A Step-by-Step Guide To Unclogging Your Dishwasher

While we buy dishwashers to make our lives easier, there comes a time in every dishwasher owner’s life when they open the door – ready to load that night’s dishes – and are met with the sight of grimy water.

The good news is that, no, you haven’t got an infestation of bathing gremlins to contend with (we know they don’t like water), but it is likely that you’re dealing with a clogged dishwasher. While your first response may be to phone a dishwasher repair expert or a plumber, there are some things you can do to solve the problem yourself – saving you money and stress.

So here are our five simple steps to help you diagnose and solve your dishwasher’s problems.

Step #1: Empty Your Dishwasher

Prior to tackling that murky pool at the bottom of your dishwasher, it’s important to properly prepare your dishwasher by removing all of your dishes and utensils. Also, you’ll want to remove the bottom rack of your dishwasher. This is to allow for easier access to the lower area of your unit.

Step #2: Turn Off Your Dishwasher

It may seem like a simple one, but always make sure to switch off your dishwasher at the socket before tampering with it. As plain water is a fantastic conductor of electricity, you’ll need to ensure that there is no electricity current travelling to the dishwasher.

Step #3: Get Rid Of Stagnant Water

With your dishwasher unloaded, the drainage area clear of obstacles and your dishwasher switched off, now it’s time to unclog your dishwasher. First of all, use a towel to soak up and get rid of any standing water. Simply dip it in, take it over to your sink and wring it out. Repeat as necessary.

Step #4: Check, Remove And Clean The Drain Hose

The drain hose is a pretty important part of your dishwasher. This is what connects your dishwasher to your drainage system. If there’s a problem with standing water, then it’s likely that you’ll find the problem within your drain hose. You’ll find the hose either behind the dishwasher or under your sink.

Now that you’ve located the hose, it’s time to disconnect it from your machine. To do this, you may need a pair of pliers to remove the securing clamp. Before you do that, you need to make sure that you have a pan or bowl under the hose to catch any leftover water that may spill out. With that done, you can use a de-clogger to try and prise any debris from the hose.

If you don’t have anything like that lying around, straighten out a spare coat hanger and use it to dislodge any debris. If there is no detritus within the hose, then it is likely that the problem is within the dishwasher’s drain.

Step #5: Removing Debris From The Dishwasher Drain

Lastly, identify where the drain is location within the dishwasher and remove the basket that covers it – you may need a screwdriver. As with the drain hose, use a de-clogger (or the straightened coat hanger) to try and release any clumps of waste within the drain. This should hopefully solve the problem – allowing your machine to get back to its job, and allowing you to relax for the rest of the night.

While these five steps are relatively easy to follow, and can be realistically achieved without professional intervention, it may be the case that the problem hasn’t gone away. Or it may be that doing the above is physically impossible for you. In either case, you’ll need a professional repair expert or plumber to solve the issue – such as Repair Aid.

At Repair Aid, we specialise in emergency dishwasher repairs. In almost all cases, we can sort out the issue in just one visit. Not only that, we even offer you a 12-month guarantee on all of our work. So even if the same problem comes back within a year, we’ll be out to solve it again – free of charge.