KitchenAid Dishwasher repair

[comet]

I just moved in to a new house. The Dishwasher is a KitchenAid Superba which is about 4 years old. All of a sudden it stopped working properly. It seems it does not go through the cycles. The Dish soap is not disolving properly and the entire wash seems to run much longer than it should. Once completed the dishes are not clean. Any thoughts on how to fix it? Thanks

 

[mycroftt]

Could be a lot of things, but if the soap isn't dissolving I would check to make sure the unit is getting water. Check the water supply to make sure it isn't turned off with a shut off valve - check the hot water supply on the adjoining sink. Also, inside the unit itself, sometimes there is a small float valve that controls the flow of incoming water to prevent overflow if the unit isn't draining properly. It is usually housed inside a cylindrical cowling that sticks up from the floor of the wash chamber. Tap it to make sure it isn't stuck. If water is pooled in the bottom, the problem may be that the unit isn't draining so the float valve won't let any more water come in - this could mean a problem with the drain pump.

 

[proud2deviate]

We had a similar problem with our dishwasher after a few months use. I tackled it with a screwdriver and found out that one of the little widgets was all caked over with soap residue. I scraped it off and it worked fine. Bear in mind, I'm not a dishwasher repairman, so this was as much dumb luck as anything.

 

[HomeBru]

Sudden problems usually mean something broke or got clogged suddenly, not wore out. Check the water supply first. When you hear the little soap door click open, look in the dishwasher to see if the bottom of the dishwasher is full of water. If it's not, it's a water supply problem, could be the electronic valve in the dishwasher or just the under-sink supply.

The second possibility is that the spray apparatus is clogged. Can you hear the water spraying around inside the dishwasher? Take out the lower rack remove the spray arm and check all the holes to see if they're clogged. You may also have something clogging or jamming the water cycling pump in the bottom of the dishwasher. Feel around underneath for something that doesn't feel right. String, toothpicks, silverware, bones, and fruit seeds can all jam that thing up.

If you're unsure about how things go together, go to www.repairclinic.com and look up your model. They have exploded-view diagrams as well as a lot of troubleshooting help. I've bought a number of appliance parts from them and they are tops!

J-

J-

 

[Sid Post]

Something is clogging it. Check to see if the food grinder is blocked with grease or soap.

Run full hot water in your sink until it is scalding hot. With an empty dishwasher, try a quart of vinegar and the "pots and pans" mode with extra water heat and heated drying.

When mine is getting cold water, it takes about 3 hours to wash. When it has hot water, the most aggressive cleaning with longest heating time is 72 minutes.

Since it broke suddenly and it is relatively new to you, it's either the soap you are using or some grease or other food debris as the most likely cause of your distress.