Dishwasher problem Soap stays clumped up in soap dispenser, have tried using less soap, but continues to stay clumped in dispenser.

Symptoms:
Dispenser lid is open. Caked powder at (what would be during normal operation) bottom edge of soap dispenser or caked powder fallen onto dishes or dishwasher bottom. There may be loose powder in rest of dispenser or spilled down inside door or onto dishes underneath dispenser.

Solution:
Keep the area around the soap dispenser lid clear when loading the top tray.

Explanation:
The soap dispenser needs to swing open during the wash cycle. In many dishwashers the top tray has an indentation as wide as the lid of the dispenser. This allows the top tray to be as large deep as possible while still allowing space for the dispenser lid to open. People often pack their dishwasher with things overhanging this gap.

During the wash cycle the catch will release but the overhanging cutlery or crockery prevents the lid from opening all but a few degrees. Some water will splash in but not enough to wash out the soap powder. The soap powder at the bottom of the dispenser will then cake.

When the front door is opened the spring loaded lid, which is partly open, will of course swing fully open and you'll be convinced that the lid opened normally during operation. If this is the problem then if you're very careful and open the door very slowly you can actually hear the lid flip open. Also, depending on when the lid opens, how far it opened during operation and how fast you open the door you may find soap powder spilled down to cover the dishes at the front or down the inside of the door. This happens when you first open the door and obviously there couldn't be loose powder there if the powder had emerged while there was water washing around. Seeing the lid open as you open the door is a lot harder but can be done on some machines.

I too have had this problem>It would only occur in times of no hot water, or delayed hot water operation.If your hot water heater is a long way from the washer this can happen<eventhough it doesnt seem to happen consistantly>the solution would be to try to run the hot water in the sink nearest to the washer until it gets hot,then start the dishwasher. The soap despenser is one of the first steps in the proccess,and if the hot water had not been run in a while it could take up to 3 minutes to reach adequate temp>good luck hope this helps