Why is My Dishwasher Not Draining?

Although it’s never a welcome sight to open the dishwasher and discover the machine hasn’t emptied fully, don’t panic just yet. You could manage deal with the error by yourself, without having to call a plumber or buy a new machine.

Your machine failing to drain may have multiple of causes a number of which can be simple to resolve. Therefore, before you call a dishwasher repair service try this selection of probable issues you may correct by yourself. A number of which are not even related to the machine itself.

Ensure the dishwasher wasn’t interrupted mid-cycle

If you’re lucky the fact your dishwasher hasn’t emptied may not be a problem at all. Alternatively, the cycle might have been interrupted.

The cycle might have been stopped mid-way for any number of of reasons. Little fingers pressing buttons, inadvertently pressing against the control panel, a power outage or opening the machine mid-program might all interrupt the cycle and mean your machine doesn’t drain.

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

A proportion machines may have a drain function meaning it’s well worth consulting your instructions or consulting google to make sure.

Examine the garbage disposal

If your dishwasher is connected to your disposal inspect this before you do anything else as a blocked disposal will stop your machine from emptying. Turn on the disposal with lots of water to ensure there are no obstructions.

If you do uncover an issue drain un-blocker or a natural alternative can be employed to remove the obstruction and so this might fix the problem.

Examine the plumbing for blockages

If you sink is emptying inefficiently this could suggest a plumbing issue as opposed to a fault with your dishwasher.

If the kitchen sink is draining inefficiently you can try putting a little bicarbonate of soda and white vinegar down the plughole, letting it sit for a while and then flushing it through with hot water.

A sink plunger might also be employed to try and shift the blockage.

This may be sufficient to permit your machine to work again so run a quick cycle at this point. If this hasn’t worked you can manually drain the dishwasher using a jug as well as a towel and troubleshoot a few more possible issues.

At this point make certain to disconnect the machine to stay safe.

If during one of these checks you suspect you may have found and solved the fault there is no need to continue to the next step. Just start an empty program to check your dishwasher is fixed.

Check and scrub the filters

Corn Kernels, paper from food jars, film covers and smashed glass, plus scraps of food, could all block the dishwasher filter. Clear glass may also be hard to spot if you don’t look closely.

Remove the filter and give it a good scrub before putting it back in place. Not all filters are obvious and easy to remove so you may need to look at the manual for this.

Is the waste pipe obstructed?

The next area to check is the waste water hose. Stuck food, a kink in the hose or a crushed hose could all prevent your dishwasher from draining.

Subject to the position of the hose (usually the corrugated one) you may have the means to look at it simply by taking off the kick plate or you could have to move the dishwasher out from under the counter.

Visually inspect 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 should fix the issue, but it’s worth noting that once this has occurred it is much more likely to happen again so you may wish to order a new hose.

If you can’t see any obvious kinks or obstructions you may take off the waste pipe from the machine and blow into it to figure out if there are any blockages. Make sure you line the floor with newspaper or towels before you remove the hose as there may still be dirty water in the pipe.

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

Disconnect the other end of the hose and give it a thorough clean to remove the blockage. If you are unable to get rid of the blockage or the hose is split or degraded invest in a new one. If you can get rid of the blockage then re-attach the hose and start a short program to check that you have repaired the issue.

You can also check the point where the hose connects under your sink as well. This is a typical point for a build-up of gunk so if you do take off the hose give this connection a thorough clean as well.

Inspect the drain valve

You may manually inspect the drain valve to ensure it hasn’t stopped working. The drain valve will generally be found in the bottom of the machine on the valve bracket. Check your owners manual if you’re not sure.

Depressing the valve or wiggling it a bit should be adequate to find out if it’s stuck. If you can see anything stopping it from moving carefully extract this. If you can’t, this may be a good time to call a repair person unless you are undaunted by procuring and repairing the component yourself.

Examine your pump is not blocked

Your dishwasher pump makes use of impellers that can become blocked by broken glass or other objects. Check your pump isn’t blocked by removing the safety cover and making sure the impellers can rotate freely.

Run your dishwasher and listen for any unusual noises

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

Call a repair person

If none of the above checks has solved the problem, or you suspect the pump, pump valve or motor are not working, it could be a good time to call in the professionals.

At least having attempted to fix the problem yourself you have managed to avoid having to pay a hefty call-out fee for a blocked drain.