Remember that phosphates have been removed from dishwasher detergents and that degraded performance for a lot of people.

I was a faithful Cascade user for decades but now it doesn't clean well.

I switched to Finish powerball tablets based on Consumer Reports tests and found they easily outperformed the Cascade powder. More expensive, but what can you do?

I was thinking the same thing about my 8 year old GE Profile dishwasher in October until I saw some info on Garden Web about phosphates having been removed from dishwasher detergents in July 2010. Because I live alone I don't use my dishwasher very often, so my phosphate laden supply of Cascade wasn't depleted until about the time I noticed the dishes were not getting clean. (Even after running them through multiple cycles.) Changing to Finish has made my dishes cleaner, but not as clean as before. Try some other brands of detergents before buying a new dishwasher. However, a newer dishwasher will probably do a much better job cleaning your dishes than the 9 year old dishwasher. FWIW My daughter bought a new mid-range KitchenAid dishwasher in July that sees heavy use and she can't stop telling me how much she LOVES it.

My KA dishwasher was 11 yrs old and dishes were often dirty, same scenario you are describing. Always had used Cascade, heard about the phosphates, switched to Finish Quantum. Dishes were slightly better, but not much. I had an appliance repairman come out, check everything, and he said all was working normally, nothing mechanically wrong with the dw. We finally couldn't stand it anymore, replaced our old KA with the KA KUDE60 (loved the capacity, loading capability, cutlery tray, great reviews) and lo and behold "spotless dishes", even with no phosphates. So...sometimes a machine just reaches the end of its life even though it is still functioning with no apparent mechanical problems.

We had the same problem with a 7-year old Kenmore in a previous home. I was all set to get a new DW but DH determined that it was a problem with the upper rack sprayer. We replaced it for less than $20. Do dishes put in certain parts of the DW get cleaner than in others? If so, it might be a sprayer problem.

Funny that people have mentioned the detergent. I was using Electrosol tabs, and had no issues. Then I got a container of the Cascade Action Paks with Dawn on sale. I never made the connection, but it may be the cause of the problem. I will try Electrosol again.

I did find a silverware basket for only $40 at my local Sears parts store. Unless the dishwasher totally dies on me, I won't be buying a new one until the end of the year at the earliest, so I figured it was worth it.

The Frigidaire model I was looking at is not going to work- it is too tall for the opening I have. I will hope that the change in detergent works for now.

When changing detergent also purchase some dishwasher cleaner such as Dishwasher Magic or Finish dishwasher cleaner. This will strip out all the old detergent and hard water deposits that have built up over the years. (in severe cases this may need to be done twice)
Then start using any of the enzyme detergents. You will notice improved performance after the clean out. Much better than if you didn't do it.

Thank you, jakvis. I do use Dishwasher Magic regularly. I have very hard water (although we do have a softener), so it has been part of the maintenance routine.

You say you have a softener. Do you know whether or not it's working?

The symptoms you've described sound to me like maybe one or more of three items......1) harder water than you know about 2) water not getting hot (above 120F) 3) insufficient fill and/or obstructed drain path.

I would be surprised to learn the issues you described are detergent-related.

Softener is working, water is hot, don't think there are any issues with the fill or drain. The last load I did was fine- it doesn't happen every single time.

I do think it is just nearing the end of it's life, but if it can hang on for a little longer I'd be happy.

"...it doesn't happen every single time."

Ah!...intermittent, then. My least favorite kind.

Fill solenoids love to do this...get a little crud in them, then work fine, then hang leaving everyone wondering. Less common would be intermittent drain-line obstruction....something in there positions itself open sometimes, then flaps down and obstructs.

Just noodling from cyber-distance, of course, but IF your machine is getting good fill, good drain, good heat, and those arms are going around in there....the symptoms you described won't happen. Even if there are particles remaining, they will flushed out. I've not yet encountered ANY DW detergent that will not dissolve in appropriately hot water -- even hard water -- unless its not actually hot and/or there isn't enough in there and/or it's not pumping/spraying. You can test it out yourself by stirring some up in a glass after heating the water manually.

I'd bet on fill solenoid first, drain second. Easy fixes if you want to get into it.

Then, again, new machines are nice.

If you choose to examine further and attempt diagnosis/repair, I would be interested in learning what found.