Detergent lid opens, but undissolved detergent streaks down door and dishes aren't clean.

Purchase a dishwasher cleaner tablet(s)
You may need to remove and back flush the spray arms
Ensure there is nothing blocking the water intake in the bottom
Your issues seems to be low water flow. These are the simple and inexpensive solutions try the first.

Hi,
There are three common problems that cause the Soap Dispenser or Cup not toopen. I have a tip that will explain these problems in detail....

Dishwasher Repair Problem Detergent Cup does not Open

heatman101

Instructions Things You'll Need:

• Vinegar or lemon juice
• Gel dishwasher detergent

1. dishwashers have a rinse aid dispenser. If your dishwasher has this dispenser, fill it up periodically and it will release the appropriate amount of rinse aid automatically at the right time during the wash cycle. This will help your dishes rinse more cleanly.
2. Rinse aid in solid form
   Some older dishwashers or basic models do not have an automatic rinse aid dispenser. In this case, you can buy rinse aid in solid form that attaches to your dishwasher rack. Solid rinse aid can be hard to find in stores because it is not commonly used, but it can be purchased online.
   
3. Vinegar or lemon juice
   Appliance repairmen will tell you that one of the common problems they see with dishwashers is the buildup of excess detergent. If there is too much detergent in your dishwasher, your dishes will not rinse cleanly, no matter how good the dishwasher is or how much rinse aid you use. To clean the excess detergent that has built up inside your dishwasher, put 3 tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice (concentrate is fine) in the empty dishwasher and run the dishwasher through a complete cycle with no dishes. Do this twice, for two complete cycles of the empty dishwasher with only vinegar or lemon juice added. The acid in the vinegar or lemon juice will break up the detergent that has built up in your dishwasher's interior.
   
   After you have cleaned the detergent buildup from the inside of your dishwasher, follow the steps below to keep the buildup from happening again and to help your dishes rinse cleanly and prevent residue from accumulating on the dishes.
   
4. Gel dishwasher detergent
   Switch to a liquid or gel dishwasher detergent. Any brand will do.
   
5. Fill one compartment half full Dishwashers will effectively clean dishes with much less detergent than manufacturers often recommend. The bleach in the detergent, combined with the extremely hot water used in the dishwasher wash cycle, will clean and sanitize your dishes completely, even in small amounts, and using less detergent helps prevent buildup and residue from accumulating on your clean dishes.
   
   Fill only one detergent compartment(the one that snaps closed) half full with gel detergent. Snap the opening closed and run your dishwasher as you normally would. Your dishes will come out sparkling clean with no buildup or residue, plus you'll save money by using less detergent!
   

We have the same problem, so I took the door of the dishwasher apart and cleaned it up, reassembled it, and it latched for about a week. Something is worn somewhere, and it's going to be a pain to figure out and replace, so we just bought some powdered dishwasher detergent, and fill the cup and close the door. The water spray will dissolve any that falls out when you close the door, and it does just fine, doesn't leave any residue or undissolved detergent on the dishes, at least with our dishwasher, hope you have the same luck.. If you choose to get it fixed, get an estimate first. Sometimes it's better to just replace, depending on the cost of repair. Hope this helps, good luck.

Run it a few times with a soap tablet in the cutlery basket. The door is just sticking and doing this normally cleans them up.

Hello cljjtm,
You will need to clean the wash arm and unclog the spray holes.. use white vinegar to break down the soap deposit and a sharp metal tool such as an awl to free these holes up from any build up.. white vinegar may be applied while unclogging the openings..
Then, once the spray arm holes are freed of deposits..Start with an empty dishwasher.. and then start a wash on the hottest available setting and then after a few minutes of it cycling.. pause it and add a cup or two of white vinegar to the wash ( the white vinegar should break down any soap residue and allow it to be rinsed away)..once complete.. use about 1/3 less detergent than you have been. See if that gets your DW back in working order.. Hope that helps..
Regards,
Rick

check water temperture its not hot enough..onthejob

Try a different detergent such as the electrosol tablets. Also might add vinegar to an empty cycle to clean dishwasher, or with dishes.

Well the 2nd part of your question is probably the the reason it doesn't clean. If the soap door doesn't open then the dishes will probably not be cleaned. So.. I would focus on why the door doesn't open first.. is it sticking from old soap residue? If so, clean the dispenser with white vinegar and cycle it a few times without detergent and use the hottest/sanitary setting.. Then make sure you are using an approved dishwashing detergent for yuour wash cycle. Add some detergent to the dispenser and try cycling it without any dishes .. does the door open? If no, then you need to resolve that first.. If it does open, try running a cycle with about 1/2 the normal dish load and see if the door opened and the dishes came out clean.. Routinely, check and clean the drain filter so you aren't redistributing the food sediment from the previous load all over the next load of dishes.. Hope that helps..

I have the same dishwasher and kept having soap still in the dispenser at the end of the wash. Someone mentioned this, but what was happening is that the soap dispenser lid was blocked from fully opening by the top rack. You also typically have large pans in this area, so the water spray is blocked from getting under the half open lid well. I started opening the dishwasher after I heard the dispenser latch release, so the lid could fully open. After that, I had no problem with soap still in the dispenser. I started setting a timer to open and shut the dishwasher door about 20 minutes into the wash process (after the latch had released for the 2nd wash cycle), so the soap dispenser lid would be fully open. This was a pain, but it worked. The other thing to be careful of with this dishwasher is to ensure you have pushed the top rack in tight before closing the door. Look at the water connection for the top "spinner" and you will see how the plastic pipe fits up to the supply. If you don't have the rack pushed in tight, you get leakage around the connection and don't get good water spray from the top spinner arms. This can definitely affect the quality of the wash. You mentioned the dispenser lid is open when the cycle is complete, but that is because once you open the door it can fully open.