My kenmore dishwasher is just a year old. It is one of those touch/push button models. It has been doing this on an ongoing basis now. It will turn on and work just fine for a month or so then one night the buttons just will not work. I cannot get them to respond to my touch/push. I will end up washing everything by hand then the next night it will start working again. Why is this happening?

You need to clean behind the buttons you are pushing. The push buttons have carbon pieces glued to the rubber touchpad and when you press on them they make contact with the circuit board and close the circuit. You will have to get the screws out where you can get to it to clean the board and the rubber pad. You clean it the same way you do a remote control after beverages get inside it. Peel off the rubber pad and use dishwashing soap and water and a soft toothbrush to clean it well and let it dry in a warm, dry place for a few hours. The circuit board you use a little dishwashing soap and water and dip the toothbrush in water to scrub the board lightly until clean, then wipe down with rubbing alcohol. Blow dry with a blow dryer on low heat. You may want to put a very thin bead of GE Silicone caulk around edges of rubber pad. Warm circuit board and pad as you are putting it on so no moisture will be in the space. What has happened is water has condensed along with deposits on the circuit board which makes the switches not work. The same happens with remote controls and just scrub them in sink, rinse off, and reassemble to fix them. Make sure to turn off power first. Here are some manuals: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/8010163/Whirlpool_Kenmore%20Dishwashers.zip