Dishwasher Leaving Gritty Residue

Your dishwasher is adding grit instead of removing it, and it has been creeping worse. This walks a decision tree through the usual culprits in order: salt and rinse aid levels, blocked spray arm jets, a failed water softener, limescale in the heating element, and whether the detergent is even dissolving. Factored to your detergent and your water hardness. For anyone rewashing by hand.

My dishwasher is leaving a white gritty residue on everything. It's been getting worse over {TIME_PERIOD}. The residue {RESIDUE_DESCRIPTION}. I use {DETERGENT_TYPE} and my area has {WATER_HARDNESS} water hardness. Walk me through a decision tree that separates the most common culprits in order: salt or rinse aid levels, blocked spray arm jets, failed water softener, limescale in the heating element, and detergent dispenser not opening fully. For each one, tell me the specific test to confirm it and the fix.