Re the wood rot on the top drawer panel: The hot moist air escaping from the top drawer at the end of the cycle when the drawer cover opened condensed when it hit the cold granite counter and settled on the top edge of the wood panel. On the advice of dadoes, locking the drawer when I started the cycle ended the problem. The cover stays on the drawer until it is unlocked. When I'm ready to empty the drawer I unlock it, the cover releases and I open the drawer immediately. Sometimes the air is cooled by then and a non-issue. Sometimes it's still hot/wet but opening the drawer keeps it from condensing on the wood edge. My wood panels are pristine. My unit is about 9 years old. They may have addressed the issue in newer models. So wood panels are still an option if that is what you prefer.

I use 1 tsp detergent in the prewash cup, 3 tsp in the main wash cup. Perhaps 2 tsp for the prewash in very heavy-soil situations, and/or maybe 4 tsp for the main wash. Skip the prewash dose for very light-soil loads and perhaps on shorter cycles (Normal Eco or Delicate Eco) Always skip the prewash dose on Fast or Fast Eco cycles as they do not run a prewash at all. I do not have a household water softener. Some years ago a softener salesman came calling, his test came up 9 grains hardness. However, I'm currently using a supply of Institutional Cascade with chlorine bleach (and phosphates) that I bought online a couple years ago, and Cascade Complete with enzymes (and phosphates) that I found at back of the shelf at a local grocery. Phosphates makes a difference. The bleach formula works wonders on tea and tomato stains. Enzyme formula for heavy soiling if the bleach effect isn't needed for the load. Non-phosphate detergents may require a little higher dose to deal with water conditions, as the ingredients that were substituted for phosphates may not deal as effectively with mineral content in water. Prerinsing dishware can promote glass etching because the more caustic detergent ingredients end up at a higher concentration in the water without food soils present. Scrape off chunks and debris but do not rinse. I don't think increasing rinse agent dosage will necessarily help your situation but it's something to try. Adjust rinse aid (assuming 603 series) -- - With drawer power ON, press and HOLD the Eco button, then press Lock at the same time until another beep occurs. Release the buttons. - rA should appear on the LCD - The cycle selector lights indicate dosage level. Heavy cycle light is lowest dosage, toward ALL the lights for highest dosage. - Press Lock repeatedly to adjust the dosage. - Press Power when done. (There are other options that can be adjusted -- AP AutoPower, EC number of end-of-cycle beeps, Ld auto lid-lock, dS clean-dishes indicator. Start button switches through the options, Lock button changes the setting for the selected option.) This post was edited by dadoes on Sun, May 18, 14 at 16:12

Check the connection where the hose enters the sink drain. Both hose ends should be parallel to the floor, not stacked one on top of the other. Don't take it off if its not, you should be able to gently twist it near the drain, not the hose end. You might try taking the whole drain thing apart and cleaning it. First pump the water out. If you turn on the drawer, the first bit of noise is it pumping the water out - so turn it on, let that sorta grinding noise happen and turn it off. The take out the racks, the blade, the filter, the ring that holds the filter plate, the filter plate, the ring that holds the motor and lift the motor. Remove all the water with a sponge and also any soggy bits of stuff. Rinse the other stuff out in the sink. Reassemble. Clean the dishwasher guts by running an empty rinse cycle and throw in some tang or a little lemonade mix or something else that contains citric acid into the bottom first.

You have two single-drawer units? Or one double-drawer unit? "Over 10 years old" covers a lot of ground for the various model revisions. Citing the specific model number(s) is more helpful than an imprecise age reference. Assuming you don't have one of the very early models that have inflatable seals ... The seal (for each drawer) is part of the drawer lid and does not contact the drawer rim until a cycle is started and the lid motors crank the lid down. The lid attaches to lid yokes at the left and right of each drawer, which in turn are connected to the screw-drive motors to raise and lower it. Could be one (or both) of the yokes on both drawer have broken. Could be one or both of the lid motors on both drawers have failed. A drawer can be forcibly opened if the lid motors fail and the lid doesn't open ... but it cannot be closed again without damaging the seal ... the lid motors must first be manually cranked to raise the lid. Could be the link support arm (which supports the wiring harness, fill hose, and drain hose) has broken on both drawers and something is dragging on the drawer ... but you didn't cite the model to confirm if you have the old-style plastic link support (which will eventually break) or the more-sturdy revised metal support. There may be a few other possible causes.