What you can check yourself
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- Remove and thoroughly rinse the filter at the bottom of the tub — a dirty filter is the single most common cause of poor cleaning, not just drainage issues.
- Spin the upper and lower spray arms by hand to make sure they move freely, and check the small holes for clogs (a toothpick works to clear them).
- Load large items (cutting boards, baking sheets) at the sides or back, not blocking the spray arms' rotation or the detergent dispenser's swing path.
- Run an empty cycle with a dishwasher-safe cleaner to clear built-up grease and mineral film from the interior and spray arms.
Still not working? A technician can take it from here.
Book a visitWhen to call a technician
Call a technician if cleaning stays poor after a thorough filter and spray arm cleaning, and especially if the water isn't getting hot (check with a thermometer held near the spray during a cycle) — that points to the heating element or a water-temperature related fault.
Hard water's specific role in cloudy glassware
Southern California's water is hard across most of LA and Orange County, which means it carries more dissolved minerals than water in many other parts of the country. Those minerals deposit as a white, cloudy film on glassware and as scale inside the dishwasher's heating element and spray arms over time — a rinse aid helps a lot here, since it's specifically designed to help water sheet off surfaces instead of leaving mineral spots behind as it dries.
If your dishwasher has a built-in water softener setting, using it (and keeping the dishwasher salt topped up, on models that use it) addresses the problem at the source rather than just treating the symptom with rinse aid.
Why pre-rinsing too much can backfire
Modern dishwasher detergent is formulated to work against some food residue — it includes enzymes that need something to break down. Scraping plates but skipping a full pre-rinse usually gets better results than rinsing dishes until they're spotless before loading, since an overly clean load can leave detergent with nothing to grab onto.
