Dishwasher leaving sandy food residue on cups on the top shelf

[SurreySenMum26]

Can anyone help with problem have been with my dishwasher. It's relatively new, it's a Sharp model and every time I use it there is a chalky gritty Sandy substance on the cups on the top shelf. It isn't limescale on the cups it's like a food residue that doesn't get rinsed off and then during thecdrying cycle, gets baked on. I can't work out what is going on with it the everything on the bottom shelf gets cleaned really well it's just the top shelf. This was how a cup came out today. Mashed potato as thick as wallpaper paste just sitting on the upturned cup

Is the salt topped up? Mine does that when the salts running low

It sounds like you are leaving too much food residue on the items you put in there.

This was happening to my dishwasher when the top rack had moved down a level and the plastic part that shoots water out wasn't rotating properly. Either that or salt needs topping up.

Have you cleaned the filter and checked the spinny arms arent blocked? And make sure dishes/pots are scraped out properly before washing

Mashed potato is a bugger for glueing itself to everything in the dishwasher. Easier just to wash that pan manually.

Clean the filter out, replace the salt? Mine does this when the filter is gunked up

Clean the dishwasher, including filter and rotating arm. The top up salt and rinse aid.

I will get this now and then, if I haven't the mugs angled right. My dishwasher really does have a correct way to stack , mugs have to go on the top right, the top left, the slope isnt so defined so debris lands

Either needs salt or rinse aid, or there is a bit of food stuck in the top washer arm, or a combination of all 3

Same here. It needs a clean.

It's not just mashed potatoes, it's every meal. I have tried rinsing first, not rinsing, cleaning arms, filter, running empty with bleach and flash. Salt and rinse aid is full. It's like it's deposited the gunk at the top and no water is rinsing it off at all. Just run it empty with a upturned glass in ad a baking tray covering the bottom spray arm. The glass had a tiny bit of gritty water in it so it looks like there isn't enough water circulating around the top. Nothing is blocked. It's about 3 months old and always been like this

Add salt and rinse aid and clean the filter and the burlers.

I had something similar for months. I did several clean cycles but It kept coming back especially on glasses. I thought I was cleaning the filter but didn't realise I had to remove the metal shelf the filter fits into and clean the whole thing. Once I cleaned that and did another clean cycle it hasn't ever come back. I have a beko. The instructions were clear but I just hadnt read them properly.

Are you overloading the bottom shelf? The propellers which are below each of the shelves need to be able to spin to clean. If they can't spin then it all goes a bit gross.

Mine does this when the holes in the spray arms get blocked (with grains of rice usually) and the water can't come out to rinse properly.

Also, have you cleaned out the filter? Sometimes it needs scrubbing on the mesh stuff.

This. It can look fine when you examine it but when water comes through the rice (or pine nut or lemon pip) is pushed into the hole. Try taking the spinner off and running the tap hard through the central hole.

The top arm isn't blocked as it runs free under the tap. I have just opened the door during the cycle and the top arm is in the same position. I then put a 1p on the arm and it's still there so can't be spinning? But there's nothing in it's way as I can spin it with a flick of my finger. I'm wondering if its ever turned now?

I leave loads of food residue on mine and they come out fine.

I'd contact the seller under the guarantee if it's only 3 months old.

Lots of good suggestions already. Another one is have you checked that the top rack is level? They are usually adjustable, but if each side of the top rack is on a different level the upper arm won't spin properly.

Gritty residue is usually due to a poorly spinning upper arm, so if the holes are not blocked this is what I'd check next. Obviously salt and rinse aid settings should be correct. Do not rely on "all in one" tablets. They only work in the very softest water areas.

When you push the basket in does the bit at the back of the basket line up with the bit at the back of the machine that sends the water to the spinny arm?

Have you ever run a machine cleaning cycle?
I have a Bosch dishwasher and every so often a machine care light comes on. I then have to run a machine care cycle with a bottle of finish deep cleaning liquid. It really cleans the dishwasher out and unblocks everything. Even if You don’t have this special cycle you can still run a bottle of dishwasher cleaner through on a hot cycle with an empty machine. I don’t mind doing this because after that everything including pots and pans come out spotless in a one hour cycle.

That's what I thought the issue was. So we ran it by closing the door to push the upper rack back, and again by pushing it as far back as could. Both pretty similar results. But on the face of it, it looks like there isn't water getting into the upper arm

Is the rack level on both sides?