Dishwasher driving me mad!!

[dishwasherfrenzy]

Please help me with this nightmare dishwasher! I thought it would make life easier!!
I put it on - I've tried ALL settings and different tablets.
I have put salt in the part salt should go in. And rinse aid etc. I clean the filter regularly.
everything still comes out manky.
With little bits on like everything is covered in sand!!!
Then I have to hand wash everything.
I also use a dishwasher cleaner every month too!
Why is this happening..?!?!

Rice is a bugger for clogging up the spray arms.
(note to self- check them today!)

Never cleaned my spray arms. A job on the to do list now!

I had a problem with a basic Beumatic (sp?), it seemed to make mugs and glasses dirtier rather than cleaner as the muck was dried on. Turned out to be a crack in the pipe that takes water to the upper spray arm.

I had this recently and it was because the heater was knackered, so they were getting semi washed in cold water and then not drying properly.

It drove me mad! 😫 I bought a lovely (but second hand) Bosch dishwasher (for £60!) from a man on Facebook marketplace.
We took his hand off!

I've never been able to afford a Bosch dishwasher before and I can see where the money goes.

Yes check and clean both spray arms.

Anytime you find water is still pooled in the filter I put in a cup of cheapo thin bleach and maybe a shot glass of multsurfice cleaner the right way up in the cutlery holder. Normally just before we run it

I also do the shot glass and bleach in a empty machine as my cleaning cycle

I agree with pp who said the salt needs turning up for the area your in. Your water board will publish how hard your water is and the manual should tell you how to adjust the salt used each cycle.

you still need salt if you are in a hard water area.

Use the cheapest tablets you can get, Aldi or Tesco's own but make sure your salt/rinse aid is full.

Ah yes, check the water temperature.

Open the dishwasher mid cycle and see if it's hot!

I had a cracked spray arm that was split along a seam, which was enough to drastically reduce the spraying pressure. Bought a new one online, solved the problem for less than £10.

What temp are you using?

Our dishwasher is 20 years old. If I wash on 55 degrees, gritty bits and some things not clean enough to be put away. wash on 65 degrees and it's all perfect.

Also if things are all gritty that is now baked on with the heat of drying.

You have to soak manually to get it off then once the arms are unblocked Try it again.

I usually start with the spray arms.
Once mine were split and I hadn't noticed. Usually blocked.
I chuck the tablet into the machine rather than into its door.

We do that too now, arms etc all checked out and are ok.
We ran out of vinegar and checked some powder kettle descaler in and that works fine too!

But then you're only using the initial pre-wash cycle for actually washing the dishes, the second half of the cycle won't have any detergent. The pre-wash with all the soap will have been drained away...

you're using the main wash cycle as a glorified warm rinse....

If you use the quick cycle I don’t think there’s a pre wash.

Quick cycle won't clean properly, partly for the fact there's no pre-wash in that cycle. Waste of time unless its for stuff that's already visibly clean or small loads etc.

@dishwasherfrenzy I'm happy to report that my dishwasher is now fixed. The appliance man replaced the "upper spray arm feed pipe" which is just a molded piece of plastic (£28 for the part) and it seemed to do the trick. The upper spray arm now turns when it should, and my dishes are now clean.