--- title: "Dishwasher not cleaning" description: "Kenmore dishwasher not cleaning — on South Florida water a good share of these are chemistry and temperature rather than a failed component." url: "https://kenmoremiami.support/symptoms/dishwasher-not-cleaning/" date_modified: "2026-09-01" Appliance type: "Dishwashers" --- # Kenmore dishwasher not cleaning ### Two free tests that separate the cases Run the kitchen tap hot until it is genuinely hot, then start the machine — that removes cold water in the supply line as a variable. And spin each spray arm by hand: it should turn freely, and every jet should be clear. Between them those two account for a large share of poor results with nothing broken. ### What it usually means, by the company that built it Kenmore manufactures nothing, so the same behavior points at different things depending on who made the appliance. The three digits before the period on the rating plate are what tells them apart. - **665 Whirlpool** — Whirlpool publishes codes for the heating system and for excessive suds, and a diverter code that shows up as one rack cleaning and the other not. - **587 Frigidaire** — i40 for a clogged filter or sump, which is the grit story exactly. Frigidaire also shows Hd while it waits for water to reach temperature. - **630 Bosch** — These wash at lower temperatures over longer cycles by design. A cycle that seems long is not evidence of a problem on one of these. ### Hard water changes the answer South Florida water leaves mineral on everything it dries on, and inside a dishwasher that means a hazed glass, a scaled heating element and jets that narrow over years. Some of that is a repair and some of it is a habit. We would rather tell you which is which than replace a pump that was working. ### Loading is not a lecture, it is a variable A large plate laid across the lower rack blocks the arm below it and half the load comes out untouched. It is worth ruling out before anything else, because it is free, and because a machine that cleans perfectly with a different load has told us it is not broken. Water arriving too cool A machine fed lukewarm water cannot clean, and it does not tell you that. The filter has not been cleaned Grit on the dishes is nearly always this. It is a five-minute job. A blocked spray arm Especially the upper one. On this water the jets scale closed. Detergent and rinse aid Film is chemistry. On hard water a rinse aid does more than people expect and the dose usually needs to be higher than the default. The heater or the wash pump Where the machine genuinely is not doing its job. A scaled heater is a local failure mode. The diverter One rack clean and the other not is the signature. Grit or film Grit is mechanical. Film is chemical. They almost never have the same answer. Is it one rack or both One rack points at a spray arm or the diverter. Both points at water, heat or the pump. Clean the filter and run it again The cheapest diagnostic there is. Check the rinse aid reservoir Empty is common, and on this water it shows quickly. A full cycle later and the load comes out dirty What it usually means Grit and film are two different problems Water temperature is measured, not assumed Hard water is a real factor here Two free tests that separate the cases Run the kitchen tap hot until it is genuinely hot, then start the machine — that removes cold water in the supply line as a variable. And spin each spray arm by hand: it should turn freely, and every jet should be clear. Between them those two account for a large share of poor results with nothing broken. What it usually means, by the company that built it Kenmore manufactures nothing, so the same behavior points at different things depending on who made the appliance. The three digits before the period on the rating plate are what tells them apart. 665 Whirlpool — Whirlpool publishes codes for the heating system and for excessive suds, and a diverter code that shows up as one rack cleaning and the other not. 587 Frigidaire — i40 for a clogged filter or sump, which is the grit story exactly. Frigidaire also shows Hd while it waits for water to reach temperature. 630 Bosch — These wash at lower temperatures over longer cycles by design. A cycle that seems long is not evidence of a problem on one of these. Hard water changes the answer South Florida water leaves mineral on everything it dries on, and inside a dishwasher that means a hazed glass, a scaled heating element and jets that narrow over years. Some of that is a repair and some of it is a habit. We would rather tell you which is which than replace a pump that was working. Loading is not a lecture, it is a variable A large plate laid across the lower rack blocks the arm below it and half the load comes out untouched. It is worth ruling out before anything else, because it is free, and because a machine that cleans perfectly with a different load has told us it is not broken. ### Everything comes out with a white film. That is hard water and detergent rather than the machine. Rinse aid, and a higher dose than the default here. ### The top rack is clean and the bottom is not. That points at the lower spray arm or at the diverter, and both are real findings rather than loading advice. --- **[Read full article: Dishwasher not cleaning](https://kenmoremiami.support/symptoms/dishwasher-not-cleaning/)**