to move them is slipping

I don't think the spray arms are rotating. I straightened the arms up and then put the machine on. I opened the machine after a few minutes and the arms were still in the same position.

I did notice when it was playing up previously that there is some sort of pipe at the centre back of the dishwasher. The base of this had come out of place. I fixed that and it worked the next time but have tried this today and it seems to be in place properly.

getmore4less

I_have_spoken wrote: »

Sounds like one or both of the spray arms are not rotating or the belt to move them is slipping

Don't know of any dishwasher that uses a belt, they all use water pressure/jets to rotate the arms.

Bits in the arms or just worn more likely

Many have a cheap to fit seal at the back of the upper arm that get broken this causes the upper arm to have issues.

It is this arm that sprays water into the tab compartment, when you open the door the tab compartment opens and drops the tab.

Model No will help.

Another issue can be the valve that redirects the water from upper to lower can get partially blocked causing the lower pressure in both arms.

Southend1

Maybe the pump is broken or blocked?

This happened to mine. I bought a new one, beko for £200. Excellent machine.

Took two of us 6 hours with a hacksaw to remove the old integrated dishwasher which had been installed then had the floor and worktops built around it. We had to saw the legs off to drop it down enough that we could get it out. Nightmare stuff.

Ainsley1

Maybe a bit off topic so advanced apologies:

I also have a problem that dishes are not washed properly and the cycles seem to tale a lot longer than they used to do. The dishwasher however is very old now and maintenance is costly and time consuming so I thought it best just to bite the bullet and get a new one and even thought the legs are not rusty they do seem to be seized up.:(

I have yet to find any reviews that will give good advice as to what to get that suits an old fogie who no longer has the strength or will to do the work required or the means to find the necessary finance - new ones, though a bit flash looking, with a greater number of functions and (can be) more efficient, generally are costly and not as environmentally friendly as one might be led to believe. That especially applies to the Italian and Asian models.:eek:

However I find a new model to be quite expensive so I'll stick with Mrs A and make sure she's well lubricated when the legs need to move

adrian66

I had never had a dishwasher before my wife and I bought one 3 years ago. Safe to say though that I was 'in charge' of loading and unloading it etc including cleaning the filter and checking the arms every time it looked like there was build up. My wife, who has had dishwashers all her life clocked that there was a tray (6X6 inches roughly) at the bottom of the inside of the machine which you can pull out, the underside of which needs cleaning the gunk off every few weeks. Maybe your machine isn't designed with one (?) but we had the same problem when not cleaning this too. Ours is an economy Indeset IDF 125. Works brilliantly when maintained, but cracks have started to appear in the casing at the top of the machine, presumably through heat/poor build quality. Hope this helps

noelphobic

getmore4less wrote: »

D
Model No will help.

It's a Diplomat ADP8332

noelphobic

Southend1 wrote: »

Maybe the pump is broken or blocked?

This happened to mine. I bought a new one, beko for £200. Excellent machine.

Took two of us 6 hours with a hacksaw to remove the old integrated dishwasher which had been installed then had the floor and worktops built around it. We had to saw the legs off to drop it down enough that we could get it out. Nightmare stuff.

I've got my eye on a Beko

http://ao.com/product/DW603-Beko-Standard-Dishwasher-Stainless-Steel-28297-1.aspx?disableredirect=1

I am really worried about getting the old one out. There is no way I would be able to do it myself and I dread to think what an engineer would charge for 6 hours work! I have already been warned that it would be difficult to get out without damaging the tiles (which were very expensive).

Does anyone know if tiles 'match' in the same way as wallpaper - ie you should buy them all at the same time and with the same batch number in case of variations in colour? You can still get the same tiles but I don't have any spares, apart from a few off-cuts.

I can't keep the dishwasher forever while it's not working and/or keep paying for expensive repairs just to avoid expense and damage so am going to have to bite the bullet! Even if I didn't want another dishwasher - which I do - I would be wasting space where I could have another cupboard.

All my appliances are integrated but I would advise anyone against it!

RichardD1970

As a poster above said, maybe the hole in the arm which propels it is blocked. Happened to mine a while ago.

Also try google, just type in make and model and brief description of problem, ie "bosch exxcel not cleaning properly" and there may be lots of advice and solutions. Helped me fix mine a couple of times, usually quite easy stuff, just clearing blockages and filters.

noelphobic

RichardD1970 wrote: »

As a poster above said, maybe the hole in the arm which propels it is blocked. Happened to mine a while ago.

No, checked and it's not that. Definitely think I need a new one.