When the dishwasher leaves food on plates or the glasses come out cloudy, it’s almost always one of three things: a clogged filter, blocked spray arms, or water that isn’t hot enough. The checks run under ten minutes. If they don’t fix it, you’re into a mechanical fault and that’s where a tech steps in. Same playbook on Bosch, Samsung, LG, Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag, and GE.
Filter, first and most often
On nearly every machine built after 2010 there’s a cylindrical filter in the tub floor, under the lower rack. Pull the rack, twist the filter counterclockwise, lift it out. If it’s a mat of grease and food, rinse it under hot water with a soft brush and a little dish soap, put it back, and run a cycle. This one check clears the majority of “not cleaning” complaints.
Older machines had a self-cleaning filter with a grinder, and they were loud. If yours is newer and quiet, it has a manual filter that wants cleaning monthly. If the filter’s clean or cleaning it doesn’t help, keep going.
Spray arms and their little holes
The spray arms are the plastic pieces with the small jets that spin and throw water at the dishes. Those holes plug with mineral scale over time.
Pull the racks and look at both arms. Spin each by hand to confirm it turns freely. Hold them up to the light and check for blocked holes; a toothpick clears the visible ones. Then make sure nothing in the rack hangs down and stops an arm. A long pan handle or a cutting board laid flat will stop it cold. If the arms spin free and the holes are clear, the problem’s inside the machine.
Is the water hot enough?
Dishwashers need water around 120F to dissolve detergent and cut grease. Run the kitchen tap until it’s fully hot and check it with a thermometer. Below 120F is part of your problem. Running the hot tap 30 to 60 seconds before you start purges the cold water sitting in the line so the machine fills hot from the first fill. If the water heater itself is running low, that’s a separate issue and a plumber’s call, not a dishwasher repair.
Hard-water spots vs etching
White film or spots mean mineral buildup. Bay Area water runs hard, so rinse aid isn’t optional here, it’s routine. An empty cycle with a cup of white vinegar on the top rack every few months breaks down scale, and dedicated cleaner tablets work too. If the cloudiness won’t wipe off and the vinegar test doesn’t clear it, the glass is etched and that doesn’t come back.
How you loaded it
Dishes have to face the spray. Bowls angled up hold water instead of shedding it. Nested spoons shield each other. Worth a quick look before you blame the machine.
When cleaning doesn’t fix it
On a cleaning call we start at the filter and spray arms, which covers most of them. If those are clear, we run a short cycle and watch the arm rotation, check whether the detergent dispenser opens on time, and verify the water temperature. If it still won’t clean, the next suspects are the wash pump and impeller. A worn pump can’t build the pressure to drive the arms, and you can sometimes hear it as a weaker wash. A clogged inlet screen, a failing heater, or a bad water inlet valve throw the same symptoms. Those all need disassembly to reach and test, and going after them without the right tools usually makes it worse.
Book a visit
Do the filter, spray-arm, and loading checks first. If dishes still come out dirty, you’re looking at a pump, valve, or internal fault. Pulling a dishwasher apart without the right tools is how a small repair becomes a big one.
Bay Area Appliance Repair Service handles dishwasher repair across the whole Bay Area, often same or next day when we can. Call (925) 999-4095 or book online. It’s a $75 diagnostic, credited to the repair, and you get a straight repair-or-replace call once we know the fault.