i watched a cycle closely just now....it definitely is running in clean
water and pumping out the dirty between cycles (prewash, wash then rinse).
On the second last cycle I hear the detergent door trip open and it releases
the detergent and uses it all successfully.

I'll revise my issue - as I just ran a normal cycle. it seems that the
dishes are getting clean as you might expect - considering that sometimes I
might overload the unit - i'm coming to realize that you can't just jam a
pile of dishes in every possible open slot and expect good results

it seems that my rinse-aid resevoir was completely empty...i thought I had
put a good amount in there, but realized tonite that it must come right to
the top....and I had not filled it that high.

the unit is reasonably quiet, decent looking and does not leak or anything.
I'm betting that my spray bars are probably plugged as its pretty gunky
inside....

thanks for the good pointers....its a bunch of things to look at. Someone
mentioned filters and such....where would I find those to clean??

b
"Alan" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 09 Jan 2005 15:06:33 GMT, "Hamilton Audio"
wrote:

I've got a kenmore dishwasher that came with our house. I estimate it to
be
under 10 years old....its a reasonably modern piece.

the machine seems to cycle properly, and does all the things it usually
does. however i've noticed a decline in clean quality. glasses come out
spotty and mucked up....sometimes certain dishes dont' get clean at all.

i've been using cascade with pure-rinse powdered detergent with Jet Dry
brand rinse product ever since we moved here....no changes in soap or
anything...

is there something simple to look at? its almost as if the jet dry isn't
being released....is there a way for the mechanism that releases the rinse
aid to get clogged? anything else to look at that would be an easy fix?

Another possibility is a plugged drain hose. Lack of rinse aid might
leave the dishes spotty, but wouldn't affect the cleaning ability.
I presume the detergent dispenser always opens?