Some GE dishwashers are fitted with smart dispense technology that tests the hardness of the water to dispense just the right amount of dish detergent. The dishwasher also allows you to select the soil level of the dishes to also dispense just the right amount of detergent. Diagnose your dishwasher to assess why the dispenser might not be working.
Dispenser Is Blocked
The smart dispense will stop working when it gets blocked. Many things can cause this, including using the wrong type of detergent or using bleach in the dispenser. Bleach will cause the detergent residue to congeal and block the smart dispenser, while powdered detergent will cake up and clog it as well. Don't use bleach in the dispenser and only use liquid or gel dish detergent.
Dispenser Is Empty
The dispenser can only hold 45 ounces of detergent at a time. After a while -- depending on how hard your water is, how often you run the dishes and how soiled those dishes are -- the dispenser will run out of detergent. When this happens, a red light on the control panel will indicate the detergent is low. The light will turn off when you refill the dispenser. If you don't use the dispenser and want to turn off the light, press the added heat button five times within three seconds and the light will automatically turn off. Repeat the process to turn the light back on.
Dispenser Isn't Calibrated
Improperly calibrating the smart dispenser allows it to continue using the factory settings even if those don't apply to your water hardness. All dishwashers are set for very hard water, which causes the machine to use more detergent than soft water would use. Thus, if you have soft water, calibrate the machine so you aren't wasting dish detergent.
You've Switched Detergent
Dish detergent is either enzyme- or chlorine-based. GE recommends using enzyme-based detergent such as Cascade Complete in their dishwashers, but you can use any detergent you like. Mixing chlorine-based detergent with enzyme-based detergent causes blockages in the dispenser. Prevent this by waiting until the dispenser is empty, which generally takes three washings after the LED light turns on. Manually add the detergent for the first 10 loads to ensure the dispenser is completely rinsed.
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