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a1an

What makes DW powder not come out of the door

a1an
9 years ago

It happens occassionally - container is nice and dry when I pour powder, etc. I 1st thought maybe the brand of powder I was using was too fine -- not as granular as other brands...

Just tried a new one today. Oxi.
Opened the door after a cycle and found clumped up DW powder in the DW.

Comments (9)

  • Cavimum
    9 years ago

    Maybe the door is opening too late in the cycle.

  • dadoes
    9 years ago

    Maybe the door is opening too late in the cycle. That shouldn't be the case unless something is jammed/jamming on the dispenser. The detergent should dispense and be dissolved as long as the dispenser opens at some point during the wash period. There's one or two rinses that follow the wash even if the dispenser was to delay until several minutes into the main wash period.

    ChefWong ... is residual detergent left clumped in the dispenser cup? A common cause is loading large items such as casserole dishes, baking pans, or cookie sheets in such a way that water spray to the dispenser is obstructed. Or clogged holes at ends of the spray arms. Check both the upper and lower arms ... the upper arm may be involved in flushing the detergent depending on where on the door the dispenser cup is located.

  • fillmoe
    9 years ago

    You say "container" is dry. Do you mean the detergent box or the dispenser? The instructions that came with my dishwasher say that clumping can be caused by the dispenser container being damp. I've corrected this problem by drying out the container with a paper towel if I see water in the cup.

  • a1an
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I'm going to pay more closer attention when it happens the next time and see how I have it loaded.

    Dispenser/detergent box. The door is *opened*, just to discover that there is powder clumped in it. Or in this case, maybe by the JARRING of me opening the door, but there was clump in the dispenser and then a clump of powder right on the dishes/etc right below where the dispenser is.

    My dispenser container is always *dry* when I use it. After a wash, the door is automatically opened....so in between the next time it gets used, it not after the drying phase, it's dry anyhow.

  • jwvideo
    9 years ago

    Like dadoes said, check those spray arms for plugged holes.

  • a2gemini
    9 years ago

    Too much detergent in the dispenser will cause this problem

  • dadoes
    9 years ago

    Is the detergent perhaps old or suspect of exposure to moisture during storage? Fill your kitchen sink with a gallon of hot water, add your usual dose of detergent and stir with a spoon to check whether it dissolves reasonably.

  • speaktodeek
    9 years ago

    I had this problem. I found that I had over loaded the top rack into the corner, such that the spray from the top spray arm was blocked by the dish that was loaded into the rack corner. Normally the spray from the top spray arm hits the soap ccubby, rinsing down the soap to the bottom of the dishwasher, where it is mixed into the water and then sprayed out again through the pump onto the dishes. When a bowl loaded too close to the corner/edge blocked the spray getting to to the soap cubby, the soap got just wet enough to clump and stick in the cubby. When I made sure to leave the last 3 inches of that corner of rack not covered by a dish, then the spray got to the soap cubby, rinsing it down. Problem solved. I just have to not load that little corner of my top rack.

  • moebus
    9 years ago

    I had this problem on a Whirlpool unit. Turned out that if you put long items in the cutlery bin, they physically stopped the door from opening fully. This allows enough moisture to clump the soap but not enough to wash it out of the cup.