This has happened to me. You can either go to the grocery store and buy a product made by Jet Dry called Dishwasher Cleaner it is with the dishwasher powders and liquids. Or you may also use Tang, Kool-Aid, etc. these contain citric acid and they clean the dishwasher also. Whatever you do do not use CLR cleaner...it will ruin the dishwasher. You must have hard water or lime or calcium build up and that is why the machine is messing up. Good luck.

hi,
okay, both of these answers have got me thinking. Yes, we do have very hard water. The remaining soap is always gooey. I'm not sure what you mean asolo about the sprayer. What is the connection between that and the little soap compartment? How does the sprayer affect the soap coming out or not coming out of that little compartment (forgive my ignorance...).
Many thanks,
Lynn

We had a similar problem with our new Bosch DW. DW would run for what seemed like hours but the dishes were not coming out clean. It turned out that (after 3 repair visits) the temperature sensor wasn't working properly and the water wasn't getting hot enough. DW is working fine now. We were also advised to not use the tablet/packet-type dishwasher soap. apparently it doesn't dissolve as well as either powder or gel.

Some of the dry powder pours out on its own when the dispenser opens. The balance is flushed out by the spraying water in the machine -- assuming there is sufficient water in the machine and assuming the spray arms are operating properly.

If the remainder was dry, I would immediately assume insufficient water. Since it's gooey, there's obviously some water/humidity getting to it but not enough to flush it out. I suspect the compartment is being blocked from receiving spray. Usual culprits are dishes loaded so it's blocked, insufficient water, or blocked/obstructed spray arm. It isn't the hard water.

You may also want to check that the soap dispenser is completely dry before adding the detergent.

Okay, very interesting... I ran a load this morning, making absolutely certain first that the spray arm was not impaired by anything.... AND all the soap is gone. So perhaps this was the culprit all along. Thanks asolo for the hint here. I'll keep being diligent with this, and if it works every time, I guess that was the culprit!
Lynn

FWIW....I once had a doofus family friend who, although very helpful and conscientious, seems to have had no clue and also seemed to be uneducable (if that's a word) about such things. As often as not, he heaped the dishes in the DW any old way they'd possibly fit with the result that, very frequently, they didn't get clean and/or the spray to the dispenser was blocked resulting in incomplete dispensing such as you have experienced. He frequently left protruding items that prevented the spray arms from even rotating. He also over-stuffed the clothes washer so it didn't work right. Ongoing contest at my house and at his own.

I hope you may have solved your own problem. If not, shall I send my friend to help?

Please don't -I have enough problems with my "helpful" husband!!!!