Dishwasher Leaking Repair Guide
Is your dishwasher leaking? If so, it can damage your floor beyond repair. This
is why it is very important to fix it as soon as possible. Fortunately, this
dishwasher repair guide will walk you though the steps in repairing your
dishwasher. These are the same steps I take in repairing dishwashers
professionally. So read each section carefully and your dishwasher will be
repaired in no time.
SOAPSUDS
A leaking dishwasher can be caused by excessive soapsuds. Excessive soapsuds are the most common reason dishwashers leak. Excessive soapsuds will cause dishwashers to leak from the door. Good dishwasher detergent will have no more than ½ inch of suds on top of the water. So any time your dishwasher is leaking from the door open the door, if there is more than a ½ inch of suds your problem is in your soap. One drop of hand soap, hand dishwashing soap, or any other soap will cause dishwashers to leak. Now, I am not suggesting that you intentionally put this soap in the dishwasher because if you did the soapsuds would be from top-to-bottom of your dishwasher. Now if there are a lot of suds you can fix it by pouring vinegar or cold water into the dishwasher and running it, this will kill the subs.
A few years ago dishwasher detergent companies started making these three-in-one tablets or sometimes called three-in-one action packs for dishwashers and they will sometimes cause dishwashers to leak. At first, I only would see this problem with Electrasol three-in-one tablets but then Cascade started having the same problem. I hate to call these companies out, but I have gone on a lot of service calls because of their detergent. Don’t get me wrong, both companies have good powder and liquid detergent, just not the tablets. So if you have this problem, try changing back to the powder or liquid detergent and this may fix your problem.
DOOR
Often dishwashers leak through the door. The most common mistake people make when repairing leaking dishwashers is they automatically think if it’s coming from the door, it’s got to be the door gasket. In most cases, they are wrong because I have only seen three or four door gaskets bad since I have been an appliance repairman. I am not saying it can’t be your problem, but it’s unlikely. So if your door gasket is not ripped or torn off, look for other problems.
If the leak is coming through the door and you determined isn’t soapsuds, it can be leaking through the soap cup or rinse aid dispenser. To check this, first disconnect power from dishwasher. Then open the door and separate the inter door from the outer door by removing the screws that hold them together. Now hold the outer door down. If water has been leaking through the door the insulation will be wet. If so, replace the soap cup and the rinse aid dispenser.
If not the wash arm or wash arm housing may have a hole in them. This will causing water to spray under the door, replace both of them because you may not be able to see the hole. This part can be purchased at AppliancePartsPros.com.
Whirlpool Dishwasher Leaking From Door
Note that this section only applies to Whirlpool dishwashers with the type of
pump in the pictures below. Also note that the picture is of a pump without a
wash arm.
There is a gasket under the cover at the top of the pump. If that gasket is
bad, water will stray out from under the cover right under the door and into the
floor. Also at times the screws will come loose, which will have the same
effect.
WATER VALVE
The water valve can cause dishwashers to leak in two ways. Dishwashers leak from the water valve itself and the water valve can stick and causing the tub to overflow. To check this, first remove the bottom front panel. Then start the dishwasher and look at the valve. If you start to see a leak replace the valve. If not, open the door of the dishwasher and look at the left hand side to see if water continues to come in the dishwasher, if so replace the valve. If not repeat this step a few times. If it passes this test at least five times, you can say the water valve is ok. Water valves can be purchased at AppliancePartsPros.com.
BOOT OR PUMP COUPLING
GE dishwasher leaking from the boot or pump coupling is common and easily repairable. from the boot or the pump coupling. Note that not all GE dishwashers have these parts. The boot connects the sump (there the water goes when it falls down to the bottom of the tub) to the pump and the pump coupling connects the pump to the tub or the wash arm. To check these, parts remove the bottom front panel and start the dishwasher. Both of these are made of rubber and they often get pinholes, so look carefully for a fine mist of water. Also you can check for hoses leaking at the same time. If you see a leak in one of these, replace it. One tip I can give you is that it will be easier for you to replace these parts if you remove the dishwasher, But it can be done without doing so. These parts can be purchased at AppliancePartsPros.com.
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PUMP SEAL
A GE dishwasher leaking from the pump seal can be fixed easily. This doesn’t happen often, but it happens. To check this, remove the bottom front panel and start the dishwasher. Now if the leak is coming from the bottom of the motor then the pump seal is leaking (be sure the leak isn’t just coming from above the motor and running down).
Replacing the pump seal on some dishwashers can be tricky but if you have mechanical skills you should be able to handle it. If you have an older GE dishwasher, you must remove the pump, disassemble the pump and reinstall every part that comes with the pump seal kit. On most other brands you replace the pump seal from inside the dishwasher, when you order the tub seal make sure you order the pump gasket kit as well, because you need to replace all the gaskets.
In any case, replacing the pump seal will be much cheaper than
replacing the whole pump. If you need to change a pump seal on a GE dishwasher
this page will help.
GE Pump
Repair
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