How to install a dishwasher yourself

Dishwasher Installation The largest retail chains specializing in the sale of household appliances offer free installation and connection of dishwashers and washing machines. The cost of the service is included in the price of the sales contract, which is very convenient for the consumer. But what if the installation of a dishwasher can only be done at your own expense? At current prices for this type of service, it is often easier to install a dishwasher quickly, with your own hands. In this article, we will talk about how to install a dishwasher yourself, and we will offer a video on this topic.

Does the machine need to be prepared for installation?

For specialists, the question of whether a machine needs to be prepared for installation is in itself absurd, because how can one do such a thing without preparation? It’s the same as driving a washing machine all the time and not having it periodically inspected and repaired. It's not hard to guess how this will end. Preparation for installation can be divided into two stages: selecting and preparing a place for the dishwasher and selecting the necessary tools and materials with your own hands.

We will talk about preparing tools and material a little later in more detail, but now we will say a few words about choosing and preparing a place. Features of preparing a place for a dishwasher will depend on its type, the configuration of your kitchen, personal preferences and wishes. It is better to first draw an exact plan of the kitchen with your own hands, calculate the position of each piece of equipment to the nearest centimeter, not forgetting to take into account the thickness of the material, then you need to choose the right dishwasher; there is a video on how to do this correctly on the Internet. If you are building a dishwasher into furniture, you must correctly take accurate measurements of the niche being prepared; an error of even half a centimeter will result in the dishwasher not fitting into the niche.

Important! Before installing the dishwasher, check how its legs are adjusted in height, as this can also affect the final result of the installation. You can watch the video instructions on how to adjust the dishwasher legs.

Remember that the dishwasher should be located as close as possible to the outlet and the outlet of the sewer and water pipes. It may happen that neither the pipes nor the electrical communications are prepared properly. In this case, you will have to carry out electrical wiring and remove the outlet. In addition, you need to make connections to the water and sewer pipes. How to independently conduct electrical communications is also described and shown in video clips. If the dishwasher is installed in a complex manner (under the sink, in a cabinet, etc.), you will have to remodel the corresponding piece of furniture, or change the siphon located under the sink.

What will you need to install a dishwasher?

In essence, you don't need much to install and connect a dishwasher. Minimum tools and minimum materials. Although, of course, one cannot ignore individual situations when original technical solutions are required.The following tools will be useful: pliers and a screwdriver, also prepare an adjustable wrench, it’s not a fact that it will be useful, but still. And the composition of the set of materials will depend on the location of the machine; the farther from communications, the more expensive the set.

For your information! Standard hoses are usually quite short, 1.5 or even 1.3 meters. If you place the machine close to the sink, then their length will be enough.

Let's imagine that our dishwasher will be installed 2 m from the pipes, which means we will have to buy extended hoses, and this expands the list of components. You will also need faucet for connecting the dishwasher to the water supply. The most commonly used tap is a tee, but there may be other options if, for example, you plan to connect a washing machine at once. In this case, you can take a tap with four outlets.

Dishwasher Installation

You will also need a coarse water filter. It is necessary to install it, because otherwise debris will get into the dishwasher with tap water and damage its internal parts. In rare cases, you may need a set of rubber gaskets, which can be purchased at a plumbing supply store.

If you have not previously installed a moisture-proof socket in the kitchen, then this must be done by adding it to the list of necessary components. It is also a good idea to purchase and install a stabilizer in the kitchen to protect your dishwasher, and at the same time your washing machine and refrigerator from power surges. So the approximate list of tools and materials is ready, of course, something else may be required, some little thing, but basically that’s all.

Note! If you're remodeling your kitchen to accommodate a dishwasher, you'll need a much broader list of tools and materials.

Instructions for installing the machine yourself

The easiest way to install a freestanding dishwasher. There are quite a few good videos on the Internet instructing the user in this area. Here are our instructions.

We roll the dishwasher as close as possible to the installation site, but so that we can get unhindered access to hoses, power cords and communications.
We connect the drain hose with our own hands to the siphon located under the sink (the connection is made to the side outlet of the siphon).
We close the riser with cold water. We climb under the sink and find where the cold water pipe connects to the outlet hose to the tap. We unscrew the hose and screw the tee valve onto the pipe.
After the tap, you need to screw on a coarse flow filter so that in the future, at any time, you can turn off the water and clean this filter.
We screw the inlet hose to the filter with our own hands, which needs to be connected to the dishwasher.
For your information! It is very important to properly seal all connections, otherwise leakage may occur and further problems with neighbors. You can watch a thematic video about proper sealing of connections.
If you need to independently connect the dishwasher to a hot water pipe, then you need to act in exactly the same way. However, you need to be careful not to get burned.
Next, you need to connect the power cord to the outlet and you can slide the dishwasher into place. You need to move the machine very carefully so as not to accidentally snag, tear off or crush the hoses and wires.
As soon as the machine is in place, you can perform a test run, as indicated in the instructions for the dishwasher.

The dishwasher installation is complete. We have described the most general approach to installation and connection; most likely in your case there will be nuances that are difficult to predict in advance. But we are sure you can handle it on your own, and the video below will help you with this!

Installation features of some types of dishwashers

In general terms, we looked at how to install a dishwasher with your own hands. However, our instructions are based on the simplest version of installing a freestanding dishwasher, but there are also narrow dishwashers, small dishwashers, built-in dishwashers and even combination dishwashers. We’ll talk about the installation features of such machines in this section.

For your information! Built-in dishwashers can be small, narrow, or full-size at the same time.

Installation of built-in dishwashers. Built-in dishwashers are installed in the same way as free-standing ones, provided that the place for them is properly prepared. Connecting built-in dishwashers is usually quite inconvenient; you will have to carefully move the machine so that the hoses reach the right place, and at the same time you can crawl up to them. But once the connection is completed, all that remains is to push the washing machine into the prepared niche and hang the facade.

Installation of small dishwashers.Small dishwashers are connected just like all the others, but they are easier to install, if only because their dimensions are smaller and they also weigh less. Some people place small dishwashers on their own directly on the wall. No diagram or instructions are needed here. You purchase a special wall mount, drill it to the wall, hang the small dishwasher with your own hands, and then connect it according to the instructions discussed above.

Narrow dishwashers are connected in the same way as others, but with combined ones everything is more complicated. The dishwasher combination includes a gas hob, electric oven and dishwasher. This means that in addition to water and electricity, you need to supply gas to it. We do not recommend working with gas communications yourself using an instructional video - contact a specialist.

In conclusion, we note that connecting a dishwasher to communications, as well as installing it, in general, is not the most difficult job. You can do it from start to finish with your own hands, the main thing is to adhere to the provisions contained in the instructions and you will succeed. To be sure, you can watch the video about installing a dishwasher, which we have placed below.