I think there should be a garbage disposal under dishwashers. If food gets down there, just grind it up.

Anonymous wrote:We have a Bosch and after a few years it started not cleaning dishes as well. We used Dishwasher Magic -

http://www.amazon.com/Iron-Out-DM06N-Dishwasher-Magic/dp/B000HE9YVU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1326296623&sr=8-2

and that fixed it. There was so much mineral buildup we actually used two (two different cycles - not two bottles at once). That was a couple of years ago and we haven't had to use it since. It may not help you though if your problem is limited to the top rack - our problem was the entire dishwasher.

Agree with this -- same thing happened to us. Our problem was mostly in the top.

They have taken out the phosphates in DW detergent.
Which is my guess for some of your problem.

I highly recommend the finish powerball detergent plus rinse aid

Ours was the same (dirtier when they come out than they were when the went in) and we found a solution!

When we asked a repair guy to come in he advised us to (1) make sure dishes are rinsed well first and (2) always use the "Sani Rise" and "Hi Temp" options. Since we've started doing that, our dishes are sparkly clean again! Your options might have different names, but you get the idea.

We had issues w/ ours and had Maytag come out to take a look. They gave us some type of liquid to put in once a month or so to help give it a deep clean. But also, he mentioned that no one's dishwasher is workign the same anymore if you're in MD since they outlawed some of the more effective cleaning agents last year and so dishwasher detergents just don't work as well as they used to.

We have a Bosch and after a few years it started not cleaning dishes as well. We used Dishwasher Magic -

http://www.amazon.com/Iron-Out-DM06N-Dishwasher-Magic/dp/B000HE9YVU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1326296623&sr=8-2

and that fixed it. There was so much mineral buildup we actually used two (two different cycles - not two bottles at once). That was a couple of years ago and we haven't had to use it since. It may not help you though if your problem is limited to the top rack - our problem was the entire dishwasher.

Do you fully scrape (and even rinse) your dishes before you put them in? Not all dishwashers are capable of handling gunk.

Mold buildup can cause stink/water buildup/gunk/etc. We've had that issue for a while. White vinegar helps, but sometimes you have to go in and actually clean it out. For us it builds up in the drain vent at the bottom and through the drain/pump.

We rent, so I'm fairly sure if the problem keeps up we'll be getting a new dishwasher. Seeing mold growing out of the vent at the bottom of the dishwasher is a bit disturbing.

Anonymous wrote:Ugh. They don't make dishwashers like they used to - because of the energy saver sticker. When my dishwasher looks icky, I wipe it down with a sponge. Try switching detergents. I've switched to dishwasher cubes from the liquid dishwasher detergent. that seems to help.

This is OP. I forgot to mention we did switch type of detergents and that helped a bit. We started with the basic liquid soap. When we switched to Cascade cubes that helped. Then it stopped. Now we are on Finish tabs and that helped for a bit. Then it stopped.

I'm so sick of washing all our glasses by hand.

Make sure that you know where the water to the upper rack is coming from. If it is from the top of the dishwasher, make sure that you are not loading tall items where they will impede the movement of the water wand. If it comes up from the bottom rack, make sure that no items on the lower rack are covering it up. If the wand thin gee spins under the top rack, make sure that your dishes aren't so high that they are impeding its movement. If they are, you may be able to adjust the height of the upper rack so that the wand can spin freely. If none of this works, it sounds like you have done everything else. I'd call the company if it is under warranty and have a tech come and check it.

I just got a new one over Christmas, but had this problem with the previous one which was 7 years old. I switched detergents frequently and always used the rinse-aid stuff, and that seemed to help.

I can only commiserate. Kitchen Aid is not the great brand is used to be. We used to swear by Kitchen Aid until we got the "quite" highish end model 5 years ago during a kitchen renovation. It was the loudest dishwasher I've ever heard, the dishes were clean but the glasses were awful and when the door spring broke after about 3 years, we trashed the whole thing. Just wished we started with the Meile, which has been a dream (assuming you have 2 hrs and 45 mins to run your dishwasher, but that's not been an issue for us).

Ugh. They don't make dishwashers like they used to - because of the energy saver sticker. When my dishwasher looks icky, I wipe it down with a sponge. Try switching detergents. I've switched to dishwasher cubes from the liquid dishwasher detergent. that seems to help.

Is it draining properly? Could there be a clog so that food just recirculates instead of draining out?

I seriously want to take a sledgehammer to our dishwasher. The top rack comes out dirtier than when it went it. The glasses get all grimy, filmy, nasty, etc.

- There is no trap/filter inside the dishwasher to clean out like in previous dishwashers we've had. I didn't believe it at first. But after looking all around the dishwasher, I located the instruction manual and there really isn't.
- I've run the following through it to try and clean it - vinegar, CLR (to clear the sprayers of any buildup) , something to deal with flim/water spots (can't remember the name)
- We added Jet Dry
- The disposal is always clear of any food
- This happens even if there are no dishes in the bottom rack

For awhile it would come clean if I ran the Sani-Rinse cycle. But now that doesn't even work.

Are there any other hidden places I should look for food build up that would affect only the top rack?

It's a Kitchen Aid - is it worth calling someone in to have a look? Or would a technician/repairman rip us off?