If your modern high-efficiency* dishwasher is anything like mine, then it is a source of constant frustration. Even with pre-washing the dishes don’t come out very clean. I think I solved the problem, here is what we do:
- wash out the filter every time a load is run
- run it with soap for a normal cycle, which takes several hours (can cancel it during the dry cycle if caught in time) (don’t use too much soap — filling the cups full is usually not necessary)
- pour a gallon of clean water into the base, then press the drain/cancel button
- repeat with another galon of clean water, then draining
- run it again but without soap on the 1-hour cycle
The extra steps are necessary to wash away all the soap. There are 2 things you are fighting**: 1) the soaps no longer have the ingredient in them that allow for easy rinsing, and 2) a typical cycle only uses 3 gallons of water, instead of the traditional 15 gallons.
*water usage efficiency, not time efficiency
**both of the changes are due to US law
