Why is My Dishwasher Not Draining?

Although it’s always irritating to open your dishwasher and realize the machine hasn’t emptied fully, try not to panic just yet. You could manage rectify the error before you have to call a plumber or buy a new dishwasher.

Your machine refusing to drain can have multiple of causes some of which can be easy to rectify. Therefore, before you call a dishwasher repair service here is a lineup of probable components you could identify by yourself. A number of which aren’t even related to 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 fault at all. Instead, the program may have been cut short.

The cycle might have been stopped mid-way for multiple of reasons. Kids pressing controls, accidentally leaning on the control panel, a power surge or opening the dishwasher mid-cycle could all interrupt the cycle and mean your machine doesn’t drain.

If you suspect this might be the situation, or you think it could be worthwhile checking start the dishwasher again on a short program.

Some appliances might have an empty function so it’s worthwhile checking your manual or checking online to find out.

Inspect the waste disposal

If your dishwasher is attached to your garbage disposal check this before you do anything else as an obstructed waste disposal will stop the machine from emptying. Turn on the disposal using lots of water to make sure there are no obstructions.

If you do discover an issue drain un-blocker or a natural alternative may be employed to unclog the blockage and so this may resolve the issue.

Examine the sink waste for blockages

If you kitchen sink is emptying slowly this might indicate an issue with the plumbing instead of an error with your dishwasher.

In the case that the kitchen sink is emptying reluctantly you may try putting some bicarbonate of soda and vinegar down the drain, letting it sit for a few minutes and then flushing it through with hot water.

A sink plunger could also be used to attempt to shift the obstruction.

This could be sufficient to let the dishwasher to drain so run a short rinse and empty cycle at this point. If not you could remove the dirty water by hand using a bowl as well as a towel and troubleshoot the next few possible issues.

At this point make sure you unplug the dishwasher to avoid electrocution.

If during any one of these investigations you believe you have found and fixed the fault you don’t need to go through the remaining issues. Just complete an empty cycle to ensure your machine is fixed.

Examine and scrub the filters

Corn Kernels, labels from containers, plastic film lids and smashed glass, plus scraps of food, may all obstruct the machine filter. Clear film could also be hard to spot if you don’t look carefully.

Take out the filter and clean it thoroughly before putting it back in place. Not all filters are obvious and simple to remove so you might need to consult the manual for this.

Is the waste water pipe blocked?

The next area to inspect is the waste water hose. Stuck food, a kink in the hose or a crushed hose could all impede your dishwasher from emptying.

Contingent upon the location of the hose (generally the corrugated one) you could manage inspect it by means of removing the kick plate or you may be required to pull the dishwasher out from the wall.

Visually examine the hose in the first instance to see if there are any kinks or it’s been squashed. You could be able to manually straighten out any kinks which will most likely resolve the issue, but it’s worth noting that once this has happened the probability of it occurring again is significantly increased so you could wish to buy a replacement hose.

If you can’t find an issue you may take off the waste hose from the dishwasher and blow into it to discover any blockages. Make sure you line the floor with newspaper or towels first as even if you have emptied the dishwasher there could still be dirty water in the hose.

If you can’t blow air through the waste hose this could be the reason your machine isn’t emptying.

Take off the hose at the sink end in order to give it a good flush through to clear the blockage. If you can’t dislodge the obstruction or the hose is split or worn buy a brand-new one. If you can get rid of the blockage then put the hose back and start a quick cycle to check that you have solved the issue.

You can also inspect where the waste hose connects under your sink. This is a common point for blockages to occur so if you happen to take off the waste hose give this point a thorough clean as well.

Inspect the drain valve

You may manually check the drain valve to make sure it isn’t seized. The drain valve will often be located at the base of the dishwasher on the valve bracket. Examine your instructions if you’re not sure.

Depressing the valve or wiggling it a bit should be adequate to let you know if it’s stuck. If you can see an object blocking it carefully extract this. If you can’t, this could be when you should call a repair person unless you are undaunted by ordering and repairing the component yourself.

Inspect your pump is not blocked

Your water pump uses impellers that could become blocked by pieces of glass or other objects. Check your pump isn’t obstructed by taking off the cover and making sure the impellers are free to move.

Run your dishwasher and listen for any unusual noises

If your dishwasher is making funny noises your pump or motor could be broken and need to be repaired.

Call a repair person

If none of the above checks has fixed the issue, or you suspect the pump, pump valve or motor are damaged, it could be a good time to call your local repair person.

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