You may need to add or increase the amount of rinse aid when washing your items. The use of a rinse aid improves drying.

Plastic and Teflon coated items will not dry as completely as other items due to their inherent properties. Also, items that weigh less generally retain heat less than heavier items, thus resulting in items that have not dried completely.

You may have chosen a “Quick” program to wash & dry your items. Most “Quick” programs do not have a drying cycle so everything will be damp. The door should be opened slightly soon after the “Quick” program ends otherwise moisture will re-condense back onto the dried items – especially if left overnight. Always empty the lower basket first since the upper spray arm will still have some water left in it which may drip onto items in the lower basket.

Select models have an Extra Heat Option. Instructions for how to activate this are in the Use & Care Guide. This adds extra heat to the final rinse and will enhance drying results.

Select models have a Sanitize Option. Instructions for how to activate this are in the Use & Care Guide. This raises the final rinse time and temperature to achieve standards set by NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) for sanitization in residential dishwashers.

All Bosch dishwashers use the condensation drying process to dry items in the dishwasher. Condensation drying does not utilize a heating element at the bottom of a dishwasher. Instead, it involves a number of dishwashing elements that result in an energy efficient, high-quality drying process:

• The final rinse uses water that has been heated to a very high temperature.
• This makes the dishware very hot when the rinse cycle ends.
• The stainless steel tub of the dishwasher cools faster than the dishware because stainless steel typically cools faster than dishware materials (such as glass and porcelain).
• Condensation occurs when the moist air in the dishwasher comes into contact with the cooler stainless steel tub and turns into water droplets. These water droplets trickle down to the bottom of the dishwasher and are drained.
• Dishware and cups become dry during this condensation process. Plastics tend to have more difficulty drying because plastic does not heat up to a high temperature during the final rinse like glass/porcelain does.

The use of rinse agents, such as Jet Dry®, aids the condensation drying process by reducing the surface tension of water, thus encouraging water to run off dishware effortlessly. We have extensive experience with Jet Dry® and Jet Dry® Turbo Dry® and highly recommend either product to help create an optimal drying experience that reduces the chance of spots and other leftover residue. Approximately 3.5 drops of rinse agent is dispensed during each wash cycle. Use Jet Dry® for your regular drying needs. Use Turbo Dry® if you are drying a lot of plastic in the dishwasher or if you are already using a detergent with a rinse aid included in it and it’s still not drying adequately.

The incoming water may not be hot enough. Your wash cycle may take longer so that the dishwasher can heat the water up. Wash cycle times are affected by the temperature of incoming water.

Your items may contain a large amount of food, dirt and debris. The dishwasher uses sensors to detect the amount of soil in the wash water and the presence of rinse agent. It adjusts wash conditions based on this information to ensure a proper wash is achieved.

We recommend using FINISH® Dishwasher Cleaner once every 1-3 months. Cleaning frequency depends on how often you use your dishwasher and your water hardness.

FINISH® Dishwasher Cleaner works by safely and effectively breaking down and removing mineral build-up from the interior of your machine, including hard-to-reach parts like the spray arms. If you see white or grey residue on the inside of your dishwasher, it’s time to clean your dishwasher. Cleaning your dishwasher on a regular basis may extend the life of your dishwasher and improve its performance.

Directions:

1. Remove the sticker from top of bottle without removing the cap.
2. Make sure your dishwasher is empty.
3. Place the bottle upside down on the lower rack in a secure place, such as where you would place a small dish.
4. Run the dishwasher on the hottest and longest cycle.

Please visit the FINISH dishwashing products website for additional information.

A small amount of water around the filter is normal and nothing to be alarmed about.

• Locate the rinse aid dispenser by referring to your dishwasher’s Use & Care Guide.
• Open the dispenser cover.
• Add the liquid rinse agent to the dispenser until it is full. Wipe off any excess rinse agent that spills outside of the dispenser.
• Set the amount of rinse aid that the dishwasher should dispense during each cycle. Refer to your Use & Care Guide to learn how to do this.
• The dishwasher indicates low rinse aid amount either by illuminating a light or text on your dishwasher control panel.

The condensation vent may be blocked. This can happen if flexible cutting boards or cooking sheets block the condensation vent, thus causing the dishwasher to leak from the door instead of venting properly via the condensation vent. Remove anything that is blocking the condensation vent and load flexible boards or sheets on the top shelf.

This may be due to condensation leaking because the door seal has been pulled from the track. This may have happened because the seal was caught on dishes that extend beyond sides of the rack. If the door seal has been pulled back from the track, push the seal back into place.

If the dishwasher is leaking from the upper right corner, it is possible that it was installed improperly. If dishwasher “feet” are not adjusted properly, gaps at the top of the dishwasher door may occur. Adjust accordingly.

If leaking continues, have a qualified service technician verify that the dishwasher was installed properly.

Your door may not be closed and latched. Ensure the door is fully closed and latched. Also, ensure the unit is “On”.

You may have interrupted a cycle, which was previously chosen and already started. Reset the dishwasher to cancel the previously chosen cycle according to the instructions in the Use & Care Guide.

The circuit breaker and/or water supply may not be “on”. Check to make sure both are “on”. The dishwasher water supply is typically located under the sink. Reset the circuit breaker if necessary.

If you have the “Delay Start” or “Child-Lock” options on your dishwasher, check to see if they are activated or not. If they are activated, deactivate them.

The previous wash cycle may not have completed before unloading your items. To complete the cycle, reset the dishwasher by pressing the “start” button for 3 seconds. Additional information on resetting the dishwasher can be found in your Use & Care Manual.

The water supply may not be “on”. Check the dishwasher water tap, which is typically located under the sink. Ensure that the water tap is “on” or “open”.

The water pressure may not be strong enough. Check the water pressure. 1 gallon of water should pass through the tap in 30 seconds. Also, check the hose to see if any debris is clogging the filter in the hose:

1. Turn off water tap.
2. Disconnect the water intake hose.
3. Clean out the filter that’s located on the end of the intake hose.
4. Reconnect the intake hose and turn on the water tap.

Dishwasher may not have been installed properly:

• Water line may be kinked. Check the water line for kinks.
• Water line may not have been flushed before installation. To flush the water line, disconnect the water line from the dishwasher and flush two gallons of water through the line.

To clean a non-stainless steel exterior: Wipe the front of the appliance with a damp cloth. Do not use abrasive detergents or sponges with a rough surface.

No. Just scrape food, bones and other heavy debris off the dishes and put dishes into the dishwasher. Dishwasher detergents contain enzymes, which find food particles and break them down. If there is no food to cling to, the enzymes could damage your dishware resulting in etched or cloudy glasses and dishes over time. Pre-rinsing dishes under running water also wastes a large amount of water per year.

The Power Switch may not be switched on. Push the Power Switch.

For models with controls on the top portion of the door: The display only illuminates when the door is opened and controls are visible.

For models with the controls on the face of the dishwasher: Some models have a display that only illuminates when the door is closed.

Never use a steam cleaner to clean your dishwasher.

Clean the door seal with a damp cloth.

Clean the filter regularly. View our How-to-Videos to learn how to clean your dishwasher filter.

Clean the spray arms when needed. In general, spray arms will only be soiled and need to be cleaned if the filter is not functioning or has not been installed properly since this may result in debris being deposited on or inside the spray arms. To clean spray arms:

1. Unscrew the upper spray arm and then remove the lower spray arm.
2. Rinse both arms under water to loosen debris and clean the arms.
3. Reinstall properly.

Add softening salt regularly (applies only to models with this functionality). Softening salt can be purchased from your dealer. Also, view our How-to-Videos to learn how to add softening salt.

How to clean your dishwasher’s interior.

We recommend using FINISH® Dishwasher Cleaner once every 1-3 months. Cleaning frequency depends on how often you use your dishwasher and your water hardness.

FINISH® Dishwasher Cleaner works by safely and effectively breaking down and removing mineral build-up from the interior of your machine, including hard-to-reach parts like the spray arms. If you see white or grey residue on the inside of your dishwasher, it’s time to clean your dishwasher. Cleaning your dishwasher on a regular basis may extend the life of your dishwasher and improve its performance.

Directions:

1. Remove the sticker from top of bottle without removing the cap.
2. Make sure your dishwasher is empty.
3. Place the bottle upside down on the lower rack in a secure place, such as where you would place a small dish.
4. Run the dishwasher on the hottest and longest cycle.

Acrylic: Small cracks may occur.

Adhesive-Joined Pieces: Adhesives that join materials such as plastic, wood, bone, steel, copper, tin, etc may loosen.

Bone-Handled Utensils: Handles may separate.

Iron: Iron will rust. Hand wash and dry immediately.

Non-Dishware Items: Your dishwasher is intended for use in cleaning standard household dishware and kitchenware only.

Pewter, Brass, Bronze: Pewter will tarnish. Hand wash and dry immediately.

Tin: Tin will rust. Hand wash and dry immediately.

Wood: Wooden bowls, utensils and wooden-handled utensils can crack, warp and lose their finish.

Anything that is not marked 'dishwasher proof' or ‘dishwasher safe’ should not be washed in the dishwasher.

The most common cause of odors is due to infrequent usage of the dishwasher. In this case, food soil builds up on the filter and seals. Regular cleaning of the filter and door seals keep soil from building up and creating odors. Consult your Use & Care guide to view detailed instructions with photos of how to clean the filter system in your dishwasher.

To clean door seals: Wipe with a damp cloth.

Drain hose must have a “high loop” at least 20” above the floor to pump properly. Dirty water may cause odors. Consult the installation instructions for more details.

• Locate the rinse aid dispenser by referring to your dishwasher’s Use & Care Guide.
• Open the dispenser cover.
• Add the liquid rinse agent to the dispenser until it is full. Wipe off any excess rinse agent that spills outside of the dispenser.
• Set the amount of rinse aid that the dishwasher should dispense during each cycle. Refer to your Use & Care Guide to learn how to do this.
• The dishwasher indicates low rinse aid amount either by illuminating a light or text.

The dishwasher analyzes many aspects of dishwashing while running. It analyzes the water temperature, cycle chosen, and the soil level in the water when deciding how long to run for.

Dishes may have been pre-rinsed before loading into the dishwasher. Pre-rinsing is not recommended. With no soils to attack, the detergent can become too aggressive.

Your dishwasher may be using hard water to wash your items. Soften the water by using a household water softener or a dishwasher detergent with a water softener added to it.

Liquid or gel detergents only contain one type of cleaning agent. Powder and mono-dose products typically contain both types of cleaning agents (one for bleaching and one for cleaning food off dishware). Mono-dose products are also concentrated forms of powder and gel.

The water supply tap may not be “on”. Check to see if the tap is “on” or “open”.

The water pressure may not be great enough. Check the water pressure of the water flowing out of the water supply tap. 1 gallon of water should flow through every 30 seconds.

The water intake hose may be clogged with debris. Do the following to clean it:

1. Turn off water tap.
2. Remove intake hose from water tap. Beware: the AquaStop device contains an electric valve. Do not dunk it in water.
3. Clean the filter in the hose with a small brush to remove debris.
4. If your hose is not an AquaStop hose, you may remove the hose from the washer and clean it.
5. Reconnect the hose and make sure it’s not leaking.

The wash load may be small. Water level may be below the visible level if a wash load is small.

An energy saving program may have been selected. Some programs use smaller amounts of water.

Enter your appliance’s Model Number (E-Nr) in our Owner Manuals section to download your Use & Care Guide.

Call Bosch Customer Support at 1-800-944-2904

How to find your Model Number (E-Nr)

Please click here to locate the data tag on your appliance. The data tag contains your Model Number (E-Nr).

In 2010, detergent manufacturers removed phosphates from all of their dishwashing products in response to state laws banning phosphate-containing detergents.

What do phosphates do? While phosphates are quite effective at assisting the cleaning process, they are also difficult to remove from waste water at treatment plants. This water is then eventually released into lakes, streams, rivers and drinking water reservoirs where the phosphates cause increased algae growth, which consumes large quantities of oxygen and thus kills fish and plants. This algae growth then decomposes, thus creating a body of water that is undrinkable and toxic to wildlife, even after treatment.

Using phosphate-free detergents: Many people are not aware of this detergent change and notice a white film on dishware after using the dishwasher. Detergents currently on the market have modified formulations to compensate for the lack of phosphates. Here are some tips for optimizing the effectiveness of your phosphate-free detergent:

• In general, dishwasher detergent tablets and packs are better at cleaning than powder, liquid or gel detergents. This is because packs are concentrated and usually have both types of cleaning agents (bleach and enzyme) built into the pack. Most packs also have rinse agent properties.
• Adding rinse aid to each wash helps water sheet off the dishware effortlessly in the final rinse. This reduces the likelihood of spots and white film sticking to the surface of the dishware.
• If your water is hard, use a dishwashing additive (such as FINISH® PowerUp®) that cleans hard water film and spots. FINISH® PowerUp® also tackles tough stains and provides intensive machine cleaning to reduce mineral build-up.
• Make sure the dishwasher water is at least 120°F. Water at this temperature or higher makes the detergent dissolve properly and activates the enzymes.

Clean the filter regularly. View our How-to-Videos to learn how to clean your dishwasher filter, how to clean stainless steel, and how to add softening salt.

Add softening salt regularly (applies only to models with this functionality). Softening salt can be purchased in from your dealer.

First, check the drain lines for blockages in the garbage disposal and air gap. After clearing the blockage, select the “Cancel/Drain” Program.

Drain pump may be blocked by debris. Empty the water from inside the dishwasher using a ladle or something similar. Consult the Use & Care Guide to learn how to unblock the drain pump. In the future, scrape dishes of large debris before putting into the dishwasher.

The dishwasher’s filters may not be clean. Remove the filters and clean them according to the instructions in the Use & Care Guide.

Drain hose must have a “high loop” at least 20” above the floor to pump properly. Consult the installation instructions for more details.

The previous wash cycle may not have completed before unloading your items. To complete the cycle, reset the dishwasher according to the instructions in the Use & Care Guide.

The dishwasher water supply tap may be closed.  The dishwasher water supply is typically located under the sink. Check to ensure the water supply has not been closed. Dishwasher may not have been installed properly:

Water line may be kinked. Check the water line for kinks.

Water line may not have been flushed before installation. To flush the water line, disconnect the water line from the dishwasher and flush two gallons of water through the line.

The use of rinse agents, such as Jet Dry®, aids the condensation drying process by reducing the surface tension of water, thus encouraging water to run off dishware effortlessly. We have extensive experience with Jet Dry® and Turbo Dry® and highly recommend either product to help create an optimal drying experience that reduces the chance of spots and other residue.

A very small amount of rinse agent is dispensed during each wash cycle (approximately 3.5 drops).

Use Jet Dry® for your regular drying needs. Use Turbo Dry® if you are drying a lot of plastic in the dishwasher or if you are already using a detergent with a rinse aid included in it and it’s still not drying adequately.

It is completely ok to add Turbo Dry® in the rinse agent dispenser if Jet Dry® is still in there. It is safe to mix these two. There is no need to empty out the dispenser before adding another rinse agent.

 Please visit the FINISH dishwashing products website for additional information.

Your door may not be closed and latched. Ensure the door is fully closed and latched. Also, ensure the unit is “On”.

You may have interrupted a cycle, which was previously chosen and already started. Reset the dishwasher to cancel the previously chosen cycle by pressing the “start” button for 3 seconds. Additional information on resetting the dishwasher can be found in your Use & Care Manual.

The circuit breaker may not be “on”. Check the circuit breaker and ensure that the dishwasher plug is plugged in correctly. Reset the circuit breaker if necessary. Also ensure that the power cord is plugged into the back of the dishwasher and into the outlet.

The water supply may not be “on”. Check the dishwasher water tap, which is typically located under the sink. Ensure that the water tap is “on” or “open”.

The water pressure may not be strong enough. Check the water pressure. 1 gallon of water should pass through the tap in 30 seconds. Also, check the hose to see if any debris is clogging the filter in the hose:

1. Turn off water tap.
2. Disconnect the water intake hose.
3. Clean out the filter that’s located on the end of the intake hose.
4. Reconnect the intake hose and turn on the water tap.

If you have the “Delay Start” or “Child-Lock” options on your dishwasher, check to see if they are activated or not. If they are activated, deactivate them.

• Pre-rinsing: Just scrape food, bones and other heavy debris off the dishes and put dishes into the dishwasher. Dishwasher detergents contain enzymes, which find food particles, digest them and wash them away. If there is no food to cling to, the enzymes could damage your dishware resulting in etched or cloudy glasses and dishes over time. Pre-rinsing dishes under running water wastes a large amount of water per year.

• Silverware: Knives should be put into the cutlery basket with the blade facing downwards for safety reasons.  Forks and spoons can be put into the cutlery basket with the top of the utensil facing up or down - mix it up so that spoons and forks don’t nest into each other as this could result in less efficient cleaning.

• Dishes: On the left side of the dishwasher, load dishes so they face inwards towards the center. On the right side of the dishwasher, load dishes to they face inwards towards the center.

• Bowls: Place bowls on their side for maximum exposure to water flow. Do not place bowls facing completely downwards as this limits their exposure to water flow.

• Large pans & platters: Place these items along the outer sides of the lower rack

• Stemware & cups: Load these on an angle to limit the amount of standing water after the wash cycle is complete. Loading on angle allows water to slide off the cups.

• Plastics: Plastic items can be placed on the upper or lower rack because Bosch dishwashers do not contain a heating element at the bottom of the dishwasher.

The dishwasher’s filters may not be clean. Remove and clean the filters as noted in your dishwasher’s Use & Care Guide. The filters are located at the base of the interior. Also, check the pump area for food debris as noted in your dishwasher’s Use & Care Guide.

There may be a blockage in the spray arms because the filter was not properly installed after cleaning. Remove the spray arms according to instructions in the Use & Care Guide. Check the jets for food particles – carefully remove any blockages being careful not to damage the jets. Install filters properly according to the Use & Care Guide.

An inadequate amount of detergent may have been used. Increase or decrease the amount of detergent depending on the water hardness or switch to single-dosage-type detergents (tabs, gel packs, etc). Refer to your Use & Care Guide for further information on the amount of detergent to use.

To ensure your dishwasher washes properly, maintain the interior of your dishwasher regularly. In hard water conditions, it can be beneficial to run a dishwasher cleaner though the machine once every two or three months.

First, check the drain lines for blockages in the garbage disposal and air gap. After clearing the blockage, select the “Cancel/Drain” Program

Drain pump may be blocked by debris. Empty the water from inside the dishwasher using a ladle or something similar. Consult the Use & Care Guide to learn how to unblock the drain pump. In the future, scrape dishes of large debris before putting into the dishwasher.

The dishwasher’s filters may not be clean. Remove the filters and clean them according to the instructions in the Use & Care Guide.

Drain hose must have a “high loop” at least 20” above the floor to pump properly. Consult the installation instructions for more details.

We recommend FINISH® dishwashing products:

We have extensive experience with these products and use them in our own dishwashers on a daily basis. All of the kitchens and eating spaces at our headquarters and Bosch showroom are outfitted with a Bosch dishwasher and FINISH® detergent.

Detergents perform the main cleaning action. Additives are added to the wash and provide targeted functionality and performance. Each FINISH® product is carefully formulated for optimal performance and can be chosen based on your needs. For example:

• If you live in a soft water area and need maximum cleaning and stain removal, the Quantum® or Powerball® detergents would be best for you.
• If you live in a hard water area and need maximum cleaning and stain removal, the Quantum® or Powerball® detergents with the PowerUp® Booster additive for hard water would be best for you.
• If you find that your dishes are not being dried thoroughly, JetDry® or TurbyDry® would be the best additive for you.

Please visit the FINISH dishwashing products website for additional information.