Have Kenmore Elite 665 11yrs old, bakes soap on dishes top and bottom racks. Tried powder and liquid soap,no difference.Tried water heat with no rinse dry,no difference.

Your best cleaning option would be to put a tablespoon of citric acid powder in the machine and run it on hot normal load all the way through. The citric acid dissolves much of the gunk that builds up in dishwashers without damagin any of it's components. You can get citric acid powder at your local Target or CVS (Walmart or Home Depot in Canada).

Another thing to think of... if you are using the dishwasher packets, you will have buildup in your machine as the packets are slow to dissolve fully and can cause plug-ups in certain conditions. Using the hot cycle is really the only way to use them effectively. Liquid soap is a much better alternative.

Hi, I have an older dishwasher also and recently mywife also complained about it not cleaning right... so me being the man I amtried in vain to clean the things... Bought new spray arms online and installedthem in minutes...now the thing works like new... However I have also foundthat 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 makesure it is working... Here is a tip that will help you with the onlinebuying...
Dishwasher SprayArms not Spinning

How to Buy ApplianceParts Online

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

Dishwasher Problems The HeatingElement not Working

DishwasherMaintenance DishwasherResidue and Film on Dishes

heatman101

Asker's Testimonial "explanation very clear. will give it a go and see howsimple it was. thanks Ronnie " - ronnieshomes

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

Dishwasher Maintenance

Dishwasher Residue and Film on Dishes

heatman101

Asker

Temperature should be 140F. and the units heater should energize during fill to achieve this.

the problem is hard water leaving the residue. go to www.dishwasherfilter.com and get the dishwasher filtration system. it will reduce the hard minerals that leave the residue and your dishes will be clean as can be. it is very affordable and fits right under your sink.

check the inlet strainer at the bottom of the unit - and also the nozzles on the top are for clogs/sediment.

Thanks for using FixYa - a 4 THUMBS rating is appreciated for answering your FREE question.

correct, no filters to clean, but what you are smelling is soap residues that have built up on the heating element and when it goes thru the heat dry cycle, it burns the soap causing the odors.
trying the cleaners you have may help but the cause is the residues. you need to use a d/w cleaner like d/w magic or citric acid. if you just run the unit with the waterheat option and vinegar in a bowl right side up in the top rack, it should rinse out the residues then dont use to omuch soap and only use dry powder soap. no tablets or liquids.
run hot water at the faucet first and then be sure to use the heat option. it may take a few cycles to get rid of the odor but it will go away as you get the unit cleaned out.

Possible problems:

1. Too much soap! For soft water use no more than 1 1/2 tablespoons.
Give dishes a good scrape and put them in. If you MUST prerinse dishes (and you shouldn't) drop down to about 1 TSP soap. Modern DW's use less water and soap is more concentrated.

2. Water not hot enough. Test water temp at kitchen faucet with thermometer. It should read at least 120 deg.

3. Our service guys recommend not using lipuid soap, only powder. I listen to them.

4. Broken control to soap door. If it is still closed after a cycle, ask for help from a service company.

If you are you using a liquid soap or packets that will be the main problem.If your unit fills with water circulates the water and drains the water,and also heaters are working then you probally need to change to cascade powder soap.The film on the dishes is soap.The unit has so much build up in it that when it gets to the rinse cycle it is rinsing dishes with soapy water.You need to get 2 medium bowls fill both 2/3 up with white vinager,place one in upper rack and one in lower rack and run unit on longest cycle letting the vinager splash out during wash.do this with no soap and no dishes.Having soft water will allow you to use less soap.

brittgee, there has been a number of service flashes on this model. One that has to do with the upper spray arm assy. Complaint is poor washability; gritty glasses, food redeposited on glasses, especially in the corners. They redesigned the upper spray arm to improve water spray to all corners of the upper rack. The new part number is 8269022. They also redesigned the third level spinner for more consistant rotation and better washability. This was also under a service flash. Part number.8193768. Other reasons for poor wash would be; low water temperature, rinse aid disp. not working, loading etc. Catriver...post back.