so what am i doing wrong? my dishwasher hates me.

[sosurreal09]

we just moved into a new apartment and for the first time ever we have a dishwasher! i was sooo excited less work for me right? ummm maybe not.

i rinse them in hot water and even lightly wash them if needed then put them in the dishwasher. i use seventh generation the powdered one and i even just bought the liquid one.

so the dishes on the top always have gross stuff on them and in them like remnants of the food but not what was on that dish like what washed off the other dishes. it gets STUCK on there and is such a pain to get off not to mention i am re-washing dishes...

i put the plates and sometimes some cups on the bottom and will put any small pans as long as they can fit upright so they wont block the water from going up.

its a really cheapo dishwasher there is literally only an on button and thats it. its a hotpoint. idk if i am doing something wrong or if its just crappy and will never work right. any advice?

[jimblejamble]

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=12598586 (watch the video) Is this the issue you're having?

[sosurreal09]

TY for the link but thats not the issue. its not white stuff left on the dishes its like dark speckles almost like herbs? idk how to explain it fully i guess.

[yeahwhat]

I would try getting some of the dishwasher cleaner stuff and running it with an empty load.  Or, if you can find the manual for your model online, there might be cleaning instructions in it.

[redvlagrl]

Honestly, we were having the same issue until we ditched the green detergent and went with the nasty stuff. I don't pre-rinse and my dishes are really clean. My justification is that I'm not wasting water, though I am polluting. Ugh. Can't win.

you can also try an empty cycle with a bottle of vinegar

[ChristyMarie]

Is there a trap at the bottom you could clean out?  It sounds like old stuff is accumulatiing down there and being sprayed about when it is running.  If it is a rental, it could have gone without being cleaned out for a looooooong time.

Beyond that, I'd run a couple of empty vinegar cycles.  If that doesn't do it, just wash and use it as a drying rack.

And powder is better than liquid detergent.  I have found Cascade Complete to be the best.

[SubliminalDarkness]

I've never met a 'natural' dish detergent that works well. It's unfortunate, but it is what it is.

We use the Target brand powder. 

[just_lily]

Definitely check for a trap in the bottom.  With my old dishwasher I also had to take the spinning arm off a couple of times and soak it in vinegar and water because the little jets would get plugged.  This allowed us to get about another year out of our dishwasher and then I got tired of dishes coming out dirtier than they went in, so we bit the bullet and spent $50 on a new-to-us washer at the resale store.

[sosurreal09]

we do rent so im certainly not looking to buy lol idk if i should go messing with the blades and stuff b/c there is a big "you break it you buy it" thing in our agreement. the rent is sooo cheap though haha no wonder why!

i will surely try some vinegar.

doesnt the non-natural stuff have a ton of chemicals in it? is that safe for our dishes???

[HappyMommy2]

I HAVE to use jet dry or my dishes come out nasty.  It wasn't like that across the country where I used to live, but something about this MA water requires us to use jet dry for clean dishes.  I get it in bulk at BJ's since it is pretty darn expensive. (but better than washing dishes by hand!!)  I seriously can tell when it is time to refill, it is such a clear difference in the quality and cleanliness!!!