--- title: "Dishes coming out dirty" description: "Fisher and Paykel dishes coming out dirty: a cycle that completes normally and leaves food on the plates." url: "https://fisherpaykelmiami.support/symptoms/dishwasher-not-cleaning/" date_modified: "2026-08-25" Appliance type: "Dishwashers and DishDrawers" --- # Dishes coming out dirty Symptom # Fisher & Paykel dishes coming out dirty A cycle that completes normally and leaves food on the plates. Almost always water — how much arrives, how hot it is, and whether the spray arm can move it around — rather than anything electronic. - **From $95** diagnostic, credited to the repair - **59** cities and neighborhoods covered - **OEM** parts available on order - **In writing** the price, before anything is opened ## Book a diagnostic visit Your model number and a line about what it is doing is enough to get started. Your details stay private. No spam, ever. Five ordinary causes ## What this usually turns out to be Cheapest and commonest first, which is also the order we check them in. They sit hundreds of dollars apart, and only the unit settles which one is yours. - The spray arm Blocked holes, or an arm that has loosened on its mounting so it no longer turns properly. The maker reports A6 when it comes off entirely. [ Dishwasher wash performance repair from $135 ](https://fisherpaykelmiami.support/services/dishwasher-wash-performance-repair/) ### The spray arm Blocked holes, or an arm that has loosened on its mounting so it no longer turns properly. The maker reports A6 when it comes off entirely. - The filter and filter plate A blocked filter recirculates dirty water. Clean on top and packed underneath is the version people miss. [ Dishwasher drain & filter repair from $145 ](https://fisherpaykelmiami.support/services/dishwasher-drain-and-filter-repair/) ### The filter and filter plate A blocked filter recirculates dirty water. Clean on top and packed underneath is the version people miss. - Water arriving cool A short program in cool water does not dissolve detergent or shift grease. Run the hot tap at the sink before starting a load and see whether it changes. [ Dishwasher wash performance repair from $135 ](https://fisherpaykelmiami.support/services/dishwasher-wash-performance-repair/) ### Water arriving cool A short program in cool water does not dissolve detergent or shift grease. Run the hot tap at the sink before starting a load and see whether it changes. - The heating element An element that no longer brings the wash up leaves undissolved detergent and poorly cleaned dishes together — one cause, two complaints. [ Dishwasher wash performance repair from $135 ](https://fisherpaykelmiami.support/services/dishwasher-wash-performance-repair/) ### The heating element An element that no longer brings the wash up leaves undissolved detergent and poorly cleaned dishes together — one cause, two complaints. - Hard water The maker publishes an article on cleaning performance and hard water. It changes what detergent and how much, and it is worth knowing before parts are discussed. [ Appliance maintenance visit from $135 ](https://fisherpaykelmiami.support/services/appliance-maintenance-visit/) ### Hard water The maker publishes an article on cleaning performance and hard water. It changes what detergent and how much, and it is worth knowing before parts are discussed. In five minutes ## Before you call anybody None of it needs tools, and all of it makes the visit shorter. - 01 Spin the arm Free movement, clear holes. Ten seconds and it is the commonest single finding. ### Spin the arm Free movement, clear holes. Ten seconds and it is the commonest single finding. - 02 Filter and filter plate out Both. Rinsed. Back in, seated. ### Filter and filter plate out Both. Rinsed. Back in, seated. - 03 Check what is loaded over the arm A tall pan or a board across a drawer stops the arm turning and shades everything behind it. It looks like a broken machine and it is a loading habit. ### Check what is loaded over the arm A tall pan or a board across a drawer stops the arm turning and shades everything behind it. It looks like a broken machine and it is a loading habit. - 04 Feel the dishes at the end Warm means heat arrived. Cool dishes with dirty plates points at the element or the water temperature rather than the wash. ### Feel the dishes at the end Warm means heat arrived. Cool dishes with dirty plates points at the element or the water temperature rather than the wash. - 05 Then book the visit Say whether it is one drawer or both, and whether it happened suddenly or crept up over months. ### Then book the visit Say whether it is one drawer or both, and whether it happened suddenly or crept up over months. How it shows up ## What people describe when they call - “Food left on plates after a full cycle” - “The top rack cleans and the bottom does not, or the reverse” - “It got gradually worse rather than failing suddenly” A shortcut ## Narrow it down before anybody arrives A description of the behaviour leaves a few possible causes. A code names the subsystem before anybody opens anything, which is why it is worth photographing before it clears. If the display is showing something - [ A6 The spray arm has loosened or come off ](https://fisherpaykelmiami.support/error-codes/error-code-a6-dishwasher/) Photograph it before it clears — codes do not wait. [ Search the full code list ](https://fisherpaykelmiami.support/error-codes/) In more detail ## About Fisher & Paykel dishes coming out dirty ### The fastest diagnosis is the code Spin the spray arm by hand. It should turn freely with no resistance, and every hole in it should be clear — a toothpick clears the blocked ones. Then take the filter and the filter plate out, rinse them, and put them back seated properly. Between them, those two account for most of the dishes-not-clean calls on this machine. ### A dishwasher is water, heat and detergent When dishes come out dirty, one of those three did not arrive. **Water** — is the arm turning and are its holes clear. **Heat** — did the wash reach temperature. **Detergent** — did it dissolve, and was there the right amount of it. Almost nothing else is involved, which is why this is a symptom worth ten minutes before it is worth a visit. ### The drawer part A DishDrawer has a small wash chamber and a single arm serving it. That makes it efficient and it makes it less forgiving of a tall item laid across the top: one board can shade half the drawer. It also means **too much detergent** produces foam rather than cleaner dishes, and foam cushions the spray. ### Hard water is a real subject here The maker publishes an article specifically on cleaning performance in hard water. We do not publish a hardness figure for South Florida because no single authoritative one exists — but we do see mineral inside these machines, consistently, and it changes what detergent to use before it changes any part. This article is based on: - Official manufacturer documentation - Internal repair procedures - Technician repair history - Company quality standards Before you book ## Questions about fisher & Paykel dishes coming out dirty Gradual points at build-up — the filter, the spray arm holes, or mineral in the machine. Sudden points at a part. That single distinction is worth telling us on the phone because it changes what goes on the van. Each has its own spray arm, filter and heating element, so a difference between them is real and it narrows the search to one drawer’s wash system. It is also why you keep using the working one while the other waits. No, and it can make things worse. These machines use a sensor to judge how dirty the water is, and a perfectly pre-rinsed load can be given a light wash it does not need. Scrape, do not rinse. 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