Why does water remain in the dishwasher?

There is water left in the dishwasher Is there water left in the dishwasher? Do not rush to panic, in most cases it is a trivial breakdown that can be easily fixed with your own hands. The main thing is not to do anything stupid, namely, do not run the dishwasher again, do not pour any chemicals into it (like Domestos), and especially do not take out your anger on the “iron assistant” by pounding it on the walls. You need to sit down, calm down and start solving the problem step by step.

Reasons why the machine does not drain water

First of all, let's decide on the question: how much water should remain at the bottom of the dishwasher after the washing cycle ends in a normal situation? The manufacturer does not always indicate in the instructions that the water should remain in the dishwasher, and consumers rush to panic out of the blue.

Experts say that in a normal situation, a puddle about 1 cm deep should remain at the bottom of the dishwasher in order to prevent the rubber seals from drying out. In a confined space, the water will slowly evaporate, moistening the walls and ceiling of the washing tank with condensation, and therefore the sealing material all around. Wet elastic bands will remain elastic for a long time, which means they will not let water through. If there is clearly more water in the dishwasher and food remains are floating in it, then there is a problem that needs to be solved.

Conclusion! If the machine is operating normally, a small amount of clean water should remain at the bottom, but not water contaminated with food debris.

Experts identify a number of reasons why the machine does not drain water. These are the reasons.

The drain hole is located too high from the floor and, as a result, the drain hose is not positioned correctly. In this case, the pump cannot pump out waste water normally, and dirty water, albeit partially, remains at the bottom of the washing tank.
There is a blockage somewhere in the system. The filter mesh, pipe or hose may become clogged; in any case, you will have to disassemble and remove the blockage, otherwise the water will continue to flow poorly.
The water level sensor has broken down, so the dishwasher control unit does not know the amount of water remaining in the washing tank and, as a result, does not command the pump to pump out water.
The pump is not working properly. If the pump breaks completely, then the dishwasher will not be able to wash dishes at all, since the water will not be pumped out at all. But if the pump alternates between working and not working, the dishwasher will continue to carry out the washing program, but will not be able to drain the water properly.

In 997 out of 1000 cases of poor water drainage from a dishwasher, the above reasons occur. But in about 3 cases out of 1000 we are talking about a serious breakdown of the control module. If none of the above cases suits you, contact a good specialist.

How to check the connection?

dishwasher connection If you just bought a dishwasher, much less connected it yourself without involving a qualified technician, and the breakdown occurred immediately, then it is quite possible that the machine was not connected to the sewer correctly. How to connect a dishwasher to water supply and sewerage, described by the manufacturer in the instructions. In particular, the most common mistake is that the connection point of the drain hose to the sewer pipe or siphon is too high.

Please note that waste water from the dishwasher is pumped out by a pump with a relatively weak motor. If the connection point of the hose to the sewer is too high, then the pump will not have enough strength to pump out water, because according to the laws of physics, it will tend to return to the washing machine by gravity. The pump will have to waste power fighting the siphon effect, and this will lead to rapid breakdown of the drain pump.

Important! The quality of pump operation can also be affected by the length of the drain hose; the longer the hose, the greater the load on the pump.

What needs to be done?

Make sure your dishwasher drain hose is no longer than 2 meters.
Make sure that the drain hose is not straight, but has some bend.
Make sure that the height of the hose connection point to the sewer is no more than 40-50 cm from the floor.

If you have completed all three steps and find a discrepancy somewhere, the connection needs to be redone. If everything is in order with the connection, then you need to move on to considering another cause of the malfunction.

How to identify and remove blockages?

As experts rightly note, blockages are the most important reason why the outflow of waste water is disrupted. After all, dishwasher users often neglect the basic rules of caring for them, primarily the rules of cleaning. Where can an unfortunate blockage form?

On a metal mesh, which is located at the bottom of the washing tank near the rocker arm.
In the coarse filter (a cup with a grid, which is also located at the bottom of the washing tank).
In the drain pipe.
In the drain hose.

If you have never cleaned a dishwasher, you should start by cleaning the fine and coarse filters, since this action is the simplest. First we pry up and pull out the metal mesh, and then unscrew the “glass”. We rinse both under running warm water, not forgetting to pre-treat them with a sponge and dishwashing detergent. We put the filters in place.

For your information! To better clean dirt from the filter, you can soak it in warm water with detergent, and then rinse with clean water.

Now let's check the drain hose for blockages. To do this, it must be disconnected from the siphon or sewer pipe. Place a small container to drain the stagnant water, then unscrew the hose and rinse it well with hot water. After all the procedures, it would be a good idea to dry clean the dishwasher using a special certified product.

How to check and repair the pressure switch and drain pump?

The connection is correct, there are no blockages in the dishwasher either, why does the machine still not drain the water normally? Apparently there's something else going on. Experts recommend checking the pressure switch of the dishwasher. The pressure switch determines the amount of water in the dishwasher; if it does not function, the machine will not drain the water completely. Check and Replacing the pressure switch in a dishwasher – this is a more complicated undertaking associated with disassembling the dishwasher. It is better to delegate this work to a specialist, but you can do it yourself.

When you get to the pressure switch, do not forget to check the functionality of the contacts of its sensor. Often the contacts burn out, and because of this the device stops working. If everything is fine with the water level sensor, let's check the pump.In general, you can determine how the pump works even before disassembling the dishwasher, if you listen to how it drains water and what sounds it makes. A poorly functioning drain pump usually makes a loud noise, and there is practically no sound of water.

Important! Some people, in order to observe how the dishwasher pump works, tilt the working device and look into the tray. Experts do not recommend doing this; it can disrupt the operation of the sensors, which will lead to more serious damage.

To get to the pump, you need to unplug the dishwasher and unhook the hoses. Then you need to place the dishwasher on the back wall, after placing rags under it. In most cases, you will have immediate access to the pump through the bottom without having to remove any walls. We do the following:

we find the contacts on the pump body;
take a multimeter, set the smallest value in Ohms;
we install the probes of the device on the contacts and measure the value, which should be within 1000;
If the pump's electrics are in order, unscrew it and clean it thoroughly. It happens that a foreign object gets stuck in the pump impeller, slowing down its rotation;
If the pump is clean but still doesn't work, either replace the pump or call a technician to help sort out the problem.

To summarize, we note why the dishwasher refuses to drain the water normally. There are many reasons, but there is only one consequence - a full tank of dirty water. To cope with the problem, you will have to check all possible causes step by step; this is the only way to find the truth. Happy renovation!