Why Doesn’t My Dishwasher Get My Dishes Clean?

What’s Causing Your Dishes To Come Out Dirty?

1. Dish Detergent

It might be easy to simply blame your dishwasher for not providing you with clean dishes after a wash cycle. After all, your appliance has one job, to clean the dirty dishes! Realistically, the problem is likely being caused by something else like your dish detergent for one.

Not all dish detergents are created equal, If you’re using an off-brand detergent it may not be doing a decent job mixing with the oil and grime to successfully clean your dishes. Playing a bigger role than you may think, it’s important to purchase quality detergents, we recommend Miele Ultratabs, Cascade ActionPacs pods, or Finish Quantum.

If you want an extra boost of cleaning power, try adding in Finish Jet-Dry (rinse aid) with your dishwashing detergent to help rinse away stubborn leftover food for brilliant sparkling dishes.

2. Load Your Dishwasher Correctly

It’s possible that the dishwasher is not being loaded the way it was intended to be and therefore not you are not getting the best results. Each manufacturer designs their dishwashers slightly differently from the next so it’s worth seeking out your unit’s manual to find out the right way to load your dishwasher.

The bottom rack is generally designed for pots, pans, trays, and those messes that are difficult to remove, they won’t do well in the middle rack, which is designed for bowls, cups, and smaller items. The third rack is for utensils, smaller cups, and bowls that don’t require as much scrubbing power.

Most importantly, make sure you are not overloading your dishwasher. Dishes need to be properly spaced so the spray arms are able to reach every crevice and successfully remove debris. If you are piling dishes on top of each other then you might not be giving them enough space to be properly cleaned.

3. Pre-Rinsing

Contrary to popular belief, pre-rising your dishes actually does more harm than good when it comes to getting cleaner dishes from your washer. This is because dish detergent is designed to cling to the grease on your dishes, if you pre-rinse then the detergent has nothing to cling to making it less effective.

The best thing you can do is simply scrape off excess food from your plate into the trash or disposal and directly place your dishes into the washer. It might sound too good to be true but trust us, this is one trick you will be thankful for once you are staring at your freshly clean dishes straight out of the dishwasher.

4. Filters

Now it’s time to take a look at your filter, your washer will either have a self-cleaning filter or a manual clean filter. Manual filters are able to collect food debris in a basin at the bottom of your dishwasher directly under the spray arms. Self-cleaning filters are usually under a plastic grid at the bottom of your dishwasher under the spray arms and use a food disposer to grind up debris.

To ensure your filter is not causing your dishes to be dirty, make sure you are cleaning the filter around every three to four months. Simply rinse and sponge off any food particles that may have collected on it, self-cleaning filters can be left alone.

5. Increase Water Temperature

Lastly, try increasing the temperature of your water as hot water is vital when it comes to dissolving food particles. Some dishwashers come with modern features that increase water temperatures for a better clean such as this Miele dishwasher. This sleek high-end appliance has a SaniWash feature that heats water during the final rinse to kill bacteria and remove food particles.