Last Updated on May 14, 2023 by Dave Farquhar
My Amana dishwasher stopped washing dishes well. If you Amana dishwasher isn’t cleaning dishes well, maybe this will help. And this advice will apply for Amana’s related brands Whirlpool, Kenmore, and Maytag.
First, a disclaimer. Every dishwasher is a little different. My Amana is the cheapest model I could find in 2018. Other dishwashers made by Whirlpool (including Whirlpool, Amana, Maytag, and Kenmore brands) will be similar, but probably not identical. I buy basic appliances because they are easy to fix yourself, and the inexpensive Amana dishwashers are no exception.
Cleaning Amana dishwasher filters
My Amana dishwasher has two filters in the bottom. Both of them had become fouled, but one was worse than the other. The cylindrical filter locks in. Turning it counterclockwise unlocks it so you can release it and lift it out. Then you can remove the other filter as well. It just lifts out.
While you’re in there, make sure there’s nothing stuck in the drain. It’s pretty small, but sometimes bits of plastic or tea bags end up where they shouldn’t.
Back to the filters. These become fouled with grease and water deposits over time. Mine was completely fouled with grease. I didn’t take a photo, because nobody wants to look at that. You can just take my word for it.
The flat plastic filter lifts out. Rinsing it in the sink with a sprayer was enough to clean it up.
The cylinder needed more work. I squirted some dish detergent into it, sprayed a little water on it, and let it sit for a few minutes. Then I scrubbed it gently. It needed a couple of rounds of scrubbing and rinsing to dissolve the grease and clear it. If dish detergent won’t clear it, soak it in some vinegar or CLR to remove the mineral deposits.
Cleaning these filters allows the dishwasher to drain better, and also increases water flow. Increased water flow helps the dishwasher to do a better job of cleaning dishes well.
Preventative maintenance if your Amana dishwasher isn’t cleaning dishes well
Taking filters out and cleaning them periodically is good preventative maintenance. How often? More than once every two years, if you’re me. But it really depends how much you use it. We typically do a couple of loads a day. There’s one other thing you can do to keep your Amana dishwasher cleaning dishes well.
To give yourself more time, pour some vinegar into the rinse agent reservoir. The vinegar will help slow down buildup from both grease and mineral deposits and will probably help get the dishes cleaner too. You don’t have to use it every time you run a load of dishes, but it helps if you remember to use it a few times a week. The reservoir is intended for commercial rinse agents, but the active ingredient in those is vinegar, so you can just use vinegar instead and save some money.
The design on this Amana may cause trouble washing dishes but it also prevents a bigger problem. If the grease is collecting on the filter, it’s not collecting in my pipes and clogging them up. I’d rather take out the filter and degrease it every 6-12 months than deal with a clog in my pipes.
So if your Amana dishwasher isn’t cleaning dishes well, try cleaning the filter. Chances are you’ll find after you do that, it will start working like it did when it was new.
David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in 1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St. Louis with his family.
Thank you, especially for the hint about vinegar and final rinses.