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How to Fix a Leaky Dishwasher

5/12/2021

It's impossible to picture entertaining a houseful of guests or actually dealing with a family's worth of dirty dishes every day without your time-saving, high-tech dishwasher.  No matter how many times you fill the racks and push the Start button, you can rely on your dishwasher to keep going.  This isn’t always going to be the case, of course.  Your dishwasher may have several issues, ranging from poor efficiency to poor drainage.

Have you been ignoring a little puddle of water on the floor after each wash cycle?  Don't risk major water damage to your floor or having to wash your dishes by hand if your dishwasher begins to leak; alternatively, determine which of these five factors is to blame and have it properly fixed.

Before you start messing around with the electrical parts, make sure you unplug the dishwasher and switch off the electrical circuit breaker that powers the kitchen unit.  While you're at it, make sure the water valve (under the kitchen sink) is closed.  But, before we get into that, let's have a look at some of the more common problems that homeowners face when their dishwasher leaks.

• The gasket of your dishwasher does not fully close.  A collapsing gasket seal across the edge of the dishwasher's door is one of the most common sources of leakage.  When it's new and supple, the rubber material works well to keep water within the device, but with years of use, it can dry out, become brittle, and crack.  Dried foods may build up around the gasket, stopping the door from closing flush against the glass.
   
• The spraying arm must be repaired or replaced.  During the wash and rinse cycles, the spray arm on the interior floor of the dishwasher turns and sprays water onto the plates.  Utensils and dishes can block the arm from rotating properly or cause it to become dislodged, even broken after years of use, resulting in leaks in an overcrowded or improperly loaded appliance.
   
• The float switch is not cutting off all water.  During the wash and rinse processes, a float system with a float and float switch is used to control the correct water level.  When the water level in your dishwasher rises, the float rises with it.  It activates the float switch, which turns off the water as it exceeds a certain height.  If the turn fails, the water will rise to the dangerous level.
   
• The drain hose doesn’t remove any water drainage.  The drain hose, which is only visible after removing the kickplate panel at the appliance's foundation, moves water from the dishwasher to the drain pump, drain line, and then out of the sink drain.  Since connections can become loose or the hose breaks, the dishwasher may leak water onto the floor before it exits from the end of the line.

Finally, if you have a leaky dishwasher and aren't sure what to do with it, call Aaron Swift Plumbing and one of our plumbers will come out and repair it.  Pooling water around your dishwasher, or inside its pipe or line connections, can cause problems, and these problems can also spread to other areas of your house.  Don’t wait for disaster to strike before you give us a call.  Catch the issue today by having our Aaron Swift plumbers fix it right up for you!

Aaron Swift Michigan Plumbers: 24-Hour Emergency Plumbing & Sewer Service in Washington, Michigan

If you suspect a concern, already have one, or merely want to learn how to better handle leaks from your home appliances, call Aaron Swift to arrange a visit to your home.  We'll take you through a discussion of your choices and walk you through the local plumbing code.  Dry well repairs, catch tank repairs, storm drain repairs, and drainage system assessment, renovation, upgrade, and other plumbing installations are just a few of the sewer repair services we provide.

If you have any other questions or concerns about your commercial or residential plumbing, please contact us. This includes facilities such as parking lot jetting or other hydro-jetting, drainage service and maintenance, gas piping, and drain services such as drain snaking for home and business plumbing.

For the best and most competitively priced plumbing services, contact Aaron Swift Plumbing.  You can call us at (586) 315-4595 or by filling out our online contact form here.  We proudly provide the best residential and commercial plumbing services near Washington, MI!

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