How to Repair a Dishwasher that Doesn't Clean Dishes

There can be a number of reasons to repair a dishwasher, and one is these is if the unit isn't cleaning the dishes properly. Your dishes should be coming out sparkling clean without any food attached to them, and if your dishes are coming out dirty, you can easily repair the dishwasher yourself without having the trouble and expense of calling in a plumber.

Step 1 - Water Inlet Valve

One of the most common reasons that your dishes aren’t coming out clean could be due to a faulty water inlet valve. To test it, you’ll need to disconnect it using pliers to remove the wire connectors. Take your multimeter, set it on ohms X1 and touch the probes to the terminals on the valve. If the reading is infinity, the valve is faulty and you’ll need to buy and fit a new one.

Step 2 - Spray Arms

All dishwashers have lower spray arms and some also have upper spray arms. In both cases they shoot hot water under high pressure onto your dishes to clean them. If the holes are blocked, they won’t work effectively. They need to be regularly inspected and cleaned if necessary.

You can easily access the lower spray arm by removing the rack. The arm should move freely and wobble up and down slightly. If it needs to be replaced, loosen the bolt in the center of the arm and pull the spray arm out. If it’s just clogged, you can remove the debris by taking the arm out and soaking it in warm, soapy water.

Step 3 - Heating Element

The temperature of the water in your dishwasher can affect how clean your dishes are. If your heating element isn’t working properly, you’ll still end up with dirty dishes. To test the element, you’ll need to remove the kick plate and take the connectors off the terminals on the element. Use the probes on your multitester; if you receive a reading of zero or infinity, your element is malfunctioning.

Replacing the element is an easy dishwasher repair. All you have to do is take off the nuts holding the terminals in place, put on a new element, replace the nuts and reconnect the wires.

Step 4 - Filter

All dishwashers have a filter. It’s fitted to make sure that foreign objects and large pieces of food don’t get into the pump. If you have a dishwasher that doesn’t have a self-cleaning filter, it can become clogged and affect the cleanliness of your dishes.

There’s no standard way to remove the filter; it’s usually depends on the make and model of your dishwasher. Filter cleaning is not a dishwasher repair as such but once the filter is clear, you should have sparkling clean dishes after every wash.

Step 5 - Detergent

The problem with your dirty dishes could lie with your detergent. You might not have enough soap in the dishwasher to do the job, or you may not following the instructions properly. Does your dishwasher use two detergent cups and not just one?

There could also be a problem with the detergent cup. It could be stuck because of dried detergent and your dishwasher repair may consist of simply cleaning it so it works properly.