Help Me Diagnose My Dishwasher

[Snipe Hunter]

All dishwashers have filters?

Not the older ones but the newer ones all have them..
The whirlpool/kitchenaid filter is about the size of a soup can and just unscrews from the bottom, of the dishwasher.

[Robert Adams]

As a former insurance adjuster, I got to mingle with my share of plumbers.

They always said working on the kitchen (drain) line is ALOT worse than working on a line that carries poo.

               Yeah kitchen drains and washer drains have a far worse stench then toilet drains. In kitchens that grease solidifies in the pipes. What happens is the grease and bacteria etc all start working together and they convert the oil and grease into soap similar to the way people used to make their own soap. That soap plugs up everything look at London... They call them fat bergs but they are actually soap and all that crap people flush down the toilet. If it didn't come out of you and it isn't toilet paper is doesn't belong in the toilet.

             I just got done with the arduous task of changing out our washer and dryer. LOML promised ours to daughter for her new house so we had to get new ones. The new ones are nicer but the dryer vent is slightly higher so I had to mod the pipe going out the wall up a hare. The stacking kit had to be modded to fit right... It needs a water line to the dryer for steam and the washer alone weighs more than our old washer and dryer together...  Had they included a wrench I might have been able to lower it for the vent to fit.... 
             Anyway I drain and clean the filter on the washer every so often. I did it last month in fact. I drained it after I got it up off the floor so I could put a bowl under it. And as usual that water stinks worse than a toilet... Same goes for the old top loaders. It's just a stagnant spot where water sits and with all the gunk that comes out of clothes it's a breeding ground. So always empty your washer as soon as it's done and clean the filter. Also we wipe down the door and seal and leave it propped open with a rag and have never had an issue with mold or smells.

[Robert Adams]

Not the older ones but the newer ones all have them..
The whirlpool/kitchenaid filter is about the size of a soup can and just unscrews from the bottom, of the dishwasher.

                    The older ones had a big plastic screen at the bottom of the washer. Not a filter as most expect but it was a filter. More like a big sheet of porous plastic.

[crokett™]

As a former insurance adjuster, I got to mingle with my share of plumbers.

They always said working on the kitchen (drain) line is ALOT worse than working on a line that carries poo.

I respectfully disagree.

[Robert Adams]

I respectfully disagree.

          The guy I feel sorry for is the guy that empties the grease traps at restaurants. An overloaded portapotty on a 115* day smells better than a grease trap being vacusucked. Not only do they have to empty it but they have to pressure wash the sides down stirring up even more stink and those are big in ground pits...

[Bob10]

Kitchens sinks are worse than toilets IME

[Bibliophile 13]

Oh, I’ve cleaned my share of grease traps. Nothing nastier!

Anyhow, there’s nothing at all on the screen around the bottom spinner. Took off the tubes to the top spinners and cleaned them, too. No blockage at all anywhere I could see.

Guess I’ll have to go deeper into the bottom of the dishwasher. Maybe there’s a filter or something underneath the screen?

[daddo]

Sometimes they aren't filling with enough water. Check the incoming water supply level and screens. If you pour a pan of extra water in there and it starts to flow properly, you have a water level problem.

[Robert Adams]

Oh, I’ve cleaned my share of grease traps. Nothing nastier!

Anyhow, there’s nothing at all on the screen around the bottom spinner. Took off the tubes to the top spinners and cleaned them, too. No blockage at all anywhere I could see.

Guess I’ll have to go deeper into the bottom of the dishwasher. Maybe there’s a filter or something underneath the screen?

        There is usually a plastic cover under there held on with a few screws and there is a plastic check ball in there(for the wash vs drain function). That area gets gunked up and cleaning it makes a difference in flow. 

          Be careful if your pump needs to be replaced. The pump on ours died a couple years ago. Got a replacement and the replacements pull more amps than the old ones. So.... The relays on the boards are supposedly 10 amp... I know because the replacement pumps will pull just enough to weld the contacts together. They are common relays and the ones on the board were name brand but not capable of even half their rated current. I replaced the bad one and it lasted a while. I couldn't easily get a higher quality ones or higher amperage that would fit so I ended up making a slight modification using a much larger relay... Better than new now course the racks are falling apart and with it 10 years old it's time to look at a replacement.

[Robert Adams]

Sometimes they aren't filling with enough water. Check the incoming water supply level and screens.  If you pour a pan of extra water in there and it starts to flow properly, you have a water level problem.

      If he does he has a water level switch that's kicking off too early.