Dishwasher Not Draining? Here’s What You Can Do!

If you happen to have a dishwasher in your home, you’re either using it on a regular basis or not at all. If you prefer to do your dishes by hand, you may be using your dishwasher for storage. However, if you have been relying on your dishwasher to save you time, a dishwasher is indispensable. So, what do you do if your dishwasher starts malfunctioning?

A dishwasher that isn’t properly draining can be a minor emergency because all of that dishwater can wind up on your kitchen floor. Before you do anything else, you’ll want to remove excess water from the dishwasher and protect your floors. After that, however, you’ll need to figure out what’s wrong in order to keep it from happening again.

Here are a few things you can try if you’re pulling out soggy dishes and wondering “why won’t my dishwasher drain?”

1. Check Your Loading: If this is a recent problem, double-check to ensure that you’re loading your dishes correctly. There are many wrong ways to load a dishwasher and even if you’ve been doing well in the past, you may have simply loaded it incorrectly. Check your loading first.
2. Try Running the Garbage Disposal: A clogged garbage disposal can mess up your dishwasher’s ability to drain if they are connected by the same hose. If your dishwasher isn’t draining, running a garbage disposal can be a quick and easy fix.
3. Check for Clogs: Large food debris may block the water from draining. If your dishes are coming out soggy, check the bottom and move any debris.
4. Clean the Dishwasher Filter: If you’ve never seen your dishwasher filter, it’s probably inside the bottom of the unit, and it’s also probably clogged. Ideally, you want to clean the filter on a regular basis, and after ensuring that food debris isn’t the problem at least your filter will be cleaned.
5. Listen to Your Dishwasher: You probably know what your dishwasher sounds like, so taking a minute to listen for any unusual sounds can help pinpoint the problem. Even if you’re not an expert on dishwashers, you can still describe the unusual noise to your repair tech to help them figure out the problem.

While there are plenty of troubleshooting tips for a clogged dishwasher, sometimes you need a professional. Best Price Appliance Repair serves customers in the OC and LA County areas. Call us today to help get your dishwasher back to normal.