Food left on the top rack, a gritty film on the glasses, and a dishwasher that sounded exactly the same as always. Most of what decides how well a dishwasher cleans is right in this photo.
A dishwasher cleans by pumping water through spray arms at pressure. A clogged filter starves the pump, blocked jets weaken the spray, and a cracked spray arm leaks water before it reaches the dishes. Cold supply water and old detergent make it worse.
Poor cleaning is one of the most common dishwasher complaints, and most of the time the cause is maintenance: a filter that has never been cleaned or spray arms clogged with debris. Failed pumps happen, but less often.
We cleaned the filter, cleared the blocked jets and replaced a cracked upper spray arm. We also confirmed the fill level, water temperature and wash motor were normal, ran a test cycle and left the owner a note on cleaning the filter.
Food left on the top rack, a gritty film on the glasses, and a dishwasher that sounded exactly the same as it always had.
When a dishwasher stops cleaning, people often expect a failed pump or a bad control. Sometimes that is the answer. More often, what decides how well a dishwasher cleans is right in front of you when you open the door.
This is the lower half of the tub with the bottom rack pulled out. The flat bar across the floor is the lower spray arm. In the middle, under it, is the filter assembly. Above, you can see the upper rack and, in the centre, the supply tube that feeds the upper spray arm. Water is pumped up through those arms and sprayed out through small holes. If the holes are blocked, or the filter is clogged, the water still runs, but it does not reach the dishes with any force.
The filter had not been cleaned in a long time. It was coated with fine grit and old food, which starved the wash pump of water. Several holes in the lower spray arm were blocked with small bits of glass and seeds. The upper arm had a cracked hub that let water leak out before it reached the jets. Each of those alone would reduce cleaning. Together they explained the gritty film.
With the obvious causes found, we still checked that the dishwasher was filling to the right level, that the water reaching it was hot enough, and that the wash motor was running at normal speed. It is possible to have a clogged filter and a failing pump at the same time, and cleaning the filter only hides the second problem for a while. Here, the pump and fill were normal.
The filter was cleaned, the lower spray arm cleared, and the cracked upper spray arm replaced. We ran a test cycle and watched both arms turn freely. The finding included a note on how to take the filter out and how often to clean it, because that one habit prevents most of the calls like this.
Anything involving live wiring, gas or refrigerant is technician-only.
The photos in this post are from a real RepairWell job. We use them to explain the possible causes of this problem and how it gets fixed. Every appliance is different, so your fault may have a different cause; the diagnostic visit confirms it.
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