Sure you didn't stop it to soon?

It sounds counterintuitive, but you really shouldn't be rinsing your dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. No, that doesn't mean leaving big chunks of food on them. But there's no reason to go about almost washing them before you put them in the dishwasher.

Why? Because dishwashers - and particularly dishwasher detergents - need dirty dishes to work correctly.

See here: Why You Shouldn't Pre-Wash Dishes - Dishwasher Is Better Than Handwashing

Maybe too obvious, but this happened to me twice in the villages. Everything was dirty. The cause was that the soap dispenser failed to pop open.

I have been in the villages a long time. This is my third house and ever Dishwasher was terrible. I have been living in my house for four years and a dishwasher broke down. It’s a junk they put in. So I sucked it up and bought a new dishwasher which is amazing. Never a problem for one year. I will let you know in the next two or three years.

Is your water heater in the front of the house and your dishwasher in the back? If so you’ll never get hot water at the start or during it’s cycle especially when it’s colder out. The only hot water you’ll have is what the dishwasher itself can heat up. That type of setup is a total waste of energy on both ends, heating water that doesn’t get there then the electricity to heat it again in the machine. A dishwasher needs 120* going into to perform properly. Plug the sink and run the hot water and see how much goes in the sink before you get to 120*.

Check and clean the screen at the bottom of your dishwasher. Also check the hot water temp. For a dishwasher to work properly I believe you need at least 120 deg. F water temp for the dishwasher to clean properly. Perhaps you need a new dishwasher, how old is your dishwasher????

I went on youtube to find a solution. I found video that said to run it empty on the hottest and longest setting with a cup of white vinegar. Then do the same with a cup of baking soda.

I did that.

Then I found another video that showed how to remove and clean the filters. I removed the filters and couldn't believe what I saw. I guess my previous wife would clean it out occasionally because I never did. We've owned this house for over 5-1/2 years and this is the first time they've been cleaned.

I'm hoping that was the problem.

By the way, my dishwasher has a sensing mode where it senses how dirty the dishes are and adjusts to match. It has worked extremely well for the past five years. This is the first time I noticed a problem.

That brings up another question that I have. With only two people in the house, I frequently just wash my dishes by hand. I have heard somewhere that it is actually more efficient to put everything in the dishwasher and that it will actually use less water.

Up until this last load, my dishes have always come out sparkling clean. I would never say that they were badly washed.

The other thing is that a dishwasher sanitized with hot water. When my first son was born we were told that we could put bottles and nipples etc in the dishwasher instead of using a sterilizer.

I'd lie to know how many people with one or two people in the house hand wash vs using the dishwasher. Do you always wait until the dishwasher is full or do you run it every day?

Is it more efficient to run it every day as opposed to hand washing if it is not full?

2 person household that never uses dishwasher! Have double sink - 1 side for washing and other for rinsing and drying. Never have to bend over to load/unload dishwasher! Sandwiches and snacks served on paper plates as needed. Glassware always sparkles!

Depending on the amount of dishes, pots, pans to be washed - will on the rare occasion use the dishwasher as my drying rack!