Why is My Dishwasher Not Draining?

No-one wants to open their dishwasher and discover it hasn’t emptied properly but, don’t overreact just yet. You may have the means to rectify the fault before you have to call a repair person or invest in a new machine.

Your machine declining to empty may have any number of of causes a proportion of which can be simple to resolve. So, in advance of calling a dishwasher repair service here is a selection of possible issues you can correct on your own. A number of which are not even related to the dishwasher itself.

Ensure the program wasn’t stopped mid-way

If you’re fortunate the fact your dishwasher hasn’t drained may not be a fault at all. Alternatively, the cycle may have been cut short.

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

If you believe this may be the situation, or you just want to be sure it’s not the issue run the machine again on a short cycle.

A few machines could have an empty program meaning it’s worthwhile consulting your instruction manual or consulting google to check.

Examine the waste disposal

If you have a waste disposal inspect this before you move on as an obstructed disposal will prevent your dishwasher from draining. Turn on the garbage disposal with plenty of water to ensure there are no issues.

If you do uncover a blockage drain unclogger or a natural alternative may be employed to unclog the obstruction and so this could solve the error.

Examine the sink for issues

If you kitchen sink is draining slowly this might indicate an issue with the pipes instead of an issue with your machine.

In the case that the sink is draining reluctantly you may try putting a little bicarbonate of soda and vinegar down the drain, letting it sit for a few minutes, then rinsing it away with boiling water.

A sink plunger might also be used to attempt to remove the obstruction.

This could be enough to allow the appliance to work again so run a short program to check. If not you can manually remove the dirty water using a cup and a sponge and have a look at a few more areas.

Make certain to disconnect the dishwasher to prevent electrocution.

If while you are carrying out any one of these investigations you suspect you have found and solved the fault you don’t need to go through the remaining issues. Just run an empty program to ensure your dishwasher is repaired.

Inspect and scrub the filters

Corn Kernels, labels from jars, plastic covers and smashed glass, as well as scraps of food, could all obstruct the machine filter. Clear glass may also be difficult to spot if you don’t look carefully.

Remove the filter and give it a good wash before putting it back in place. Not all dishwashers have their filter in the same location so you may need to consult the manual for this.

Is the drain pipe obstructed?

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

Contingent upon the location of the waste pipe (usually the ribbed one) you might have the means to look at it simply by lifting away the base or you might be required to move the machine out from the wall.

Have a look at the hose first to see if it has been squashed or kinked. You may be able to manually fix any kinks which is likely to rectify the issue, but it’s worth noting that once this has happened it is much more likely to happen again so you could need to order a new hose.

If you are unable to see an issue you may disconnect the waste hose from the dishwasher and blow through it to discover any blockages. Make sure you line the floor with 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 hose this might be the reason your dishwasher isn’t emptying.

Take off the hose at the sink end in order to give it a good clean to clear the blockage. If you can’t shift the obstruction or the hose is slit or damaged purchase a brand-new one. If you can clear the blockage then replace the hose and start a short program to check that you have repaired the issue.

You may also check where the waste pipe attaches to the sink. This is a typical place for blockages to occur so if you do take off the hose give this connection a thorough clean as well.

Examine the drain valve

You could check the drain valve by hand to make sure it hasn’t stopped working. The drain valve will often be located in the bottom of the machine on the valve bracket. Check your instructions if you’re unsure.

Pressing down on the valve or wiggling it a bit should be enough to find out if it’s seized. If you can see an object blocking it remove this. If you can’t, this could be when you should call a plumber unless you are happy in procuring and swapping out the component on your own.

Inspect your pump is not broken

Your dishwasher pump makes use of impellers that can get obstructed by broken glass or other objects. Check your pump isn’t obstructed by removing the safety cover and ensuring that the impellers can be easily rotated.

Run your dishwasher and listen for any unusual sounds

If the dishwasher sounds unusual your dishwasher pump or motor might be broken and need replacing.

Call a repair person

If none of the above examinations has fixed the error, or you suspect the pump, pump valve or motor are damaged, it might 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 managed to avoid having to pay a big repair fee for a blocked hose.

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