Dishwasher filter? (Grit left throughout the dishwasher after cycle finishes)

Are you using powdered detergent? Try using a different detergent.

Is the water very hard where you are?

Using pods.

From my Google search, the filter on my dishwasher is flat and visible once I remove the wash arm. There is no visible damage to this filter.

eko416 wrote: ↑ Using pods.

From my Google search, the filter on my dishwasher is flat and visible once I remove the wash arm. There is no visible damage to this filter.

I would recommend not using pods. Better and cheaper (but less convenient) to use powder, so you can also add to the prewash chamber.
Most washers have some removable screens that need cleaning once in a while.
Also remove and clean the jet holes in the spinning arms on the top and bottom racks.
Finally, filling the rinse aid chamber with vinegar will help leave your dishes spotless.

Depending on your model, it'll be slightly different.

Most of the more recent (last 10 years)

will be similar to this



The whole bottom of the "drain" and wash arm area is a course mesh filter.
There's a secondary finer mesh filter after the grinding blade before the pump that can also get clogged.

You might also have grease build up in your wash arms and pump.
This can result from your water not being hot enough (as they lower water temps to save energy). You may need to run an empty cycle or the sanitize cycle to get the water and washer hot enough to get the grease out.

Or the water isn't getting hot enough due to a faulty heating element or sensor.

I find too that sometimes you're just getting build up in areas where the jets don't hit and you need to take a soapy sponge to wipe some areas down and do a quick rinse to clean the machine.

Follow up questions: Is your water hard? Are you using a rinse aid? Is your water hot enough?

Thank you for all of this great information. I will look into removing the bottom piece.

I live in Toronto so I don’t believe that it is considered hard water.

I do feel my rinse aid chamber with vinegar.

I have been using the feature to heat the water up but since I have been having the problem, I have been running the hot water tap before I start the dishwasher just to make sure that the water that interest the dishwasher for the initial Fill , is as hot as possible.

First off vinegar is NOT a rinse aid and really should not be used in a dishwashers regularly. It can actually damage seals in the machine. READ the instructions which came with the machine. Secondly MEASURE the temperature of the water coming out of your kitchen tap, do NOT guess. It should read a MINIMUM of 120 degrees, never below that.

eko416 wrote: ↑ Thank you for all of this great information. I will look into removing the bottom piece.

I live in Toronto so I don’t believe that it is considered hard water.

I do feel my rinse aid chamber with vinegar.

I have been using the feature to heat the water up but since I have been having the problem, I have been running the hot water tap before I start the dishwasher just to make sure that the water that interest the dishwasher for the initial Fill , is as hot as possible.

Beneful1 wrote: ↑ First off vinegar is NOT a rinse aid and really should not be used in a dishwashers regularly. It can actually damage seals in the machine. READ the instructions which came with the machine. Secondly MEASURE the temperature of the water coming out of your kitchen tap, do NOT guess. It should read a MINIMUM of 120 degrees, never below that.

That might be possible, but I've never had an issue over decades of use. I use low concentrate vinegar. Might be a good idea to reduce further if concerned about seals (would also lower the cost). Standard rinse aid also uses acid (citric), so you would expect the seals to be designed to resist acids.

Use a citric acid dishwasher cleaner. It's a pouch that you put into the dishwasher and run on empty, it dissolves hard water deposits and can cut grease, and can somewhat clean the pump and drain system. If your dishwasher is having issues with performance, spotting or residue, then that can help. If your arms are really calcified then removing them and soaking them in vinegar for a few hours can help with mineral deposits that can cause minor grit and spotting.

For the rest, clean the filters (both) and consider cleaning the drain tube as well. Switch detergents if needed.

Edit: also check around gaskets and door for any gunk. Dishwashers do not clean around the door seal well and gunk tends to build up there. Use a toothbrush and skewers to remove the built up grime and biological material.

It’s great, and I used your advice. I had to order a torx screwdriver on Amazon as I don’t have one and wasn’t able to undo the screws.

until such point, I’ve been running empty cycles with lots of vinegar and it seems to be working. The fact that I have not been adding any additional dirty dishes to the wash has allowed the machine to somehow discharge more and more of the grit. I can tell because when I open the dishwasher, the walls are less dirty, whereas before, they would be coated with the dirty gritty residue.

this is what I discovered underneath once I used the TORX screwdriver to Remove the top filter. Didn’t see another filter below, it appears that there was something that looks like the area that grinds up any large debris, located near the bottom left-hand side of the attached photo. I clean that out as best I could.