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Maintenance & Prevention

Clearing the Filter and Glass Trap on an Electrolux Dishwasher

Electrolux dishwasher filter cleaning needs no tools at all. Pull the lower rack out, find the cylindrical filter in the floor of the tub, twist it a quarter turn and lift it straight up — if it will not move, the reason is almost always somebody pulling rather than twisting. Beside or beneath it sits a flat plate, the glass trap, which this maker names specifically in its own article about error code i40. Rinse both under a hot tap, use a soft brush on the mesh if there is a film, look into the empty sump, and refit both squarely. A filter that is not fully seated lets solids straight through to the pump. Done twice a year, this removes the single most common reason anybody calls us about these machines.

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The full guide

Maintenance & Prevention By Appliance Content Team Last checked 2 minute read

Electrolux dishwasher filter cleaning is five minutes with no tools, and it is the single highest-value thing anybody does to one of these machines.

A quarter turn on the cylinder, then the flat screen underneath The filter sits in the floor of the tub, under the lower rack, toward the back and near the center. There are two parts and both come out by hand with no tools. The raised cylinder turns about a quarter turn counterclockwise and lifts straight up; arrows or a small lock symbol are molded into its top. If it will not move, the usual reason is somebody pulling upward instead of twisting. With the cylinder gone, the flat screen underneath lifts out by hand, and the sump recess below it is where glass chips, olive pits and jar labels collect. Going back, the flat screen seats first, lying flat with nothing proud, then the cylinder drops into the center and turns clockwise until it stops and will not lift when tugged. A cylinder left unlocked or crooked lets soil bypass the filter completely. In water this hard, every four to six weeks for a household running the machine daily. TWO PARTS. NO TOOLS. IN THE FLOOR OF THE TUB, UNDER THE LOWER RACK. 1 A quarter turn counterclockwise On the raised cylinder, then lift straight up. Arrows or a lock symbol are molded in the top. 2 The flat screen underneath With the cylinder gone it lifts out by hand. Look at how it sits — it seats one way only. 3 Wipe the sump recess Glass chips, olive pits and jar labels all collect at exactly this point. 4 Screen first, then lock it Cylinder clockwise until it stops, then tug: it must not lift. Left unlocked, it does nothing Soil bypasses the filter entirely, and it can rattle against the lower spray arm loudly. How often, in this water Every four to six weeks running it daily, or every couple of months on lighter use.
If it will not turn, the reason is almost always somebody pulling up instead of twisting. And if the machine started behaving oddly right after a filter clean, take it out and put it back deliberately.

Where it is and how it comes out

Pull the lower rack all the way out. In the floor of the tub, usually towards the back, there is a cylindrical filter with a handle or a pair of gripping points molded into it.

Twist it a quarter turn, then lift. Anticlockwise on most models. If it will not move, the reason is nearly always that it is being pulled upward rather than turned — and pulling is how the retaining tabs break.

Beside it or underneath it is a flat plate. That is the glass trap, and this maker names it specifically in its own article about error code i40 rather than lumping it in with the filter, which tells you how often it is the part that matters.

What to do with them

Rinse both under a hot tap. Use a soft brush on the mesh if there is a film on it — in this county's water there will be, and the film is scale rather than food.

Look into the empty sump while they are out. Standing water there with the filter removed is the piece of information this whole exercise produces: it means the problem is past the filter, and that is the difference between maintenance and a repair.

Refit them properly

This is the step people hurry, and it undoes the job.

The filter has to seat fully home before the quarter turn locks it. A filter sitting proud looks fitted and lets solids straight past into the pump, which is precisely what you have just spent five minutes preventing.

Run a cycle empty before judging anything, so that whatever was loosened during the cleaning goes out rather than back onto the next load of plates.

Why it fills faster than it used to

Two reasons, and neither is the machine.

Nobody pre-rinses any more, because manufacturers now ask people not to — the sensors in a modern dishwasher use the soil to decide how hard to work, and a load of pre-rinsed plates gets a short cycle it does not deserve. More solid food therefore reaches the sump than older designs assumed.

The water here is hard. Scale forms on the filter mesh and gives everything else something to cling to, so a filter in Miami loads faster than the same filter in a soft-water city.

Those two together are why this is a twice-a-year job here rather than an annual one.

What it prevents

i40 is one of only three codes this maker publishes for its dishwashers, and it is the only one of the three that reports something actually wrong. Its published cause is a clogged filter or sump.

A real share of the "it will not drain" calls we take end at these two parts, in five minutes, with no charge worth making. Doing it yourself twice a year removes the call entirely.

If it turns out to be a repair

Every job on this site is priced the same way: an on-site diagnostic first, the figure agreed in writing before anybody starts.

  • Dishwasher wash performance

    Dishes coming out gritty, filmed or still wearing what went in. On these machines the feature that does most of the work is SmartBoost — it premixes detergent with water before the first spray — and when it stops, what people notice is not an error but poor results on the short cycles, which they blame on the detergent for months. Beyond that it is spray arms, the filter, water temperature and, in this county, scale.

    • SmartBoost failing shows up as poor short cycles, not as an error
    • Spray arms, filter, inlet temperature and hard-water scale
    • Most of this is serviceable rather than a part
    What this involves

  • Dishwasher error code i40

    Electrolux dishwasher error code i40: The only one of this make's three dishwasher codes that reports an actual failure, and the fix is maintenance rather than parts. Which machines can raise it, what the maker publishes about it, and what to do next.

    What this one means

Questions people ask about this

It will not turn.

Almost always because it is being pulled up rather than twisted. A quarter turn anticlockwise first, then lift. Forcing it upward is how the tabs break.

Should I pre-rinse to keep it clean?

No. These machines are designed around soil being present and their sensors use it. Scrape rather than rinse, and clean the filter instead — that is the trade the design makes.

There is a white film on everything including the filter.

That is scale, and this county's water leaves plenty of it. Descaling is maintenance rather than repair, and it is worth doing before the heater and the spray holes tell you about it.

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Tell us the model number and what it is doing.

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This article is based on:

  • Official manufacturer documentation
  • Internal repair procedures
  • Technician repair history
  • Company quality standards
Call (305) 912-9018