Does not clean the dishes

Lisa,
You have a common problem, the gel is not breaking down and has clogged the dishwasher. You made need to run a few loads of vinegar through the unit to start clearing the wash system. As the unit took time to clog, it may take a few loads of vinegar to clear it. Apply vinegar to water in dishwasher, run through the longest and hottest cycle possible. This may take a few cycles to complete this. Then after the unit is clean, add Glass Magic or Lemon Shine to detergent in the door on every load to prevent this from happening again. This is a additive to assist in breaking down the detergent. If vinegar is undesirable, citrus acid (pure lemon juice) can be used in the same fashion.
My employer sent me to a school for dishwashing chemistry, and this really works. You can spend a lot of money on cleaner and so called quick solutions. But in reality, you may have everything you need in you house already to solve this problem.
Good Luck, and only wash dish by hand if you truly desire.

I’m happy to help further over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/gere_bf68e6055dd61249

Recent changes in the law prevent soap makers from putting phosphates in dishwasher soap so they're not as effective as the were even a few months ago.  Unfortunately,  the solution is more thorough rinsing before loading.
http://www.appliance.net/2010/states-ban-phosphate-laden-dishwasher-soap-1988

Hi,

I have an older dishwasher also and recently my wife also complained about it not cleaning right... so me being the man I am tried in vain to clean the things... Bought new spray arms online and installed them in minutes...now the thing works like new... However I have also found that if the heating element goes bad then that also can mess things up bad... So I would buy new spray arms, and also check out the heating element to make sure it is working... Here is a tip that will help you with the online buying...

Dishwasher Spray Arms not Spinning

How to Buy Appliance Parts Online

A bad heating element causes many problems in dishwashers...

Dishwasher Problems The Heating Element not Working

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heatman101

Are you getting a white cloudy film on the dishes? Do you live in a hard water environment?

there is a filter on the inside bottom of the dishwasher check and clean it

Check your drain filter and clean them. refer user manual for location

You are not getting enough water in the machine. The inlet valve is probably plugged with sand or something of the sort. You will need to replace the inlet valve.

My GE Profile Dishwasher PDW8280N00SS wouldn't clean the dishes. I found what looked like plastic particles along with food particles in the wash arm spray holes. I found that heat had warped the gray flat filter in the bottom allowing food particles to bypass the filter, and I found that the flexible plastic sump inlet was disintegrating internally shedding plastic which clogged the filter to the pump and getting into the pump. This shouldn't happen. The material that the sump inlet is made out of is too soft and porous. I noticed other components in the wash water system made from the same white flexible rubber which is an unacceptable material. I bought replacement parts at a cost of $100 for both and this has solved the problem. What's distressing is that the replacement parts appear to be made of the same inferior plastic. And I have noticed upon closer inspection that additional interior parts appear to be heat damaged (warped). This dishwasher has been used less than 4 years and problems like these in a high end dishwasher are unacceptable.

Put some CLR on the jet sprayer and use an old tooth brush on the jets.Cleaners do no good if the jets are blocked

Many times this caused by food particles clogging the screen or blocking the jets on the spray arms. Find the screen in the bottom of your machine and clean it out. If this doesnt help, remove the spray arms and clean them out.