Is there a way to unclog a dishwasher before calling in a plumber?

Joanne Karstens
by Joanne Karstens
Used water collects on the bottom of my washer, sometimes a couple of inches! Gets to smell bad, too. I do my best to remove it before the next load and have tried baking soda/vinegar with only a little success. HELP!
  9 answers
  • KMS Woodworks KMS Woodworks on Aug 17, 2012
    There could be two things going on here...the first is a clog which may be removed by pulling the drain screen and removing it, I have used a thin piece of wire on one and well and pulling the pump impeller cover. Another problem my be a problematic solenoid, this is the electrically controlled "valve" that opens and closes during certain phases of the machines cycle. If that is toast it is repair man time. to confirm a clog "in" the machine...remove the drain hose from the bottom of the unit and from where ever it drains too...flush this out to make sure it is not in this hose...these are normally very clog free despite their corrugated nature...the pump provides some decent flow...and most clog are always upstream of the pump.
  • Marianne Songbird Marianne Songbird on Aug 17, 2012
    Don't know about your washer. But ours have filters too. Somewhere at the bottom and they need to be cleaned from time to time too. Check your manual. Good luck with it.
  • Do you have an anti siphon device on the dishwasher? Is the drain line running up higher then the dishwasher or perhaps fell down behind it? It sounds as though the dishwasher is siphoning the water back from the drain line. If the connection is incorrect to the drain also can cause this to occur. Is the dishwasher connected to the drain pipe where it leaves the sink, but before the U trap? If it is incorrectly piped that will cause this issue as well.
  • Joanne Karstens Joanne Karstens on Aug 18, 2012
    Thanks for the answers, but I'm still hoping for more ideas. Haven't had time to search for the dishwasher's manual but after I check it, I'll post further.
  • Marlene Haigh Marlene Haigh on Apr 13, 2015
    i ran bleach in the dishwasher and it cleaned up the smell and stain at the bottom. Of course I cleaned the filter screens first.
  • Pete Wells Pete Wells on Apr 13, 2015
    Woodbridge Environmental is absolutely correct! Check the drain connection, your dishwasher is filling up with drainings from the kitchen sink...and your dishes ARE NOT getting clean, don't use the dishwasher until this is corrected!
  • Joanne Karstens Joanne Karstens on Apr 13, 2015
    Thanks to all who responded!♥
  • Wanda sinnema Wanda sinnema on Sep 24, 2015
    3-4 times a year I run a quuick wash cycle with bleach--sometimes I stop it for a few minutes then restart it. that allows the bleach to get a really great cleaning of the bottom where things sometimes nasty-especially if you don't use it everyday..
  • GrandmasHouseDIY GrandmasHouseDIY on Sep 24, 2015
    First thing I would do was make sure its still connected properly to your kitchen sink drain (there could be a kink in the dishwasher's drain hose). The dishwasher's drain hose should be connected above your drain trap under your sink. I would disconnect the hose and check where it immediately connects to your drain under your sink (its a pretty small drain opening so that's where I would start) and then check the hose all the way up to the dishwasher to make sure it is clear and then check the drain trap under your kitchen sink and empty it.(Is your sink draining fine?) From there, the other suggestions of bleach are an idea but I would be more inclined to run a tablespoon of citric acid and a cup of vinegar on your hottest/strongest wash setting with nothing else in the dishwasher. Of course, most of my trying to help here won't be any help at all if your dishwasher's drains somewhere else but under your sink! Sorry if that's the case!