Why is My Dishwasher Not Draining?

No-one wishes to open their dishwasher and discover standing water but, don’t lose it just yet. You may manage rectify the issue by yourself, without having to call a repair person or invest in a new dishwasher.

Your dishwasher declining to drain may be caused by any number of things some of which are simple to fix. Therefore, in advance of calling a dishwasher repair service try this lineup of probable things you may identify yourself. A few of which aren’t even a fault of the machine itself.

Check the cycle wasn’t cut short

If you’re lucky the fact your dishwasher hasn’t drained may not be an issue at all. Instead, the cycle could have been stopped mid-way.

The cycle might have been cut short for any number of of reasons. Children pressing buttons, inadvertently leaning against the buttons, a power outage or opening the machine mid-program may all prevent the cycle from completing and mean your dishwasher doesn’t empty.

If you suspect this could be the circumstance, or you think it could be worthwhile checking run the machine again on a quick program.

Some dishwashers might have a drain capacity meaning it’s well worth consulting your instructions or consulting google to check.

Check the waste disposal

If you have a waste disposal examine this before you move on as an obstructed waste disposal will stop the dishwasher from emptying. Run the garbage disposal with fast running water to ensure there are no obstructions.

If you do discover a blockage drain unclogger or a plunger could be employed to unclog the blockage and so this might solve the issue.

Examine the sink waste for clogs

If you sink is draining inefficiently this may signify an issue with the pipes instead of a fault with your machine.

If the kitchen sink is draining reluctantly you may attempt putting some bicarbonate of soda and white vinegar down the plughole, leaving it for a while and then washing it away with boiling water.

A sink plunger may also be utilized to try and dislodge the obstruction.

This may be sufficient to let the dishwasher to drain so run a short rinse and empty program to check. If this hasn’t worked you may manually drain the dishwasher using a jug and also a sponge and check a few more possible issues.

At this point make certain to unplug the dishwasher to stay safe.

If during any one of these investigations you believe you may have detected and repaired the error you don’t need to go through the rest of the steps. Just run an empty cycle to make sure the machine is once again emptying as it used to.

Inspect and wash the filters

Any number of things could block the filters including popcorn, paper from containers, plastic lids and smashed glass. Clear film may also be hard to see if you aren’t looking for it.

Take out the filter and give it a thorough wash before putting it back in place. Not all machines have their filter in the same place so you may need to refer to the owners manual for this.

Is the waste water hose blocked?

The next component to examine is the waste water hose. Stuck food, a kink in the hose or a crushed hose can all impede your dishwasher from emptying.

Subject to the location of the waste hose (usually the ribbed one) you could have the means to inspect it simply by removing the base alternatively you could be required to move the dishwasher away from the wall.

Look at the hose first to find out if there are any kinks or it’s been squashed. You may be able to fix these issues by hand which is likely to resolve the issue, but it’s worth noting that once this has occurred it is much more likely to happen again so you could need to buy a spare hose.

If you can’t see an issue you could disconnect the drain hose from the dishwasher and blow into it to check for any blockages. Be sure to line the floor with newspaper or towels before you remove the hose as even if you have emptied the dishwasher there may still be waste water in the pipe.

If you can’t blow air through the hose this might be the reason your dishwasher isn’t draining.

Take off the hose at the sink end and give it a good clean to get rid of the blockage. If you can’t remove the blockage or the waste hose is split or damaged purchase a new one. If you may get rid of the blockage then put the hose back and run a short cycle to double check that you have fixed the fault.

You could also check where the waste hose attaches under your sink. This is a likely point for blockages to occur so if you do take off the waste hose give this area a good scrub as well.

Examine the drain valve

You can inspect the drain valve by hand to make sure it isn’t got stuck. The drain valve will usually be located at the base of the dishwasher on the valve bracket. Check your instructions if you’re not sure.

Depressing the valve or giving it a jiggle will likely be enough to tell you if it’s stuck. If you can see something stopping it from moving get rid of this. If you can’t, this might be a good time to get in touch with a repair person unless you are confident in purchasing and replacing the valve on your own.

Inspect your pump is not blocked

Your water pump makes use of impellers that could get blocked by broken china or other objects. Check your impellers aren’t broken by taking off the cover and ensuring that the impellers can rotate freely.

Listen to your dishwasher while it’s running

If it doesn’t sound normal your dishwasher pump or motor may be faulty and need to be repaired.

Call a repair person

If you have been through the above list and the error remains, or you have reason to believe the pump, pump valve or motor are broken, it might 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 hefty repair charge for a blocked drain.

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