Why is My Dishwasher Not Draining?

Although it’s never a welcome sight to open your machine and find out the machine hasn’t drained properly, try not to panic just yet. You might manage figure out the error by yourself, without having to call a plumber or purchase a new machine.

Standing water in your machine can have multiple of causes a number of which are straightforward to deal with. So, in advance of calling a dishwasher repair service try this selection of possible issues you may troubleshoot by yourself. A few of which aren’t even a fault of the machine itself.

Ensure the dishwasher wasn’t interrupted mid-program

If you’re lucky the standing water you have discovered may not be a problem at all. Instead, the cycle could have been stopped mid-way.

The cycle might have been interrupted for a number of of reasons. Kids pressing buttons, mistakenly pushing on the control panel, a power outage or opening the machine mid-cycle could all prevent the program from completing and mean your machine doesn’t drain.

If you suspect this could be the situation, or you just want to be sure it’s not the issue run your dishwasher again on a quick program.

Some appliances could have an empty cycle so it’s worth consulting your owners manual or consulting google to make sure.

Check the garbage disposal

If your dishwasher is plumbed into your waste disposal examine this first as a blocked waste disposal will stop your dishwasher from draining. Run the garbage disposal with fast running water to ensure there are no blockages.

If you do uncover an obstruction drain un-blocker or a plunger can be used to unclog the obstruction and so this might fix the fault.

Inspect the sink for blockages

If you sink is draining inefficiently this may signify an issue with the pipes as opposed to a fault with your machine.

In the case that the sink is draining reluctantly you can attempt putting a little bicarbonate of soda and vinegar down the plughole, letting it sit for a while, then flushing it through with boiling water.

A sink plunger might also be utilized to try and remove the obstruction.

This could be enough to let the appliance to work again so start a short rinse and empty cycle at this point. If this hasn’t solved the problem you can manually get rid of the water using a bowl and also a sponge and check a few more areas.

At this point make certain to unplug the machine to avoid electrocution.

If while you are carrying out any of these checks you believe you may have found and repaired the error you don’t need to go through the rest of the steps. Just start an empty cycle to ensure the machine is repaired.

Inspect and wash the filters

Any number of things could block the filters including corn kernels, labels from containers, film covers and smashed glass. Clear film can also be hard to spot if you aren’t looking for it.

Remove the filter then clean it thoroughly before replacing it. Not all machines have their filter in the same place so you might need to consult the owners manual for this.

Is the drain pipe blocked?

The next place to inspect is the waste water pipe. 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 can all impede your machine from draining.

Depending on the position of the waste hose (generally the corrugated one) you could manage look at it by taking off the kick plate or you could be required to move the machine out from the wall.

Visually inspect the pipe in the first instance to discover if there are any kinks or it’s been squashed. You might be able to manually straighten out any kinks which is likely to deal with the issue, but it’s worth noting that when this has occurred the probability of it happening again is greatly increased so you could need to purchase a replacement hose.

If you are unable to see anything you can remove the waste pipe from the pump and blow through 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 might still be waste water in the hose.

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

Remove the hose at the sink end and then give it a good flush through to get rid of the obstruction. If you are unable to get rid of the obstruction or the waste pipe is slit or damaged acquire a new one. If you can remove the blockage then replace the hose and start a quick program to find out if you have repaired the fault.

You could also inspect where the pipe connects under your sink as well. This is a likely point for a build-up of gunk so if you happen to remove the waste pipe give this area a good scrub as well.

Check the drain valve

You could manually inspect the drain valve to ensure it hasn’t stopped working. The drain valve will most often be situated at the base of the dishwasher on the valve bracket. Examine your manual if you can’t see it.

Pressing down on the valve or giving it a jiggle will likely be sufficient to let you know if it’s stuck. If you are able to see an object stopping it from moving carefully extract this. If you are unable to, this could be when you should get in touch with a repair person unless you are confident in ordering and repairing the part yourself.

Inspect your pump is not blocked

Your dishwasher pump uses impellers that may be obstructed by broken glass or other objects. Check your pump isn’t obstructed by taking off the cover and checking that the impellers are free to move.

Run your dishwasher and listen for any unusual sounds

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

Call a repair person

If none of the above checks has fixed the error, or you have reason to believe the pump, pump valve or motor are damaged, it may be the moment you need to get the professionals.

This way though you will at least manage give them more information and have avoided needing to pay a hefty call-out charge for a blocked hose.