Have you noticed that your dishwasher accumulates water at the bottom of the appliance, and it doesn’t go away unless you manually remove it? If so, this can be of some concern, as it can hinder the quality of the wash, and leave an overall foul smell. Don’t spend more time cleaning the dishes after the dishwasher’s cycle is complete.
Even though a dishwasher not draining is an extremely common issue that these appliances face, there are many fixes that you can do yourself without a specialist; however, before you jump on the DIY train, you’ll want to make sure the water and the appliance is turned off entirely before attempting to fix. Here are some reasons why your dishwasher isn’t draining:
A Blocked Filter
An extremely common reason why your dishwasher isn’t draining, a blocked filter can be pesky and cause the unit to not drain water. Before you take a look at the individual areas, make sure your appliance is free of any blockages.
Remove the basket from the base of the dishwasher and then take out the central filter. After, you should clean this filter to sterilize and make sure it’s all good for the next load. In doing so, you can remove waste, excess detergent, rotting food, etc. Once you have done this, place it back into your appliance.
While this should be routine maintenance, it’s a common and easily fixable problem. It can cause a number of issues that go beyond an appliance not draining, including a wreaking rotting smell within your kitchen and house, and much more.
The Timer Being Faulty
If you have a newer machine, you more than likely have some sort of mechanical timer that can become faulty. When this happens, your appliance reverts to a backup “thought” and thinks that your cycle is finished, even when it’s not. When this problem occurs, water can build up, and a more technical problem must be addressed.
Drain Pump Functionality
Another more common area that can lead to a dishwasher not draining is if the pump is not functioning as it should be. When it doesn’t function as best as it can, drainage can be put on an incorrect cycle, and the water gets stored inside, rather than out through the drainage.
There are units that have a separate pump for this, so make sure there is no blockage or obstruction between the inputs and outputs of these pipes.
What About the Valve Flapper?
We’ve covered a decent amount here today, and one of the last issues you should tick off your list is the valve flapper. When this is broken, it causes the water to accumulate in the base of the appliance. This part of the dishwasher is typically used to get clean water into the machine, while rejecting any dirty water that comes through. When broken, it doesn’t help you so much.
To check and see if the valve flapper is working, you’ll want to make sure it opens during the washing portion of the dishwasher’s cycle and making sure it closes again.
If you’ve already checked all of these off your list, and none of these are a problem, contact a professional like Alpha Appliance Services Inc. at (416) 577-5354 today to diagnose your appliance.
Comments are closed