Repair guide
Dishwasher not draining? What to check
By Deven Alcantara, EPA 608 certified technician ·
A little water in the bottom of a dishwasher is normal, but more than a cup or two usually means a clog. Clean the filter, run the garbage disposal and, if the disposal is new, make sure its knockout plug was removed. Then check the drain hose for kinks. Still not draining? The drain pump may be blocked.
Safety first
Turn the dishwasher off at the breaker, not just the control panel, before you reach into the tub, and shut off the water at the valve under the sink. Never put your hand inside the garbage disposal. Bosch warns that debris in the pump area can be sharp, so go carefully. Don’t pour chemical drain cleaner into a dishwasher: GE says it damages the rubber parts.
What to check first
- Know what's normal. GE says 1 to 2 cups of water in the bottom of the tub is normal, and Whirlpool says some water around the filter keeps the seals from drying out. More than that, or water over the filter, is a drain problem.
- Clean the filter. Remove the bottom rack. On most Whirlpool models you turn the upper filter a quarter turn counterclockwise, lift it out and remove the lower filter; Bosch’s filter twists to the left and lifts out. Rinse them under running water with a soft brush, never a wire brush. Whirlpool suggests cleaning the filter about once a month, or every two weeks if you run it daily. Never run the dishwasher without the filters in place.
- Check the sump. With the filters out, shine a flashlight into the sump for food, labels, seeds, toothpicks or broken glass. Bail out standing water with a cup and use a turkey baster for the last of it.
- Run the garbage disposal. If the dishwasher drains through a disposal, run the disposal before you start the dishwasher. GE recommends it every time, because food in the disposal blocks the dishwasher drain.
- New disposal? Check the knockout plug. A new disposal comes with a plug sealing the dishwasher inlet, and it has to be knocked out when the dishwasher is connected. Whirlpool’s test: push a pencil into the disposal’s dishwasher inlet. If it goes in about 3 inches, the plug is out.
- Check the drain hose and high loop. Look for a kinked, pinched or clogged hose between the dishwasher and the sink. Without an air gap, the hose needs a high loop: GE says at least 32 inches above the floor, secured under the countertop. Without one, wastewater can flow back into the dishwasher.
- Clean the air gap. If you have a small chrome cap on the sink deck, that’s the air gap. Lift off the cover, unscrew the plastic cap and clear the debris. Whirlpool says that if water spills out of the air gap into the sink, the blockage is further down, in the hose to the drain or the sink plumbing.
Suds can stop it draining
Hand dish soap in a dishwasher makes a tub full of suds, and so can too much of the wrong detergent, which can keep it from draining. Use only dishwasher detergent. GE’s fix for suds is to add a gallon of cold water to the tub and run a drain.
Drain error codes
Whirlpool dishwashers show F9E1 for a long drain; Whirlpool’s reset is to disconnect power for 30 seconds. Bosch shows E24 when it isn’t draining, often a blocked filter, a kinked hose or a disposal knockout plug, and E25 when the drain pump is blocked. LG shows OE, GE shows C1 when pump-out takes longer than 2 minutes and C3 or FTD when it won’t drain.
Hard water and East Valley dishwashers
East Valley water is hard. Phoenix reports 9.2 to 20.1 grains per gallon, Chandler averages 16.5, and parts of Scottsdale run 20 to 25. Whirlpool says water at 15 grains per gallon or more can damage a dishwasher over time and recommends a softener. Hard water leaves calcium deposits on the filter, which is why Whirlpool says to clean it with a soft brush, and LG says to clean the filter at least once a month in hard-water areas.
Use rinse aid. Whirlpool, Bosch and the City of Scottsdale all recommend it for hard water, and Whirlpool says to set the rinse aid dispenser to match your water hardness. GE also scales detergent to hardness: above 12 grains per gallon, fill both the main and pre-wash cups. Your water utility’s report gives your number.
When to call a technician
Call me if the filter, disposal, hose and air gap are clear and water still sits in the tub, or if you hear humming without draining. Whirlpool says humming with no draining points to a jammed pump impeller, and grinding to hard debris like glass. The usual fix is clearing or replacing the drain pump or the drain hose.
Upfront pricing
$65
Service call, waived when you approve the repair. You get an exact price before any work starts.
Stacked washer and dryer units have a $125 service call, also waived with the repair.
Dishwasher Error Codes
Sources for This Guide
The checks and numbers in this guide come from the manufacturers’ own support pages and manuals, plus the public sources listed. Your owner’s manual has the final word for your model.
Sources
- Water Remains in Filter Area, Dishwasher (Whirlpool)
- How to Clean the Dishwasher Filters (Whirlpool)
- Dishwasher Not Draining (Whirlpool)
- Not Draining, Newly Installed Dishwasher (Whirlpool)
- Not Draining, Water Remains at End of Cycle (Whirlpool)
- F9E1, Dishwasher (Whirlpool)
- Spotting or Filming on Glassware (Whirlpool)
- Frequently Asked Questions About Using Rinse Aid (Whirlpool)
- Standing Water in Dishwasher (GE Appliances)
- Dishwasher Not Draining (GE Appliances)
- Cleaning the Air Gap (GE Appliances)
- Drain Cleaners and Dishwashers (GE Appliances)
- Detergent Amount and Water Hardness (GE Appliances)
- Suds in Dishwasher (GE Appliances)
- Dishwasher Error Codes C1, C3, FTD (GE Appliances)
- How to clean your dishwasher filter (Bosch)
- Dishwasher error E24 (Bosch)
- Dishwasher error E25 (Bosch)
- Rinse aid (Bosch)
- Troubleshooting an OE error code, dishwasher (LG)
- 2024 Water Quality Report (City of Phoenix)
- Water quality FAQs (City of Chandler)
- Hard water fact sheet (City of Scottsdale)
Ready when you are
Still standing water? Book your dishwasher repair.
Call or text (480) 292-4746, Monday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm. Same-day and next-day appointments are often available.