Dishes Still Dirty After a Wash? We Work Out Why in Leamington Spa
We check spray arms, filter, water temperature, detergent dosing and loading to find whether the cause is mechanical, plumbing or simply how the machine is used.
Booking fee plus hourly labour — the price is confirmed before any work starts.
What this costs
| Booked 14+ days ahead | £25 booking fee £85 per hour |
|---|---|
| Booked within 48 hours | £100 booking fee £65 per hour |
| Same-day call-out | £220 booking fee £45 per hour |
The booking fee secures the visit. Labour is then charged by the hour, so you only pay for the time the job actually takes.
Booking fee £25–£220
£25 + £85/hr booked 14+ days ahead, £100 + £65/hr inside 48 hours, £220 + £45/hr same day. Agreed before we arrive.
Covered under Dishwasher
Home Appliances › Dishwasher — one of 24 documented jobs in this section.
Same-day dishwasher not cleaning properly
Urgent jobs can often be booked for today. Ask when you book and we will confirm the slot before you pay anything.
15 service areas
Birmingham, Coventry, Dorridge and 12 more across the West Midlands.
Poor wash results are a broad complaint covering several different symptoms, and they do not all have the same cause. Gritty residue, a white film, food left in the corners of plates and a greasy coating each point somewhere different. Describing the symptom precisely is the fastest route to the cause.
Match the symptom to the cause
- Gritty residue or food particles: filter loading, blocked spray arm jets, or debris recirculating.
- White chalky film: hard water scale, too little salt, or a failed water softener unit where fitted.
- Greasy coating: wash water not hot enough, or fat from a previous load recirculating.
- Cloudy glasses: etching from repeated over-soft water or from very hot drying, which is permanent and not a fault.
- Clean tops, dirty bottoms: spray arm obstruction or poor loading that shields the lower rack.
- One side clean, other side dirty: a spray arm not rotating, or a blocked jet pattern.
The mechanical checks
We start with the filter and sump, since a loaded filter recirculates dirty water over everything. Then the spray arms: remove them where the model allows, check the jets against a light, and confirm the arms spin freely on their bushes. A jet blocked with a piece of glass or a lemon pip changes the spray pattern across a whole section of the rack.
Water temperature comes next. If the machine is not heating, the detergent does not activate properly and fat is not shifted, which reads as poor cleaning rather than a heating fault. We measure the wash temperature rather than assuming.
The water softener, where fitted, needs salt and a correctly set hardness level. If the salt reservoir is empty or the cap is not sealing, scale builds on the heater and the elements of the wash system.
The non-mechanical factors
It is worth being honest about these because they are common and they cost nothing:
- Loading. Plates touching, bowls facing up, and cutlery nested together all block water.
- Detergent. Tablets in the wrong compartment, or a short eco cycle that never reaches the temperature a tablet needs.
- Rinse aid. Missing or set too low, which causes spotting and filming.
- Pre-rinsing. Excessive rinsing leaves nothing for the detergent to work on and can make the machine sense a cleaner load than it is.
Where repair is needed
If the wash temperature is low, the heater or its thermostat is the suspect. If the spray arms do not rotate, the wash pump or the diverter is. If the machine fills but the water level is too low, the fill is under-delivering. Each of those is a repair with a part, and we quote it after the measurement, not before.
Safety and limits
We do not descale a machine with aggressive chemicals inside the wash system, and we do not advise using vinegar or bleach solutions in the tub, which attack seals and rubber. Any work on the heater or pump requires power and water isolation, and only where that is safe. If the machine smells of burning or trips the electrics, stop using it.
Aftercare
After a repair we run a cycle with a light soil load and check the results rather than just the machine's completion. Clean the filter monthly and the spray arms every few months. If you live in a hard water area, keep the salt topped up and consider the water hardness setting, which is often left at the factory default.
Booking
Tell us exactly what the bad result looks like, which rack is affected, and what detergent and salt you use. Book online, with the booking fee paid at the time of booking; the hourly labour rate depends on how soon you need the visit, and the full cost is quoted and approved by you before work starts.
How the price works
We charge a booking fee to hold your slot, then an hourly rate for the work itself. The fee changes with how soon you need us; the hourly rate changes with the slot you choose. You approve the price before we start, so there is no surprise on the invoice.
Booked 14+ days ahead
£25 booking fee
then £85 per hour of labour
Best value. Book the slot now, pay the smallest booking fee.
Booked within 48 hours
£100 booking fee
then £65 per hour of labour
For jobs that can wait a day or two but not a fortnight.
Same-day call-out
£220 booking fee
then £45 per hour of labour
Urgent problems: standing water, no heat, no power, leaks.
Book the slot
Choose the window that suits you and pay the booking fee. That holds your place in the diary.
We diagnose on site
The engineer confirms the cause and tells you what the job involves and how long it should take.
You approve, we work
Nothing goes ahead until you agree the price. Labour is then charged per hour at your slot rate.
A dishwasher that leaves gritty plates, cloudy glasses or a film on cutlery is not necessarily broken, and it is worth saying that at the start. Some of these outcomes come from loading, detergent or water hardness rather than a failed component. The visit is about finding which, and being straight with you if the answer is not a repair.
What our customers say about this job
5 out of 5 from 1 reviews
Worth the booking fee
I had put off sorting this for months because I expected a runaround. Quoted the booking fee plus hourly rate upfront, stuck to it, and actually found the underlying cause rather than just clearing the symptom. Worked neatly and hoovered up afterwards.
Job: Dishwasher Not Cleaning Properly
Book Dishwasher Not Cleaning Properly
Tell us what is happening and choose a slot. If you are not sure this is the right job, use the diagnosis panel — it narrows the problem down before you book.
- Booking fee confirmed up front
- Hourly labour, agreed before work starts
- Same-day slots for urgent problems
Questions people ask about dishwasher not cleaning properly
Straight answers to the things customers ask most often before booking.
Could it be my detergent rather than the machine?
It can be. Tablets designed for long hot cycles perform poorly on short eco programmes, and missing rinse aid causes filming. We check the simple factors before quoting any repair, and we will say if the machine is fine.
What will you test?
The filter and sump, spray arm rotation and jet condition, the actual wash temperature, the water level during fill, and the salt and rinse aid settings. Those cover most mechanical causes of poor cleaning.
My glasses have gone cloudy. Can that be fixed?
Cloudiness from etching is permanent damage to the glass, usually from repeated over-soft water or very hot drying, and no repair brings it back. Reducing the temperature and checking the water hardness setting prevents it happening to more glasses.
Is descaling with vinegar a good idea?
We would not recommend it inside the machine. Acidic solutions attack seals and rubber components. Use a proprietary dishwasher cleaner on a hot cycle and keep the salt topped up instead.
How much will the visit be?
The booking fee is paid at booking. The hourly labour rate depends on how soon you need the visit. The full cost is quoted before work starts and you approve it; any parts, such as a heater or spray arm, are identified and quoted separately.
Need dishwasher not cleaning properly sorted in Leamington Spa?
Book a slot in the diary and pay only the booking fee up front. We confirm the rest before we start.