dishes always dirty?

Katharine,

Dirt left on the dishes is just broken down food particles baked on hard during the drying cycle - worse on the upper shelf.

Rinse Aid is designed to reduce the surface tension of the rinsing water to allow it to drain off before the drying cycle. If the Rinse Aid is poor quality or insufficient in quantity the water droplets, with small food particles in them, remain on the croockery to be baked on hard during drying.

Run a cleaning tablet through the machine - use best quality rinse aid - clean off the worst of the food remnants before loading into the machine & all will be well providing you use salt and decent detergent.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dishwasher#Rinse_aid

Good luck...

Peccavi
June 2009

See that the salt dispenser actually has salt in it - this acts as a water softening agent and can help things, especially if the pots are smeared, rather than sparkling. Occasionally I stop my machine mid cycle and quickly open the door to check that the upper arm is spinning. Try a different detergent, maybe if things don't improve, and clean the filters in the bottom of the machine frequently. Can't think of much else!

John
June 2009