The nozzle holes in the arm may well be blocked.

Oh yes, I should check the upper one. I actually took the lower assembly apart to clean the filter (which isn't actually removable, as it turns out), and the lower arm had a hole blocked. I will check the upper arm.

Well, it was clear. One thing that I never remember to do is to run the hot water from the tap before starting. Would that make a difference in terms of rinsing? It doesn't seem like it would, but I can try it.

Don't know what DW you have, but most heat the water so no need to run hot water at tap.

We also run it on the normal cycle, but I will try the next one up. It seems unnecessary, as I think our dirty dishes are "normal," but I'll give it a try anyway.

Is it like a brown sandy grit or more like chalky white coats-everything powdery sediment?

Brown sandy, sometimes with cat hairs. We only have one cat, he doesn't go in the DW, and it's not like he sits around on the dirty dishes, but his hair is still in there.

(Lisa) Dishwashers typically aren't designed to heat cold incoming water to "operating" temperature. The onboard heater is to maintain the incoming supply temperature through the cycle, or boost it from tap-hot to a higher temp for a pots/pan cycle or sanitizing rinse. User instructions often advise to run the sink faucet until it flows hot immediately before starting the machine.

StillPitPat, you may should try different detergents. Some can "clash" with local water conditions. I don't like tabs and pods, the dosage can't be controlled and depending on how they dissolve there may not be sufficient or any detergent in a prewash period (depending on the sequence of the selected cycle). For example, I've tried Cascade Platinum pods and they generate a LOT of foaming (and I have hard water) to the point that it impedes the water spray force and rotation speed of the arm. Dishwasher detergents are *not* supposed to generate foam/suds so I don't know what's the deal with that. My dishwasher monitors the water level via the pump load on the motor. I noticed when using those pods that it filled more when too much of the water turned to foam and the motor didn't "feel the water for pumping it. I paused it to have a look a couple times and the lower spray arm was essentially buried in suds.

I will look into different detergents, I am also wondering if our water heater should be set higher. I'm going to measure the hot water at the sink.

This is a new kitchen, right? So the plumbing for the DW is new? This almost feels like a drain issue I had once.

(I would keep an eye on that cat.)

We have the same issue with our 8 year old GE Profile. We have tried EVERYTHING! Some things worked for a bit, then it goes back to leaving dishes dirty (especially on the top rack). I finally broke down last week & ordered a Bosch 500. I gets delivered next week. I'm so over the GE & "trying" to always fix it.

I have heard similar complains both when the wrong detergent/rinse-aid was used, or when there was a problem with the drain (e.g. blocked, or has neither air-gap nor high-loop). So, those would be the first things that I'd check.

N.b. there doesn't seem to be a one-size-fits-all detergent. Detergents that work for some people fail horribly for others. My best guess is that it really depends on your water hardness, and you simply have to try different ones. Also, if you have harder water, using the correct amount of rinse aid becomes really important. Both too little and too much causes problems.

Dishwashers typically aren't designed to heat cold incoming water to "operating" temperature. The onboard heater is to maintain the incoming supply temperature through the cycle, or boost it from tap-hot to a higher temp for a pots/pan cycle or sanitizing rinse.

This really depends on the model that you have. I have seen several brands that explicitly tell you to connect the cold water line instead of the hot water line. I guess they realize that modern dishwashers need so little water, in many cases hot water would never even reaches the dishwasher by the time it is done filling.

On the other hand, there also are dishwashers that require hot water. And I have even seen some models that require both hot and cold.

Fwiw, we have Lake MI water, as I am in the Chicago burbs. It's not really problematic water in any way. Much nicer than where I grew up outside of Ann Arbor, where the well water was really hard and the softened water was smelly and almost slimy.

Yes Fori, this is the new kitchen. Everything is new. Our old DW was a portable that my husband installed as a built-in so we didn't have to have the hose in the sink, and who knows how good of a job he did with the install. I also thought it could have been the DW at the time, since there are not a lot of portables out there and we didn't buy a top-of-the-line model. So anyway, the plumbing is all new.

There is also tan gunk on the rails that the top rack slides onto.

The Maytag manual recommends pods, so we've been using those. I will look into the rinse aid though. Our old DW didn't have settings for that, but this one does. I wasn't sure whar to set it to, so I think it's on the middle setting.

At this point, do I reach out to the contractor or to Maytag? The contractor's guys installed it b/c the electrical wasn't ready when the Abt guys did the delivery. I have a list of other things to bring up with him, and I'll CC the designer, as she recommended him and has been the MC of this project. Maybe he would say to call Maytag though because of the warranty? And speaking of that, does the one year start from the time the appliance is delivered? Because we bought this thing in Feb 2018 but it wasn't delivered until last Nov/Dec. I really hope that's when the warranty starts.

I hope you find a solution -- We had the same problem with a Whirlpool, a KitchenAid, and a Bosch. We are going on 2 years with our GE and so far, knock wood, no grit. I had the best luck with Finish.

Our old DW didn't have settings for that, but this one does. I wasn't sure what to set it to, so I think it's on the middle setting.

As a first approximation, call your water department and ask them for what their water hardness is. They will generally give you a pretty reasonable number. But I have occasionally heard of situations where some water departments were a bit off with what they officially said. So, in that case, get a test kit and check yourself. This is a standard test that is used for swimming pools. A test kit shouldn't cost more than about $10. And you'll end up with more test strips that you could possibly ever use up.

But you could test at several times during the year. Some water departments have different water supplies with notably different water hardness.

The contractor's guys installed it b/c the electrical wasn't ready when the Abt guys did the delivery.

Before you do anything, you should check whether you have an air gap. That's a little gizmo that sticks out of the countertop right next to the sink. It doesn't really look as if it has any function, but if you look closely you should see that it has a hole on the side that points towards the sink. You can usually open it up (sometimes by simply pulling straight up and then unscrewing a cap) and you should see if the air gap needs cleaning. Don't operate with the air gap uncapped though; that's going to make a huge mess.

If you don't have an air gap, then many jurisdictions allow a high-loop installation instead. In this case, the drain hose from the dishwasher should be mounted under the sink so that it forms a loop that goes to the top of the cabinet before it goes down again and drains into the garbage disposal or into the p-trap.

If you have neither an air gap nor a high-loop, there is the risk that you could siphon dirty water back into the dishwasher. That would certainly be one of the possible explanations for the problem that you are reporting.

Also, double-check with the DW manufacturer that a high-loop installation is appropriate for this particular model. Some models apparently must always use an air gap.

• How to Check the Drain Loop on a Maytag Dishwasher
• How to Check the Drain Line on Your Maytag Dishwasher
• Cascade Complete ActionPacs. Fantastic.

I think but could misremember that the lack of a high loop was responsible for my long-ago grit problem. (It was in MI where nobody had a clue what an air gap was.) Might as well crawl up under the sink and look. Especially with the fur showing up--you know that isn't sediment!

The tan gunk buildup I suspect is something different, like detergent or water deposits or an unholy interaction between them. I get this too...

It's the white hose, right? I'm guessing this is a high loop?

But what about this? When I removed some pieces to get at the bottom assembly, it surprised me that there was standing water here, in the circular cavity to the right. (trying to add picture)

Very good to know!

i would also check the drain hose that you cant see behind the DW itself. Hopefully not coiled which would constrict drain output. That may occur when when the DW was pushed into the opening

my guess is that the DW is not fully draining somehow. allowing dirty water to remain inside. The water quality is not the issue - at least from the city. Maybe some clogged in line, whole house filter (if you have one)

This might be a dumb question, but do I just pull the DW out? I've never lived in a place with a built in DW since my childhood home.

It's screwed in...dig up the installation instructions and see if you have to peel anything off to get to the screw-in points.

Yes, in general, after loosening the screws that attach the dishwasher to the cabinet, it should pull right out. For older dishwashers, the screws are usually at the top, and for newer models they might be on the sides. But not every manufacturer follows this convention.

A dishwasher typically has only three connections: fresh water supply, waste water, and electrical. And that's really the only thing you are likely to have to watch out for. When you push the dishwasher back in, make sure that none of these connections are kinked.

Make sure you know where the cat is before you push it back in.

Maybe it would be a good idea to (a) run the dishwasher (with dirty dishes), (b) stop the dishwasher after the wash water drains but before the rinse water fills, (c) open the door, and (d) check if dirty water remains in the tub.

There does not appear to be a drainage problem based on the sump picture above.

I just wanted to circle back to this and let you all know that things are mostly better. The 2 things that seem to have made a difference are keeping the rinse aid fairly full (with an actual rinse aid, not vinegar) and loosely filling the DW. I really think I was filling it too full before. I was careful not to block the spray in any obvious ways, but I still packed a lot in there. I raised the top rack so that I can put my tall cooking utensils in the silverware basket instead of laying them in the top rack, and I stopped putting plastic lids in between the glasses, and it works so much better now. I do still check everything, and sometimes I need to do a little scrubbing, but it is nothing like it was before. Whew!

Fori - lol. I missed that comment about the cat. So far he has not gotten into the DW. He like the little closet though.

ETA: is reorienting pictures a new Houzz picture issue???

Have you cleaned the filter of the dishwasher out? Ours does this when the filter is full of gunk. After cleaning the filter I run a clean dishwasher cycle with lemishine.

Unfortunately, the filter is not removeable. The issue has mostly resolved, though.

This might be poking the hornets nest have you tried washing clean dishes in the dw, and seeing the outcome to know if your problem still exists?

i see you're using the Finish rinse aid. That helped with our residual grit. Does your DW have a filter? Have you tried different detergent, like Cascade pods? Or the Finish Quantum? There is an old topic here about mystery gunk in DWs and the old Finish powerball tabs was a common denominator. Once I ditched mine, the filter stays clean of mystery gunk.

I can try both, but it is mostly resolved now.