Won't drain, won't start, leaves film
Standing water at the end of the cycle is usually the drain pump, the check valve or a blocked air gap at the sink. On a lot of houses the actual fault is the garbage disposal knockout plug that was never removed when the disposal was installed, which means the dishwasher has been draining through a wall this whole time.
White film on glassware in the Valley is nearly always water hardness rather than a broken machine. Hard water leaves scale on the heating element and the spray arms, the detergent stops dissolving properly, and everything comes out dull. That is a descaling job plus a rinse aid setting, not a parts replacement.
What you can check first
- Pull the bottom rack, lift the filter cylinder out and rinse it. Many machines have never had this done
- Spin both spray arms by hand and check the holes for scale
- Check the air gap on the sink deck if there is one
Questions we get
Bosch and Miele integrated units, do you take those?
Yes. Those are the units most shops turn away, and they are a large share of what we do.
Dishes come out dirty on the top rack only
Usually the upper spray arm feed, either scaled shut or disconnected from the rack adjuster.