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Whirlpool dishwasher not cleaning well on top rack

8 years ago

Hi all,

I have a Whirlpool dishwasher that's about six years old that isn't cleaning well on the top shelf. I get very fine bits of food that aren't washed away and then get dried onto the surface of bowl and cups on the top shelf. The problem seems to be on the perimeter, meaning the items in the center are getting clean.

I took the bottom spray assembly apart and cleaned out the food chopper, but that hasn't fixed things. The middle spray arm isn't clogged, I checked that, too.

I was thinking that maybe the pump needed to be replaced, but the bottom rack is getting cleaned just fine. I don't mind spending $120 or so if I'm fairly certain the pump is the problem, but I want to make sure.

I hope somebody can give me some other troubleshooting ideas. My wife isn't pleased! Thanks!!

My dishwasher style is exactly like what is depicted in this video:

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Comments (9)

dadoes
8 years ago
Check the fill level. Could be debris in the water supply accumulated and clogging the inlet valve, which starves the pump for enough water to fully supply pressure to the upper arm.
Jumpy Geathers
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks, that sounds like a promising place to start. Can you please give me a few more details of how to do that? Thanks!
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Jakvis
8 years ago
Before taking anything apart. Start the D/W and let it do a complete fill and then open the door and see how much water is in the tub. The water level should be just under the heater ring.
weedmeister
8 years ago
Water level should 'kiss' the heater.
collberes
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
Thank you so much for posting this video. I have exact same model and the top rack was not cleaning. I followed all the steps in the video to clean the filter and now its it's working perfectly. This saved me big $$ in a repair man or new dishwasher. Never done any kind of repairs before. So pleased!
HU-741831025
3 years ago
the dishes on the top rack aren’t getting clean.
burmen
3 years ago
Thank you so much i was on a way to get new DW i did it exact same - mine was complete clog with glass, pape. Now its working like brand new
Travis Buttram
3 years ago
Top rack was not getting cleaned. Thank you for the video, I followed it step by step and found out the white piece that holds propeller on was broke. Where can i buy a new piece?
dadoes
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
@Travis Buttram,

There are many online sources for appliance parts. One that has breakdown diagrams to help identify parts by assembly location is AppliancePartsPros.com. All of them provide searching by model number. Some may not have diagrams but just return a list of parts for the searched model. Identify the part number that's needed, then Google (or your favorite search) the number to find the best price at the various sources that carry it. Be sure to note the manufacturer part number. Some sources refer to items by their own item or stock number up-top and state the manufacturer number down in the description.

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