Why is My Dishwasher Leaking?

Getting up in the morning only to discover an ominous puddle on the floor is never a great to start the day.

Thankfully, most commonly seen causes of dishwasher leaks are comparably straightforward to diagnose and mend yourself. Meaning you could not need to wash the dishes by hand for too long, take a day off waiting for an repair person or have to pay a high call-out charge.

So, grab the instruction manual if you have it, clean up the puddle and get a towel soak up any additional spills and find out if you can diagnose the issue. If you can’t call us for local dishwasher repair.

Common Causes of Dishwasher Leaks as well as How to Mend Them

Some of the more everyday explanations of dishwasher faults are not in fact a result of a broken dishwasher at all. Before you start preparing yourself for an engineering task and flicking through endless youtube videos there are a number of issues you can troubleshoot first.

Test to find out whether your dishwasher is level. If the dishwasher isn’t aligned water will quickly pool as well as leak even if the dishwasher is working perfectly.
Investigate you have been using the right detergent. You could have seen this with your washer. An excess of detergent or the wrong type can lead to too many soap suds, the soap suds spill over resulting in a spill.
Investigate your dishwasher door closes correctly. If there’s a gap there may be a blockage, or you might have to replace the door fixings.
Test the filter in the base of the tub for any obvious drainage issues as if your dishwasher isn’t draining effectively this will result in overfill and so leak.

If you have ruled out these issues it’s time to roll up your sleeves and begin the investigation.

To make your life easier start with the door and check for any obvious damage in the interior of the machine before you move on to the underneath. If you are able to find and so fix the problem before you need to pull out the dishwasher so much the better.

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

Door Gasket

The most commonplace place for a dishwasher to leak is on the door, thankfully it is likewise one of the quickest problems to resolve.

If the leakage is periodic the problem might be as simple as an oversized dish or something else pushing into the door and preventing the door from shutting fully.

On the other hand the door seal might have come loose or become split.

Examine the door seal and also test for any degradation, a build-up of limescale or other gunk, or any areas in which the gasket might have come away from the door.

Taking off the gasket and allowing it a good wash can improve the situation in some cases or you could need to purchase a new gasket and replace it.

Water Inlet Valve (Solenoid Fill Valve)

The inlet valve can be a further simple problem. This is usually located underneath the machine therefore you may need to unscrew the kick plate and also may need to remove the door cover.

The inlet valve opens and closes to allow water into the dishwasher at varying parts of the cycle. The water inlet valve could be leaking, shown by a slight drip, or it may be damaged and not operating fully throughout the cycle.

When the water inlet valve fails to close properly this can mean that the dishwasher overfills, causing a leak.

Often fill valve are not able to be fixed unless it is only the rubber gasket that is damaged, thus the entire valve would have to be replaced.

Leaking Hoses

Hoses are needed to fill, empty and also recirculate water within the programme.

Two problems could arise when it comes to hoses.

The gaskets can get damaged or the connections could work loose so it’s worth having a look at all the connections .
The alternative problem than may often happen as time goes by is that hoses might get broken or cracked.

Luckily faulty hoses are simple to buy and also change, even for a novice.

Pumps and Seals

You can visually test the gaskets around the pumps or motor to determine whether there is a leak and replace them if that’s the case.

The Float Switch

The float itself or the float switch may be broken resulting in the dishwasher overfilling.

A working float will lift up as the water rises until the desired or highest water level is attained. The tag 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 a multi-meter but it might be noticeably damaged in which case getting a new one should solve the leak.

Alternative Parts that Could Result in Leakage

A cracked wash arm or support might causing a leak. This can also often result in your dishes not being cleaned as effectively as they should.

Broken or faulty lines could likewise result in this fault as may a loose pump cover.

The motor shaft seal might have come loose causing leakage. This generally presents as a leak coming from the underside of the machine.

Top Tips to Mend Your Dishwasher

Spend less by checking the seal in place of the entire component. In many cases, you can buy the gasket separately which saves time as well as money.
Test the simple fixes before you get more complicated. There’s no point pulling the entire machine away from the wall if it’s the soap that’s causing the problem.
Photograph your progress. This may assist you to put the thing back together, show the component you are looking for in a shop, as well as explain the fault to a repair person if needed.
Stay safe. Water and electricity are not good friends so unplug the machine first.
If you’re struggling call the professionals.

The Next Steps You Should Take If Your Initial Investigation Doesn’t Identify or Resolve the Leak

If the cause of the problem can’t be uncovered the thing you could do is to pull the dishwasher away from the wall to get a better look underneath it and also add water to the tub to find out if the leakage becomes visible.

If this doesn’t shed any light your appliance could only show a leakage when it’s running. In this instance, you should find a service engineer to determine and fix the problem due to the safety risks of running the dishwasher with electrical components uncovered.