Agggghh...dishwasher leaking all over the floor!

[samcarter14]

Our dishwasher has started leaking (pouring water out through the crack between the bottom panel and the door)! DH thought he had it figured that it wasn’t draining properly after the washcycle; for a while, the short wash was working but now it’s doing it again.

The water has seeped under the cabinets and is staining the carpet on the other side. Did I mention we have a house appraisal tomorrow? GAAAH!

 

[Brenda_V]

samcarter - do a wash with just 2 cups of vinegar. Part of the problem could easily be that the soap and gunk has started clogging things. Also, take a paper towel (or several) and run it along the front of the tub, up under the rim. soap and gunk collects there too causing the dishwasher not to seal properly.

These are always my first line of defense when my dishwasher starts to do this. Once you have done this, and it solves the problem (if not then something else is wrong ) then do it at least every other month.

Brenda V.

 

[samcarter14]

Thanks Brenda. I am afraid to run it again, at least without DH home. Even after a short wash today it still had lots of water down in the bottom, which only drains if I hit “rinse only” and then 'cancel" twice, to drain. After Googling a bit, I think it’s possible the timer is off. It WILL drain fully, just not during the wash cycle. If that makes sense.

I cleaned the seal area thoroughly, I try to every time I wash the kitchen floor and i’m down there anyway.

Ugh, it’s been one thing after another with this house lately–the water softener had to be replaced (we have well water), DH just finished building an extra closet in our study, and now this.

 

[happymommy]

Ours does that sometimes too. My poor husband laid on the kitchen floor the one day, while the dishwasher went through the entire cycle, watching to see where it was leaking from, it didn’t leak. The next day I ran it, he walked out and stepped in a puddle

 

[sandraladeda]

Another suggestion for you - do you rinse your dishes in soapy water before loading them in the dishwasher? I have a friend who did that, and the soap residue on the dishes caused the dishwasher to leak. she had a repairman come out and he told her not to pre-soak the dishes in soapy water.

I was experiencing the same problem, and after I eliminated the soapy soaking, the problem cleared up.

I am also a fan of the vinegar method mentioned in an earlier post.

 

[Brenda_V]

Thanks Brenda. I am afraid to run it again, at least without DH home. Even after a short wash today it still had lots of water down in the bottom, which only drains if I hit “rinse only” and then 'cancel" twice, to drain. After Googling a bit, I think it’s possible the timer is off. It WILL drain fully, just not during the wash cycle. If that makes sense.

I cleaned the seal area thoroughly, I try to every time I wash the kitchen floor and i’m down there anyway.

Ugh, it’s been one thing after another with this house lately–the water softener had to be replaced (we have well water), DH just finished building an extra closet in our study, and now this.

Uggh, the first dishwasher in this house had that problem. At first I could tweak it to work and then it just stopped. When I finally got a repair person who spoke English I found out what the problem was and it was the pump and was told it would cost me as much to replace it as to buy a new one of the same caliber (as in, oh, yeah, the cheap one put in by the first owners).

My new one started not draining completely so I did the whole de-gunk clean thing with vinegar, still didn’t work, but I could get it to go. I think there was a piece of broken glass in the outlet, it finally moved all the way through and now it works like a charm.

Also, check your out let valve, sometimes the no-drain problem is in the sink drain itself!

One last source for you and your husband if he is handy that way is repairclinic.com/RepairHelp/RepairHelp.aspx This site has helped me with things from fixing an oven to knowing if I can fix it myself or if I should call the repairman.

Hope your dishwasher is fixable, they are a boon to the busy mom.

Brenda V.

 

[puzzleannie]

I cleaned the seal area thoroughly, I try to every time I wash the kitchen floor and i’m down there anyway.

.

wow you do this? I’m impressed. think I’ll hire a cleaning lady she will do a way better job than I do

 

[CCDMark]

If laughter helps at all try this-- When my oldest daughter was 4 days old we were about to give her the first bath of her life. Kinda a scary moment for new parents. My mom-in-law came up, tapped me on the shoulder, “I’ll take over… your dishwasher leaked all over the kitchen floor.” Sure enough, there was a puddle. I started cleaning up while the bath went on. When the phone rang, I picked up to find a telemarketer.

“Hey my daugher is 4 days old… its the middle of her first bath… my dishwasher’s leaked all over the floor. Tell me why I need to talk to you?”

“you’re right sir. we’ll ummmm wish you a good night and good luck”.

Still makes me chuckle 14 years later.

Good luck with the dishwasher. If its old, check the integrity of the door seals and the drain seals. If it drains quick, leaky seals might not get noticed. If it drains slowly, more of an issue. Plumbing is usually sweated in, so its things like gasketry that go first. Good luck with the appraisal.