For some time we’ve been getting food particles left on things in the upper rack. I think the bottom rack is cleaning OK. Figuring it was the chopper getting clogged up, I started taking things apart. I got the accumulator assembly off, and there was a bunch of gunk between the fins on the outside of the protector (toothpicks, popcorn kernels, broken glass, etc.) There was also a lot of black gunk behind the tube going up to the upper sprayer arms, but that’s probably just collateral damage. (For part names, I’m using the diagram here: http://www.appliancepartspros.com/partsearch/model.aspx?model_id=5140429&diagram_id=29121697#d29121697)
But I can’t figure out how to get the protector off to get at the chopper blade. There were two screws in the bottom that I took out. One held a curved plastic plate that I don’t find in the parts diagram, and that just lifted out. I can’t figure out what the other one holds (on the other side of the protector). It looks like the protector is supposed to come off somehow, but I’m afraid to start prying and break it.
Do I need to get the protector off to really clean it? If so, how do I do that?
And there was water standing in the bottom, almost covering the fins in front of the protector. The water level also matched what I could see looking down into the open tube in the center, so there’s a fair amount of standing water down there. Is that a sign of a problem?