Patent ID: 8210188

Claim:
A dishwasher, comprising: a housing defining a wash chamber having an open face; a door movably mounted to the housing for movement between an open position and a closed position for selectively closing the open face; a dispensing system carried by the door, the dispensing system comprising: a single use dispenser configured to store a single dose of wash aid; a bulk dispenser configured to store multiple doses of wash aid and fluidly coupled to the single use dispenser to dispense wash aid through the single use dispenser; and a sensor positioned within the dishwasher and detecting the presence of wash aid in the single use dispenser; and a controller configured to implement a cleaning cycle of the dishwasher and operably coupled to the bulk dispenser for dispensing wash aid to the single use dispenser during the cleaning cycle, wherein the controller operates to dispense wash aid from the bulk dispenser when wash aid is not detected in the single use dispenser; wherein a wash aid may be dispensed into the wash chamber directly from the single use dispenser or indirectly from the bulk dispenser through the single use dispenser.