GE Dishwasher...Help!

Check the food trap. You may have to google it to find out where it is on your model. We own a rent house and when the dishwasher was doing that over there, there was fat in the food trap. It melted when the water got hot and then sprayed the junk all over the dishes and stuck when it cooled. That model required a bit of disassembly. Our dishwasher has a food trap that's really easy to get to. Last week when my dishes felt like they had sand stuck to them, I found pasta in the food trap.

I have the exact same dishwasher with the exact same problem. We also have the GE Quietpower 3 since Fall 2008 and I started having residue on my dishes late 2010 after all detergents became phosphate-free. I purchased a product called Lemi Shine at Walmart (it's in the dishwasher detergent section), ran a couple loads empty and with Lemi Shine in the prewash and regular detergent slots. After that I used Lemi Shine in the prewash slot and 1/2 powdered detergent 1/2 Lemi Shine in the regular detergent slot with every full load of dishes. I have been doing this for about a year now and I have clean dishes and no residue. It's worth a try. Best wishes.

Many repair places will consult, for free, with you on the phone. I'd call and ask for advice. You don't have to have them come out.

Ditto the food trap/strainer suggestions. Do you still have your manual? If not, you can probably get a copy online. Look inside that manual at the "troubleshooting" section, and also at the "cleaning your machine" section. See what pops out at you and give it a shot.

We have really hard water, and I have to remove my bottom rack, remove the bottom spray arm, and unscrew the strainer devices to clean it out thoroughly. Then, rinse out the sprayer arms also. (this usually involves some vinegar to dissolve the mineral deposits). After I get that all done (an hour or so?) I put it all back together (it isn't complicated at all---I just follow the manual) and run one of those "clean your dishwasher" things in it.
(I don't have a GE though, I have a Bosch).

Good luck.

http://www.applianceblog.com/mainforums/ge-hotpoint/23780...

99x out of 100 it's the food trap. You have to clean it out by hand/ degunk it... and if that doesn't work... spend the $50 on a repair guy to clean the lines and sprayer holes.