Why is My Dishwasher Not Draining? | Duluth Appliance Repair

No-one is happy to open their machine and discover it hasn’t drained correctly but, try not to panic just yet. You may have the means to figure out the issue by yourself, without having to call a repair person or acquire a new dishwasher.

Standing water in your dishwasher could be induced by a number of issues a proportion of which can be straightforward to fix. Therefore, before you call a dishwasher repair service here is a list of potential issues you may identify yourself. A proportion of which aren’t even a fault of the machine itself.

Ensure the program wasn’t stopped mid-way

It is possible that there is nothing preventing your machine from draining. Instead, the program might have been stopped mid-way.

The cycle may have been cut short for any number of of reasons. Kids pushing buttons, accidentally pressing on the controls, a power outage or opening the dishwasher mid-cycle may all prevent the cycle from completing and mean your machine doesn’t drain.

If you think this could be the case, or you think it might be a good idea to check run the dishwasher again on a quick cycle.

Some appliances may have a drain capacity meaning it’s well worth checking your owners manual or doing a quick internet search to make sure.

Inspect the waste disposal

If you have a garbage disposal check this before you do anything else as an obstructed disposal will stop the dishwasher from draining. Run the waste disposal with lots of water to ensure there are no obstructions.

If you do discover an obstruction drain unclogger or a plunger could be sought after to unclog the obstruction and so this may fix the problem.

Examine the plumbing for clogs

If you kitchen sink is draining reluctantly this could signify a plumbing issue instead of an error with your dishwasher.

In the case that the sink is emptying reluctantly you could attempt putting some bicarbonate of soda and vinegar down the plughole, letting it sit for a while and then washing it away with boiling water.

A sink plunger may also be employed to attempt to dislodge the blockage.

This may be enough to permit your machine to drain so start a short program now. If this hasn’t worked you may manually get rid of the dirty water using a jug and also a sponge and check a few more possible issues.

At this point make sure you unplug the machine to stay safe.

If while you are carrying out any of these examinations you believe you have found and solved the error you don’t have to go through the rest of the issues. Just run an empty cycle to check the dishwasher is once again draining as it should.

Examine and rinse the filters

Popcorn, labels from jars, plastic film lids and smashed glass, plus scraps of food, can all obstruct the machine filter. Clear film could also be difficult to spot if you don’t look carefully.

Remove the filter and scrub it thoroughly before replacing it. Not all machines have their filter in the same location so you may need to consult the instructions for this.

Is the waste pipe obstructed?

The next area to inspect is the drain hose. Many things could cause a blockage including a build up of food debris, a kink in the hose, or a crushed hose. All of which may all stop your machine from draining.

Contingent upon the position of the waste pipe (normally the corrugated one) you could manage inspect it by taking off the base or you could need to move the machine away from the wall.

Visually examine the hose in the first instance to find out if it has been squashed or kinked. You might manage manually straighten out any kinks which should resolve the issue, but be aware that once this has occurred it is much more likely to happen again so you may need to buy a replacement hose.

If you can’t find any obvious kinks or obstructions you could take off the waste pipe from the pump and blow into it to discover any blockages. Be sure to line the floor with newspaper or towels first as even if you have emptied the machine there could still be dirty water in the hose.

If you are unable to blow air through the pipe this could be the issue.

Disconnect the hose at the sink end and then give it a good clean to get rid of the obstruction. If you are unable to dislodge the obstruction or the waste hose is split or damaged buy a brand-new one. If you may remove the blockage then replace the hose and run a quick program to find out if you have fixed the issue.

You could also check the point where the waste hose attaches to the sink as well. This is a common place for blockages to occur so if you do remove the pipe give this area a good scrub as well.

Check the drain valve

You may check the drain valve by hand to check it isn’t got stuck. The drain valve will often be found in the bottom of the dishwasher on the valve bracket. Consult your instruction manual if you’re not sure.

Pushing down on the valve or giving it a jiggle will likely be enough to let you know if it’s seized. If you are able to see anything blocking it carefully extract this. If you can’t, this might be when you should get in touch with a repair person unless you are confident in ordering and replacing the component on your own.

Inspect your pump is not blocked

Your appliance pump makes use of impellers that can become blocked by pieces of glass or other debris. Check your pump isn’t broken by removing the cover and making sure the impellers can rotate freely.

Listen to your dishwasher while it’s on

If your dishwasher doesn’t sound normal your pump or motor could be damaged and need to be repaired.

Call a repair person

If none of the above investigations has solved the issue, or you think the pump, pump valve or motor are broken, it could be a good time to call for help.

This way though you will at least be able to give them more information and have managed to avoid having to pay a big repair charge for a blocked hose.