If your commercial dishwasher is not cleaning your dishes, there’s obviously a problem. But what do you do before deciding to throw it out? There are plenty of reasons your dishwasher might not be cleaning your dishes. Some of them may include a broken soap dispenser, a blocked spray arm, a dirty filter, or a dirty interior. All of these can be fixed in DIY style, but if you’re uncertain whether or not you are prepared to do these next few steps yourself, you can always call a professional maintenance provider. Which, by the way, we are! Touchstone Commercial Services has the best maintenance providers around, call us today to get started. The best part is if we can’t fix it, you don’t pay.
Simple tips before you start
- Make sure there aren’t any dishes in the way of the spray arm. To check this, try spinning the spray arm manually, and if it gets stopped by any silverware or tall dishes, make sure to move them out of the way. Place tall utensils on the upper rack to help so the spray arms can spin correctly.
- Do not let anything block the detergent dispenser. If something is in the way, it will not be able to open. Pizza pans and other tall dishes may cause blockage and stop your soap dispenser from opening properly.
- If your pan has long handles, this may have prevented the bottom spray arm from rotating. Make sure to place your pots and pans in a way where the handle will not fall or block the spray arm. (Knives might poke through as well, so they may need to be moved to the top rack.)
- Make sure that your dishes are not crowded and overlapping each other. If there is not enough space for water to get through, the dishes will not get clean.
How to fix a broken soap dispenser
There are plenty of things that could be wrong with your soap dispenser, but if you can’t seem to find out what is wrong, you might be missing a part and need to replace it. Here are some common problems with a soap dispenser that are easy fixes.
Check to see if the spring on your dispenser is attached to the dishwasher. If not, the door will not open as it should and won’t release the soap to clean your dishes.
If you have a sliding door dispenser you will want to follow these steps:
Step 1
Move the sliding door as far to the right as possible then pull the right side up until it’s not connected to the dispenser.
Step 2
You will want to do the same thing on the left unless the door has already been removed when you did this to the right side.
Step 3
Slide the door vertically and then pull the door off of the dispenser.
Step 4
Clean the dispenser thoroughly, removing any hard water or junk from the door and the track of the dispenser.
Put the door back on the dispenser
Step 5
Put the short side of the spring inside the door frame and the long side in the hole above the button.
Step 6
Line up the four pins with the four slots on the side and push down until it latches, and you should be done.
If you have an open-close dispenser follow these steps
Step 1
Check to see if the spring is connected to the door and dispenser.
Step 2
If it is not, push the spring around the latch connected to the dispenser frame.
If you have a twisting door soap dispenser follow these steps
Step 1
Make sure that the dishwasher dial is pointing at the “off” position. If it is not, the dispenser door will not close.
Step 2
Make sure dishes are loaded in a way that gives room for the cup to open.
Step 3
Make sure there isn’t any leftover soap in the dispenser. Otherwise, it will harden and prevent the door from opening during the cycle. If there is hardened soap in the dispenser, manually remove it and try not to use a detergent that has already hardened in the box.
Step 4
Make sure that if you are using tablets, they will not jam up the dispenser, preventing it from opening. They should fit without having to force the cup closed. You can also break up the tablets if you want them to fit correctly.
If you are still having problems with your soap dispenser, you may need to have it replaced. Call a maintenance provider to find out what is wrong.
How to fix a blocked spray arm
It is really easy to fix a blocked spray arm, but it’s also one of the main reasons that dishes don’t get cleaned the right way. If your dishes aren’t coming out of the dishwasher clean, make sure that there is nothing in the way of the spray arm if there is it will stop it from spinning and cleaning your dishes.
There might also be gunk stuck inside of the spray arm. To fix this, all you will have to do is remove the spray arm from the dishwasher and clean it out manually by inserting a thin wire cleaner through the small spaces in the arm.
How to clean a dirty filter
First off, you need to know whether or not your dishwasher has a filter or not. To do this, you will want to find the sticker that shows you the model name of the dishwasher. Look up the model name on google, and there is bound to be an owner’s manual that shows you how to clean it. If not, here is one way that should work for cleaning most dishwasher filters.
Step 1
Move the bottom rack off of your dishwasher.
Step 2
Remove the circular filter from the bottom of the dishwasher. Do this by turning it counterclockwise, and it should pull right out.
Step 3
Once you have your filter removed, you will want to remove the coarse filter, which is the plate that is loose on the bottom of the dishwasher.
Step 4
Move your hand around in the hole that used to have the filter inside and make sure there isn’t any nasty food inside.
Step 5
Scrub the filter using hot soapy water and remove as much discoloration and buildup as possible.
Step 6
Put everything back where it goes in reverse order. Place the coarse filter or plate back and then put the filter inside as well, while twisting clockwise to secure it.
How to clean a dirty interior
If your dishwasher has any type of buildup or food stuck inside, this might be the cause of your dishwasher not washing your dishes. You can fix this by scrubbing inside your dishwasher using dish soap and scrubbers. I find that a toothbrush helps as well when you want to clean out the small spaces and cracks.
I hope this helped!! If not, it may be a problem with the voltage of electricity that’s running through the dishwasher.
Make sure to call a professional maintenance man to help you with this job as it can be dangerous without the proper tools. If you need help Touchstone Commercial Services is by your side. We do our best to give you the best customer service possible in the shortest amount of time. The best part about hiring us is you don’t pay if we can’t fix it. No need to worry about losing money to an appliance that at its wits end. Call us today at 1 801-882-7694 or contact us online.
