Why is My Dishwasher Leaking?

Coming downstairs only to find an ominous puddle coming from the dishwasher is no-one’s chosen way to start the day.

Fortuitously, most commonplace explanations of dishwasher faults are relatively easy to determine and resolve yourself. Meaning you could not be required to hand wash the dishes for more than a day or two, spend a day at home waiting for an repair person or need to pay a high call-out fee.

So, if you’re feeling up to it get out the instruction manual if you know where it is, grab a towel to clean up the puddle and get a towel soak up any further leaks and so find out if you can’t diagnose the fault. If you aren’t able to call us for local dishwasher repair.

Common Sources of Dishwasher Faults and How to Mend Them

A lot of the most simple sources of dishwasher leaks aren’t actually due to a broken dishwasher at all. Prior to starting getting the tools out and flicking through numerous online tutorials there are a number of things you should rule out first.

Check to see whether your dishwasher is level. If the dishwasher is not level water can quickly puddle and so spill out regardless of whether or not the dishwasher has a fault.
Investigate you are using the right soap. You might be familiar with this problem with your washing machine. An excess of soap or the incorrect type may result in to too many bubbles, the suds bubble over resulting in a leak.
Investigate your dishwasher door closes fully. If there’s a gap you might have an object blocking it such as a large plate, or you could have to adjust the hinge or the locking mechanism.
Test the filter in the bottom of the machine for any obvious obstructions as if your dishwasher isn’t draining correctly this will result in fill too much and so spill.

If you have looked at these possible causes it’s time to roll up your sleeves and start the inspection.

To make your life easier start with the door and check for any obvious problems in the interior of the machine before you move on to the underside. If you are able to find and fix the issue before you need to pull out the dishwasher so much the better.

Before you do anything else make sure you disconnect the dishwasher.

Door Gasket

The door is seemingly the most everyday area for leakage and also one of the quickest problems to fix.

If the leakage is intermittent the problem may be as straightforward as an oversized dish or something else pushing into the door thus preventing the door from sealing fully.

Else-ways the door gasket might have come loose or got damaged.

Examine the door gasket and also investigate for any brittleness, mineral deposits or other debris, or any parts in which the gasket has come away from the door.

Removing the seal and giving it a thorough wash might help in some cases or you may need to acquire a new seal and change it.

Water Inlet Valve (Solenoid Fill Valve)

The inlet valve can be a further commonplace fault. This is usually found under the machine and so you may need to take off the toe board and also could need to remove the door cover.

The water inlet valve opens and also closes to allow water into the tub at varying parts of the programme. The fill valve may be leaking, evidenced by a slow drip, or it may be broken and so not opening or closing correctly while the dishwasher is running.

When the water inlet valve doesn’t close correctly this can mean that the dishwasher overfills, causing a leak.

In General these valves can’t be repaired, which means the entire component would need to be replaced.

Leaking Hoses

Hoses are needed to fill, empty and recirculate water within the programme.

Two issues could present themselves with hoses.

The gaskets could go or the contact points could work loose thus it’s a good idea to check all the connection points first.
The other issue than could often happen as you use the machine is that hoses could get broken or get a hole in.

Luckily damaged hoses are relativelysimple to buy as well as replace.

Pumps and Seals

You can visually test the gaskets surrounding the water pumps or motor to ascertain if there is a leak and change them if that’s the case.

The Float Switch

The float itself or the float switch may be broken resulting in the dishwasher overfilling.

A working float will go up as the water level goes up until it reaches the desired fill level. The tag of the float will then activate the switch. If something is blocking this or the float is broken this could be causing your problem.

Checking the switch would need electrical equipment but it might be obviously broken in which case replacing it should stop the leak.

Alternative Parts that May Result in Leakage

A cracked wash arm or support may causing a leak. This will also often result in your dishes not being cleaned as effectively as they should.

Broken or faulty tubes might also result in this fault as could a broken pump cover if your dishwasher has one.

The motor shaft seal might have cracked resulting in a leak. This will generally show as a leak coming from underneath the appliance.

Top Tips to Mend Your Dishwasher

Spend less by changing the seal instead of the entire component. In plenty instances, you are able to purchase the seal separately which saves you having to replace the whole part.
Investigate the simple solutions before you get more complicated. There’s no point pulling the entire thing away from the wall if the problem is the soap.
Photograph your progress. This could make your life easier when you come to put the thing back together, describe the part you need in a store, and explain the problem to a repair person if needed.
Be careful. Water and electricity are not good friends so unplug the machine first.
If in doubt call a repair person.

What To Do Next If Your Trouble Shooting Doesn’t Identify or Resolve the Leak

If the root of the problem can’t be uncovered the thing you may do is to pull out the dishwasher to get a clearer view of the underneath it as well as fill it with water to find out if the leakage becomes visible.

If you don’t find any leaks with this method your machine could only show a leakage if during a cycle. In this case, you may wish to get a service engineer to pinpoint and mend the fault as there are safety risks of checking for faults with electrical parts exposed.

SAME-DAY SERVICE!