Help - dishwasher won't drain

[countryguy]

A friend of mine installed the exact same Kitchen Aid dishwasher that I have when she had her house built 2 years ago so it would be a 2007-08 model. Living alone, the only time the dishwasher is used is for family gatherings. The first time she used the dishwasher it would not drain because we found out the plumber had neglected to remove the plug from the plumbing drain connector. Ever since however, she has problems with the dishwasher draining - sometimes it will and most of the time it won't. Last night it wouldn't. The cycle was finished and the bottom of the tub was full of dirty water. I turned on the Rinse/hold cycle and then cancel but the water did not drain although I can hear the pump running and the drain hose is hot so the dishwasher is pumping the water. When it has happened before I did the same thing and the water did drain. The kitchen plumbing does not have an air gap but the drain hose is looped from the bottom of the cupboard to the top, exactly as it is installed in my house and I have no problems what so ever. Any ideas as to why it sometimes will not drain? I'm thinking there is some kind of problems with the plumbing? Thanks.

Gary

 

[yogitunes]

Gary

start troubleshooting, to determine first if its the drain line or the dishwasher itself...I would remove the drain hose and put it in a bucket to rule out the machine first, check for kinks and such....

then move on to the drain, maybe disassemble or flush some hot water and drain cleaner, or even hook up a wet/dry vac and back flush.....every drain setup is different

let us know how you make out, and if we can help anymore...

 

[countryguy]

I am going over to her place shortly and was planning on disconnecting the drain hose and putting it into a bucket to make sure the dishwasher is functioning correctly. I'm pretty sure that it is though. Both kitchen sinks are draining with no problem so if there is something stuck, it would have to be between the dishwasher connection and where the sink drains, a span of only a few inches. I'll let you know what I find.

Gary

 

[yogitunes]

looking for your response Gary...

hope it's an easy fix....

 

[yogitunes]

ALSO....some dishwashers have a anti-backflow device, usually near the pump connection to the hose....most are just a floating ball of some sort, and this may be getting stuck from low usage......

later get her to run the machine at least once a month or so, keep water in the machine to keep the seals from dry rotting and leaking....been there with my Mom's....sometimes she runs it empty just to keep everything smooth

 

[countryguy]

Thanks Yogi....the dishwasher problem has existed from the day it was installed so I'm leaning more towards the plumbing rather than the dishwasher itself...but who knows

Gary

 

[laundromat]

Gsarbage disposal

So many times I would tell new buyers who were going to install their new dishwashers that they'd need to punch out the drain opening that were on the disposer in order for the dishwasher to drain properly.It's unbelievable how many people are not aware of this.Some would want a refund and I'd ask questions only to find that they actualy did not know they had to do that.I'd ask them how they'd expect an already opened dishwasher drain connected to their disposer would keep from leaking water all over the place? they had no freeging clue.The other popular issue was a clogged disposer that wouldn't drain. I asked them how long they'd run the disposer and what they'd put down it?They'd tell me "A few seconds" and Frying grease.I'd tell them to boil some water and turn on the hot water on their faucet because the grease had hardened and needed to be melted down and to ad some dishwashing liquid once it opened to flush the grease and break it down. I never run my disposer less than two minutes and use hot water when disposing greasy stuff then add Dawn to keep the grease from hardening.I run cold water with fruits and vegetables but,when grinding bones and greasy stuffs,I use hot water.

 

[mikepaquette]

dishwasher drain

I found a friends 2 year old dishwasher drain hose had a kink in it. After it worked great. Could be maybe that simple. Good luck. Mike

 

[SactoTeddyBear]

Hey! Gary:

Sorry to hear about this problem with your Friends Dishwasher. From what I've been reading in the Posting's it sounds like maybe because each Dishwasher is different, maybe her's needs to have an Airgap Installed...

Let us all know what you find out, we will all be waiting with our Hands out, to collect our info Fees, for rendering our suggestions...

Peace and Kind Regards,Steve
SactoTeddyBear0503...

 

[countryguy]

OK, problem solved. I disconnected the dishwasher hose, turned it on and it drains A-OK. I then tried to push a pencil into the dishwasher connection on the plumbing pipe - it would only go in about an inch so I figured there was an obstruction. When I pulled the pencil out it was covered in hardened grease - probably because she rarely uses the dishwasher. So I took the drain trap apart, cleaned it all out, reassembled everything and the dishwasher drains fine now. HOWEVER there is a major leak where the dishwasher hose connects to the nipple on the plumbing. On my dishwasher drain hose there is a 2" piece of rubber at the end of the plastic hose which slips over the nipple and then is tightened with a clamp. On this dishwasher, it looks like whoever installed the dishwasher removed that piece of rubber (who knows why) so all that remains is the plastic drain hose. When I connect it to the nipple and tighten it leaks. Now I am wondering what I can do to solve this leak, without having to install a new drain hose? Is there anything that can be added to the end of the hose?

Gary

 

[yogitunes]

Gary.....

2 things

at Lowes there is a dishwasher connector that stages in sizes to fit...slide in the hose and then onto the drain...clamp on both....

or a simple 3/4 auto heater hose, about 4 inches long, same thing as above, slide hose in, then slide onto the drain, and clamp both...

simple fixes

glad it was an easy fix for you....usually things are more difficult than they appear....

anything else....let us know

 

[countryguy]

Unfortunately we don't have a Lowe's here but I did go to Home Depot and they didn't have the piece that you spoke of. So instead I got some plumbing tape since it is kind of rubbery. I wrapped it around the nipple, slid the hose over top, then wrapped some more tape and clamped it .....voila, no more leak.

Thanks for all the help

Gary.

 

[yogitunes]

Well done Gary.....nothing wrong with improvising....some of the oddest things work the best....

Glad you got it fixed and it was something simple...

Take care of yourself....we'll talk soon

Martin

 

[appnut]

Gary, I left you a note on our other mutual site.

 

[SactoTeddyBear]

Congrats Gary:

With getting your Friends Dishwasher operating properly again. It is just like people that don't know about Manual Clean Lint Filters in Washers and Dryers, that makes Appliances go out sooner than what they should.

I thought that the Dishwasher might need an Air-Gap or as you mentioned it might be something to do with the Sink Plumbing.

I hope that this was a "Wake-Up" call for your Friend.

Peace and Kind Regards, Steve
SactoTeddyBear0503...

 

[mkbrennanmd]

Solution! .. Dishwasher Won't Drain

Easy Fix and this video on how to repair it is a quick and easy guide.
www.youtube.com/user/mkbrennan13

My Dishwasher had similar Problem. It didn't drain, and there was a puddle of water under the machine. It also stopped mid-cycle. If you called a repair guy, it will cost $150-250, and they will only take out the old drain hose and put a new one in. If your dishwasher won't drain, or if it's leaking water, the following video will talk you through the repair process. Usually the drain hose is the most common problem. It clogs up after a couple years due to buildup of cleaning detergents, and when its clogged, the machine cannot drain the water, it stops during the cleaning process, and it leaks out the bottom. Replacing the hose will cost $10-15 and it only takes about 20 minutes to fix.

www.youtube.com/user/mkbrennan13

Anyone can Fix it. Just click the above link and watch the video. Its very simple. You'll be proud.

 

[kitty]

Is the drain clogged or kinked? Is the pump broken? Is power getting to the pump? Timer bad? If I were you, I would check these first.

 

[yogitunes]

you do realize this problem occured and was fixed over 3 years ago...right?.....