Patent ID: 8617319

Claim:
A dishwasher, comprising: a sump that receives and stores wash fluid positioned below a tub; a filtering device that filters waste out of wash fluid contained in the sump; a drain pump that discharges the wash fluid from the sump through the filtering device; a controller that measures a time taken for the drain pump to drain the sump and determines that the filtering device needs to be cleaned when the measured time exceeds a predefined reference level; an alarm device that generates an indicator indicating that the filtering device needs to be cleaned; and a memory device that receives and stores information from the controller indicating that the controller has detected that the filtering device needs to be cleaned, and that receives and stores information indicating that a request for cleaning the filtering device has been issued, wherein, when the dishwasher is turned on, the controller searches the memory device for information indicating that the controller has detected that the filtering device needs to be cleaned or that a request for cleaning the filtering device has been issued, and issues a request for cleaning the filtering device through the alarm device.