Why is My Dishwasher Leaking? | Hometown Appliance Repair

Getting up in the morning to find a large puddle on the floor is no-one’s favorite manner to start the day.

Luckily, most simple sources of dishwasher leaks are comparably simple to diagnose and resolve yourself. This means you could not have to wash the dishes by hand for too long, stay at home waiting for an engineer or have to pay a high call-out charge.

So, if you’re feeling up to it get out the manual if you know where it is, get a towel to clean up the mess and get a towel soak up any further spills and so see whether you can’t fix the problem. If you cannot call us for local dishwasher repair.

Commonplace Causes of Dishwasher Faults as well as How to Fix Them

A lot of the more commonplace causes of dishwasher faults are not actually due to a dishwasher fault . Before you start getting the tools out and looking at endless youtube tutorials there are a couple of things you should troubleshoot first.

Investigate to see whether your dishwasher is aligned. If your dishwasher is not aligned water will easily puddle and so spill out regardless of whether or not the dishwasher has a fault.
Investigate you have been using the right soap. You may be familiar with this problem with your washer. Too much detergent or using the incorrect type can result in to too many suds, the soap suds spill over resulting in a leak.
Investigate your dishwasher door closes correctly. If it doesn’t you might have something obstructing it, or you could have to fix the hinge or the locking mechanism.
Check the filter in the base of the machine for any obvious obstructions as if your dishwasher isn’t draining properly this can cause it to overfill and so leak.

If none of the above issues apply it’s time to roll up your sleeves and begin the inspection.

To make your life easier start with the door and test for any obvious problems inside of the machine before you move on to the underneath. If you are able to identify and so resolve the issue without pulling out the dishwasher so much the better.

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

Door Gasket

The most everyday place for leakage is on the door, fortunately it is likewise one of the simplest problems to solve.

If the leakage is occasional the problem might be as easy as an oversized dish or another object pushing against the door thus preventing it from sealing fully.

On the other hand the door seal could have come loose or got split.

Inspect the door gasket and also test for any degradation, mineral deposits or other deposits, or any parts in which the gasket has come away from the door.

Extracting the gasket and also allowing it a good clean can improve the situation in some instances or you may need to buy a new gasket and replace it.

Water Inlet Valve (Solenoid Fill Valve)

The inlet valve can also be a common issue. The Valve is in most cases situated under the machine and so you may need to unscrew the toe board and may have to take off the door cover.

The inlet valve opens and also closes to let water into the machine at different times in the programme. The water inlet valve could be showing a leak, evidenced by a slight drip, or it may be broken thus not operating correctly while the dishwasher is running.

When the fill valve doesn’t shut properly this can mean that the dishwasher overfills, causing a leak.

Generally fill valve can’t be refurbished, and so the whole valve would need to be replaced.

Leaking Hoses

Your dishwasher uses hoses to fill, empty and recirculate water within the cycle.

Two issues might arise where hoses are involved.

The seals can go or the contact points could come loose so it’s worth having a look at all the connection points .
The alternative issue than may easily happen over time is that hoses might become damaged or cracked.

If you can determine that the leakage is a result of a faulty hose this should be relatively easy to replace and new hoses are readily available.

Pumps and Gaskets

You are able to visually test the gaskets surrounding the water pumps or motor to see if there is a leakage and also replace them if that’s the case.

The Float Switch

Either the float or the float switch might be broken resulting in the dishwasher overfilling.

When working as it should the float will lift up with the water level until it reaches the desired fill level. The tail of the float will then operate the switch. A blockage or breakage could be causing your problem.

Checking the switch would need electrical equipment but it may be clearly damaged in which case getting a new one should resolve the problem.

Other Parts that May Cause Leakage

A damaged wash arm or support can build up pressure resulting in a leak. This can likewise often affect how well your dishes are being cleaned.

Broken or cracked tubes might also cause this issue as could a broken pump cap if your dishwasher has one.

The motor shaft seal may have cracked causing leakage. This generally presents as a puddle coming from the underside of the appliance.

Top Tips to Sort Out Your Machine

Save money by replacing the seal in place of the whole part. In plenty instances, you can buy the gasket separately which saves you having to change the entire part.
Check the easy fixes first. There’s no point pulling the whole thing away from the wall if the problem is the soap.
Take photos as you go. This may make your life easier when you come to reverse the process, show the part you need in a shop, as well as identify the issue to a repair person if needed.
Stay safe. Water and electricity are not good friends so turn off the power first.
If you’re struggling get in the professionals.

What To Do Next If Your Initial Investigation Fails to Disclose or Mend the Leakage

If the cause of the leak remains a mystery the thing you might do is to pull out the machine to get better access underneath it and also add water to the tub to find out if the leakage becomes visible.

If this gives no further clues your machine may only leak when the pump is running. In this case, your best bet would be to hire a service engineer to diagnose as well as resolve the problem as there are safety risks of running the dishwasher with electrical parts exposed.