--- title: "Dishes come out dirty" description: "The machine completes its program without complaint and the load is worse than when it went in. There is no code for this on any of the three generations, which" url: "https://askomiami.support/symptoms/dishwasher-not-cleaning/" date_modified: "2026-09-13" Appliance type: "Dishwashers" --- # Asko dishes come out dirty ### What to do in the next ten minutes Take out both spray arms — they unclip or unscrew by hand — and hold them up to a light. Any jet you cannot see through is one that is not washing. Clear them with a pin and rinse them through. While the arms are off, lift the whole filter stack out rather than rinsing it in place, and clean the sump beneath. Check the salt and rinse aid. Then run a hot program empty with a cleaner in the basket. ### What this water does to a dishwasher South Florida supply is hard, and a dishwasher is the appliance in the house that notices first. Scale forms in the heater, in the jets and on the surfaces the water touches, and it does it quietly over a couple of years. The machine has a softener built in for exactly this, but it only works when the hardness setting matches the supply and the salt reservoir is not empty — and on the machines we open, one of those two is usually wrong. ### Why there is no code for it A dishwasher raises a message when something has failed. Nothing here has failed: the pump runs, the heater heats, the program completes. That is why a performance visit is priced below a repair and why we would rather tell you what to try first than sell one. If the four things above are all correct and the load is still poor, that is a different conversation and it is worth having. The spray jets have limed over This water leaves scale, and it closes the small jets first. A machine washing through half its jets sends the same water round without reaching the top basket. The water hardness was never set Every one of these machines has a hardness setting and most are still on the factory number, which was chosen for a softer supply. Set correctly, with salt in the reservoir, the difference is visible on the first load. The circulation pump is weak The one on this list that is a repair rather than a clean. Where arms and filters are genuinely clear and the wash is still poor, the pump is measured under load. Do the spray arms turn freely? Spin each by hand. One that catches on a tall item in the basket washes half the load and is the simplest explanation there is. Is there salt in the reservoir? Not the rinse aid — the separate salt cap in the base. Empty, the softener does nothing and every jet in the machine begins to close. Has the detergent changed? Tablets vary more than people expect, and a dose that worked elsewhere may be short for this supply. It is a cheap thing to rule out. Everything runs, nothing errors, the dishes are gritty What it usually means No code and no failure — this is performance, and it is usually reversible The hardness setting is the one nobody touches, and this water is not soft Both spray arms come off by hand and every jet should pass light What to do in the next ten minutes Take out both spray arms — they unclip or unscrew by hand — and hold them up to a light. Any jet you cannot see through is one that is not washing. Clear them with a pin and rinse them through. While the arms are off, lift the whole filter stack out rather than rinsing it in place, and clean the sump beneath. Check the salt and rinse aid. Then run a hot program empty with a cleaner in the basket. What this water does to a dishwasher South Florida supply is hard, and a dishwasher is the appliance in the house that notices first. Scale forms in the heater, in the jets and on the surfaces the water touches, and it does it quietly over a couple of years. The machine has a softener built in for exactly this, but it only works when the hardness setting matches the supply and the salt reservoir is not empty — and on the machines we open, one of those two is usually wrong. Why there is no code for it A dishwasher raises a message when something has failed. Nothing here has failed: the pump runs, the heater heats, the program completes. That is why a performance visit is priced below a repair and why we would rather tell you what to try first than sell one. If the four things above are all correct and the load is still poor, that is a different conversation and it is worth having. ### Should I pre-rinse? No — modern programs judge how dirty the water is and a pre-rinsed load makes them run lighter than they should. Scrape, do not rinse. ### Is a cleaning tablet worth it? Once or twice a year on this water, yes, and it is cheaper than a visit. It will not clear jets that have already closed, which is why the arms come off first. --- **[Read full article: Dishes come out dirty](https://askomiami.support/symptoms/dishwasher-not-cleaning/)**