Why is My Dishwasher Not Draining?

No-one wants to open their dishwasher and discover standing water but, try not to lose it just yet. You might be able to figure out the issue by yourself, without having to call a plumber or acquire a new dishwasher.

Standing water in your machine may have any number of of causes a proportion of which can be easy to figure out. So, in advance of calling a dishwasher repair service here is a selection of potential issues you can correct on your own. A few of which aren’t even a fault of the dishwasher itself.

Ensure the cycle wasn’t stopped mid-way

It is possible that there is nothing preventing your machine from draining. Alternatively, the program might have been cut short.

The cycle may have been cut short for any number of of reasons. Children pushing controls, mistakenly pushing against the buttons, a power surge or opening the dishwasher mid-cycle might all stop the cycle from completing and mean your machine doesn’t empty.

If you suspect this could be the case, or you just want to be sure it’s not the issue start the dishwasher again on a quick cycle.

A few dishwashers may have a drain cycle meaning it’s worth having a look at your manual or checking online to make sure.

Inspect the disposal

If you have a disposal check this first as a blocked garbage disposal will stop your dishwasher from draining. Turn on the garbage disposal using lots of water to check there are no issues.

If you do discover an issue drain cleaner or a plunger could be used to unclog the blockage and this might resolve the fault.

Examine the sink for clogs

If you kitchen sink is emptying reluctantly this could suggest an issue with the plumbing instead of a problem with your dishwasher.

In the case that the sink is emptying inefficiently you can attempt putting a little bicarb and vinegar down the drain, leaving it for a few minutes and then flushing it away with hot water.

A plunger may also be used to try and remove the obstruction.

This may be sufficient to allow your appliance to drain so start a quick program to check. If not you could remove the water by hand using a jug as well as a sponge and troubleshoot the next few possible issues.

At this point make sure you disconnect the machine to avoid electrocution.

If while you are carrying out any one of these checks you suspect you may have detected and repaired the error you don’t have to go through the remaining steps. Just complete an empty program to ensure the dishwasher is fixed.

Check and rinse the filters

Popcorn, labels from food jars, film covers and broken glass, plus scraps of food, may all block the dishwasher filter. Clear film could also be hard to spot if you don’t look carefully.

Remove the filter and wash it thoroughly before putting it back in place. Not all machines have their filter in the same place so you might need to refer to the manual for this.

Is the waste water hose obstructed?

The next place to check is the waste hose. Stuck food, a kink in the hose or a crushed hose could all impede your machine from emptying.

Contingent upon the location of the hose (usually the ribbed one) you might have the means to look at it simply by lifting away the base or you could be required to move the dishwasher away from under the counter.

Look at the hose in the first instance to discover if it has been squashed or kinked. You could have the means to fix these issues by hand which will most likely resolve the issue, however, be aware that when this has occurred it is much more inclined to happen again so you may need to buy a spare hose.

If you can’t find an issue you can take off the waste hose from the dishwasher and blow into it to figure out if there are any blockages. Be sure to put down newspaper or towels before you remove the hose as there might still be waste water in the pipe.

If you are unable to blow air through the waste hose this could be the reason your dishwasher isn’t emptying.

Take off the other end of the hose and then give it a good flush through to get rid of the obstruction. If you can’t remove the blockage or the pipe is split or damaged buy a brand-new one. If you could clear the blockage then put the hose back and run a quick cycle to check that you have repaired the fault.

You could also inspect the point where the hose attaches to the sink. This is a typical spot for a build-up of gunk so if you do take off the waste pipe give this area a thorough scrub as well.

Examine the drain valve

You may check the drain valve by hand to check it hasn’t seized. The drain valve will generally be located in the bottom of the dishwasher on the valve bracket. Consult your instruction manual if you can’t see it.

Depressing the valve or wiggling it a bit will likely be adequate to tell you if it’s seized. If you are able to see an object stopping it from moving carefully extract this. If you can’t, this could be a good time to get in touch with a repair person unless you are confident in purchasing and swapping out the valve yourself.

Check your pump is not broken

Your appliance pump makes use of impellers that may get obstructed by broken glass or other objects. Check your pump isn’t blocked by removing the cover and checking that the impellers can rotate freely.

Listen to your dishwasher while it’s running

If the dishwasher doesn’t sound right your dishwasher pump or motor might be damaged and need replacing.

Call a plumber

If none of the above examinations has fixed the problem, or you suspect the pump, pump valve or motor are broken, it could be the moment you need to call for help.

This way though you will at least manage give them more information and have avoided needing to pay a big repair charge for a clogged filter.