Dishwasher Not Draining? Common Causes
Standing water in the bottom of your dishwasher? Here are the common causes and what you can safely check yourself.
Opening the dishwasher to find dirty water pooled in the bottom is a common complaint. It means the machine is not draining, and the cause is usually easy to pin down.
Why dishwashers fail to drain
- A blocked filter clogged with food debris — by far the most common cause.
- A kinked or clogged drain hose.
- A blocked drain pump, sometimes jammed by glass or a label.
- An air-gap or sink-waste blockage where the dishwasher connects to the plumbing.
What you can safely check
- Remove and rinse the filter at the bottom of the tub.
- Check the drain hose is not kinked behind the machine.
- Clear any food trap where the hose joins the sink waste.
When to call a technician
If the filter and hose are clear but water remains, the drain pump is likely blocked or failed, or the machine has a control fault. These need a technician to open up and test safely.
Preventing it
Scrape plates before loading, clean the filter weekly, and run a hot maintenance cycle monthly to keep the drainage path clear.
Frequently asked
The machine is not draining — usually a blocked filter, a clogged drain hose, or a failed drain pump. Start with the filter, which solves most cases.
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