Why is My Dishwasher Leaking?

Getting up in the morning to step in an ominous puddle coming from the dishwasher is never the best to start the day.

Fortuitously, most commonplace causes of dishwasher leaks are comparably simple to pinpoint and mend yourself. Meaning you might not need to wash the dishes by hand that much, call an engineer or need to pay the call-out fee.

So, grab the manual if you know where it is, clean up the puddle and get a towel clean up any additional leaks and so see if you can’t diagnose the problem. If you aren’t able to call us for local dishwasher repair.

Everyday Explanations of Dishwasher Faults and How to Mend Them

A lot of the most commonplace causes of dishwasher leaks are not really due to a dishwasher fault at all. Before you start preparing yourself for an engineering task and watching numerous online videos there are a couple of problems you should rule out first.

Investigate to find out if your dishwasher is aligned. If your dishwasher is misaligned water will easily pool and spill out regardless of whether or not the dishwasher has a fault.
Investigate you have been using the right soap. You could have seen this with your washer. An excess of detergent or using the wrong variety could lead to too many suds, the soap suds deluge resulting in a spill.
Test your dishwasher door fully closes. If there’s a gap you might have something obstructing it, or you might need to adjust the door fixings.
Test the filter located at the bottom of the tub for any obvious obstructions as if your dishwasher isn’t emptying effectively this can cause it to overfill and spill.

Once you have looked at these possible causes it’s time to get ready and start the investigation.

The easiest place to start is the door as well as test for any obvious damage inside of the machine prior to moving on to the underneath. If you are able to identify and resolve the problem before you need to pull out the dishwasher so much the better.

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

Door Seal

The most commonly seen place for leakage is around the door, luckily it is also one of the easiest issues to solve.

If the leakage is intermittent the issue might be as simple as an oversized dish or another object putting pressure against the door and stopping the door from closing fully.

Else-ways the door seal could have come out of place or been split.

Inspect the door gasket and also check for any brittleness, mineral deposits or other gunk, or any parts in which the seal might have separated from the door.

Extracting the seal and giving it a good clean can improve the situation in some instances or you might have to buy a new seal and change it.

Water Inlet Valve (Solenoid Fill Valve)

The water inlet valve can be another common issue. This is generally situated underneath the machine which means you will most likely need to take off the kick plate and also might have to remove the door cover.

The water inlet valve opens and closes to allow water into the machine at various times during the cycle. The fill valve could be leaking, demonstrated with a slight drip, or it could be damaged thus not operating properly while the dishwasher is running.

If the inlet valve fails to shut properly this can mean that the dishwasher overfills, causing a leak.

Generally these valves are not able to be fixed, and so the whole valve would have to be replaced.

Leaking Hoses

Hoses are needed to fill, drain and also redistribute water during the cycle.

Two problems might present themselves with hoses.

The gaskets can get damaged or the connections could come loose so it’s worth examining all the connection points first.
The alternative fault than can often happen as time goes by is that hoses might become degraded or cracked.

Luckily faulty hoses are relatively easy to procure and also replace, even for a novice.

Pumps and Seals

You can visually check the seals that are part of the water pumps or motor to see whether there is a leakage and also replace them if that’s the case.

The Float Switch

Either the float or the float switch may be not working correctly resulting in the dishwasher overfilling.

A working float will go up as the water rises until the desired or maximum water level is attained. The tail of the float should then turn on the switch. If something is blocking this or the float is broken this could be your issues.

Checking the switch would need electrical equipment although it could be noticeably damaged in which case replacing it should stop the leak.

Other Parts that Might Lead to a Leak

A broken wash arm or support may causing leakage. This can also often result in your dishes not being cleaned as effectively as they should.

Broken or faulty lines can also result in this fault as may a cracked pump cover if your machine has one.

The motor shaft gasket might have degraded resulting in a leak. This will generally show as a puddle coming from the underside of the appliance.

Top Tips to Sort Out Your Machine

Save money by replacing the seal rather than the whole part. In most instances, you can buy the seal separately which saves you having to replace the entire part.
Check the easy resolutions first. You don’t need to pull the entire machine out if the problem is the detergent.
Take pictures as you go. This could make your life easier when you come to reverse the process, show the part you need to a sales person, as well as explain the fault to a repair person if required.
Be careful. Water and electricity are not good friends so unplug the machine first.
If you’re struggling get in a professional.

The Next Steps You Should Take If Your Trouble Shooting Fails to Disclose or Fix the Leak

If the cause of the leak remains a mystery the next step you may take is to pull out the dishwasher to get a better look beneath it and also fill it with water to find out if the leak becomes visible.

If this gives no further clues your dishwasher could only leak if the pump is running. In this instance, you should get a service engineer to pinpoint as well as fix the fault due to the safety risks of checking for faults with electrical parts exposed.