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Using a rinse aid in your Amana dishwasher is crucial to ensure your dishes come out dry and spotless. But if that doesn’t happen even after filling the dispenser, it isn’t using any of its rinse aid.
Your Amana dishwasher isn’t using the rinse aid because there’s a detergent buildup clogging the dispenser. A broken dispenser lid or cap will let the rinse aid leak out, emptying the dispenser by the time you need it for the wash cycle. The dispenser can also have a broken spring, hinge, or trigger that prevents it from opening, or the main control board might have failed entirely.
This guide will help you understand why your Amana dishwasher isn’t using its rinse aid and how to fix it immediately.
Why Is My Amana Dishwasher Not Using Rinse Aid?
There are only a few reasons your Amana dishwasher might fail to use its rinse aid. Thankfully, you can troubleshoot and resolve these issues without necessarily calling for a technician to help.
Here are 4 of those issues and the steps you can use to fix them:
Detergent Buildup
About this: The dispenser in your Amana dishwasher is attached to its door, inside the dishwashing compartment. That placement is necessary to release detergent and rinse aid directly into the compartment during a washing cycle.
Being on the inside also means that the dispenser is exposed to the splashing water, grease, food bits, and everything else that flies around inside the dishwasher during a cycle.
What’s wrong: Unfortunately, being exposed to all the water splashing inside the dishwasher also means that the dispenser can develop buildups.
More specifically, the detergent you use for every wash cycle can build up around the dispenser door and any openings, causing clogs that prevent it from working correctly.
As a result, the dispenser will fail to use rinse aid normally even though it’s trying to do so mid-cycle.
How to fix it: Firstly, open your dishwasher door and inspect the dispenser closely. You’ll be able to see if a detergent buildup is clogging its outlets or preventing its door from opening.
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You must clean any detergent buildup in or around the dispenser. Firstly, wipe away as much of it as possible using a cloth. Then, you can also spray water directly at the detergent to dilute and wash it away.
Read: Why Amana Dishwasher Not Draining?
Dispenser Cap or Lid Damaged
About this: The dispenser design in your Amana dishwasher will differ between models. Despite that, you’ll find that it has a lid and a cap that you must open to fill with rinse aid.
That cap or lid is designed to keep the rinse aid inside the dispenser throughout the wash cycle. It’ll open to release rinse aid into the wash, but only at the right moments.
What’s wrong: Your dishwasher isn’t using the rinse aid you’ve poured in because of a leak. When the dispenser cap or lid is damaged, the rinse aid will leak out as soon as you shut the dishwasher’s door.
Then, when the time comes for the dishwasher to use rinse aid, there will be none left in the dispenser.
You’ll know this is the case when your rinse aid dispenser is empty after a while, even though your dishes come out wet and covered in water.
How to fix it: When facing this issue, the only solution is to replace the damaged cap or lid. Thankfully, you can get replacements directly from Amana.
Double-check that the replacement you’re ordering is compatible with your dishwasher model. The cap or lid you’re replacing is not universal, so they’re not all the same.
Read: Why LG Dishwasher Not Cleaning Dishes?
Broken Dispenser Spring, Hinge, or Trigger
About this: It should be clear that the dispenser in your Amana dishwasher stores rinse aid so it can be released only at the right time.
Because of that, the dispenser relies on several components like triggers, springs, and hinges. When the dishwasher knows it’s time to use its rinse aid, it’ll send electrical signals to the dispenser.
That will start a chain reaction, where those components will work together to open the dispenser so rinse aid can flow out.
What’s wrong: Unfortunately, a failure at any of the components mentioned above will prevent the dispenser from releasing the rinse aid inside.
For example, despite everything else in your dishwasher working correctly, a broken dispenser spring or hinge will prevent it from opening to release the rinse aid.
As a result, the dispenser remains closed until the end of the cycle, and the rinse aid never gets used.
How to fix it: Firstly, you must inspect the dispenser thoroughly to know which components are broken. Then, you can try to purchase a replacement spring, hinge, or trigger online or through local spare parts suppliers.
However, a more straightforward solution is to replace the dispenser entirely. It’s often easier to buy a new dispenser rather than sourcing its individual components.
Read: Why LG Dishwasher Smells Bad And How To Fix It?
Failed Circuit Board
About this: All functions in an Amana dishwasher are controlled by a circuit board known as the ‘main control board’. The settings you input at the control panel will be sent to the control board.
Then, the board will coordinate the wash cycle according to your settings.
That same board also controls the dispenser. When the rinse stage begins, the board will signal the dispenser to open and release its contents.
What’s wrong: As you can imagine, the main control board determines how your Amana dishwasher behaves. When it’s in excellent working condition, it’ll make your Amana perform well to give you clean dishes.
Unfortunately, a failure in the circuit board will cause your dishwasher to behave wrongly instead. In this case, the board will prevent the dispenser from using rinse aid during the wash cycle.
How to fix it: It’s not practical to repair a failed circuit board, no matter your dishwasher model. So instead, the only solution is to dispose of the existing board and install a new one.
That can be pretty pricey to do, so you must be sure that the control board is the root cause of your problem. Check the board closely to look for burn marks or other signs of damage.
Once you’re sure it’s the cause, replace it as soon as possible to minimize your dishwasher’s downtime.
Again, be sure to order an Amana control board compatible with your dishwasher model.
Read: How To Unlock Locked GE Profile Dishwasher Control Panel?
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are a few more questions and answers to help you with your Amana dishwasher and its rinse aid usage.
Where Do I Put The Rinse Aid In My Amana Dishwasher?
You’ll have to pour rinse aid into your Amana dishwasher’s dispenser. That dispenser is on the inside of the appliance’s door. Be sure to open the cap or lid and fill the dispenser to the level marked at the opening.
Is Rinse Aid Just Vinegar?
No, rinse aid is not the same as vinegar. Instead, it consists of ingredients like ethanol, citric acid, and others. Together, they reduce the surface tension of water to make your dishes easier to wash and dry in your Amana dishwasher.
Read: Why LG Dishwasher Beeping When Door Is Open?
Do You Add Rinse Aid Every Time?
You only need to add the rinse aid to the dispenser when its levels run low. The dispenser in your Amana dishwasher will release a little rinse aid in each wash cycle. So you don’t have to refill it each time.
Can You Overfill The Rinse Aid?
Yes, it’s possible to overfill the rinse aid in your Amana dishwasher. So, before you start pouring, take note of the fill levels marked at the dispenser. Then, be sure not to fill beyond that point.
How Does Rinse Aid Get Released?
Your Amana dishwasher will open its dispenser at the right stage of a wash cycle to release the rinse aid. That will happen during the rinse stages of that cycle.
