I admit, I only use my Whirlpool dishwasher about once every 12 days
because I live alone and large things, like pots, are too frequently
needed, so I do those by hand. (Besides, the washer doesn't clean deep
objects well.) I also never put dishes in that are visibly dirty from,
say, 15 feet away. Yesterday, I heard a steady noise (the washer is
almost full, so I was going to run it today) and I saw dirty water
spreading over the bottom. It was there this morning as well. Last I
checked, the garbage disposal was draining properly. I'm tempted
simply to run the dishwasher and see what happens. (Oddly, all my
manual says about this is "is the cycle done?")

Would this be a foolish risk?

Lenona.