Try flushing it with water. Would a turkey baster work to suck out the debris after it soaks a while?

You may have to disassemble the machine to access and remove the tank for proper cleaning. Look up your model number @ an online parts source such as www.searspartsdirect.com which has diagrams to see how it's constructed. GE may also have diagrams on their site in the customer service section.

Don't these auto-dispenser models also have a standard set of dispenser cups in the door? If nothing else, you may have to forgo use of the auto-dispenser.

I've never used liquid/gel dishwasher detergent so I don't know if it's still the case, but they originally used clay as a thickener. Upon seeing the GE models with auto-dispense hit the market, I suspected they may be subject to clogging and problems if the detergent charge gets dried-out and old.

Why not call GE customer service & see what they have to say.

I don't have an "auto-dispense" feature on my machine. Could you please post a description of what it does? Ar we talking about a rinse-aid dispenser? Those are the only ones that have a tank that I am aware of. The normal cleaner dispensers have a covered cup that opens during a wash cycle, and one that is always open for a pre-wash. If it is a rinse aid dispenser, what have you been using? I think ordinary water could be used to dissolve most soaps. If your water us too hard, you could add citric acid dissolved in water to cut the lime deposits and soap crud.

NerdyShopper, the machine in question has GE's SmartDispense feature. A tank inside the door that holds a 40 oz. jug of liquid detergent and automatically dispenses an appropriate amount into the wash periods of the cycle.

No longer cleaning well? Did you change your detergent? Newer detergents have gone phosphate-free and some (many?) people seem to be complaining about the cleaning performance.

The should be a Consumer Purge Cycle on this machine. Have a look at the service manual page 18.

HTH, Alex

Cissado - I have the same machine but we've never used the auto dispenser, we just use the standard dispenser cups in the door. My fear was exactly what you've described - the detergent can clog. GE repaired the wiring harness inside the door on my previous dishwasher and disassembling the door looked fairly easy. You could call GE and schedule a repair and then try to do it yourself. That way if you can't fix it then GE can.

Thanks for the replies!

I was hoping for the quick(er) fix first, before I had to disassemble it. But if I had to, I would.

The "gunk" in there looks like bar soap that has been rinsed with water for prolongeed periods of time. It went from the liquid soap to bar soap. It is still very soft to the touch and sort of breaks up if I try to lift it, but it's definitely harder than it was when a liquid. Can I pour anything in there to soften it up more to make it come out? I wioll try water, but is there anything else stronger I can use that will also be safe for the DW? Would the vinegar work? I've heard people pouring vinegar on the bottom of the DW, but not sure if it could go inside the 40 ounce tank. thanks again.

Here's an update in case anyone is curious.

GE CS guided me through the "Smart Dispense Purge" which they also have instruction for on their website. I'm going there now to get full details.

It's just a certain order of buttons to press on the DW that "purges" everything out of the dispensor and cleans it out (hopefully).

I was also told that the lower phosphate detergents (less than 5%) also did this type of clumping in the machine, after I told CS that I did use the appropriate 'bleach include' detergents.

There is no where in the manual that says anything about "under 5%" phosphates doing this to the DW, so I thought I was good. Now i need to find a new detergent, other than the costco brand I'vwe been using. This one has 4+% phosphates in them.

Well, I'm on my 2nd cycle of purging the system. First one didn't look like it did anything, because the final instructions were to "wipe excess detergent off the inside of the machine". When done, there was no detergent to wipe off and the container was still full of detergent. I did go to step 2 which is to add water to the Dispensor and do it again, but I couldn't add too much water, again, because there was still detergent in the dispensor.

Going to the website now. Just wanted to update. thanks again for the help. i hope this helps someone else.