Home Improvements & Maintenance : How to Fix a Dishwasher That Will Not Drain

dishwasher repair

To fix a dishwasher that will not drain, remove any clogs that are blocking the drain line by pouring a paste of baking soda, vinegar and water down the drain, and then pouring boiling water to clear the clog. Repeat the process several times to remove a severely clogged dishwasher drain with help from a remodeling contractor and home repair specialist in this free video on appliance repair. Expert: Tim Gipson Contact: www.inhisstepsremodeling.com Bio: Tim Gipson is a home repair specialist and remodeling contractor in Franklin, Tenn. Filmmaker: Tim Brown

This entry was posted by admin on September 2, 2010 at 8:38 am, and is filed under Home Appliances. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0.You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

Comments (25)
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#1 written by mrmeiii 1 year ago

@tiediealien ..thats a GE built unit im assuming…if the motor is running,the drain solanoid is not operating…you can remove lower covers and reach in whiles its running and pull down the solanoid till all the water is out,call a tech to repair.

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#2 written by mrmeiii 1 year ago

@iroc2400 call a service tech

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#3 written by mrmeiii 1 year ago

wow…now after you fill it up with all these noxist fumes of chemicals,call a service tech because thats a ge built unit and the drain solanoid is not operating correctly,d/w hardly ever clog up the drain,mostly you clog up ur sink and the disposal wont let the d/w drain..thanks

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#4 written by tiediealien 1 year ago

My dishwaser is the Triton Quiet Power III and it wouldnt drain after wasing the dishes. I tried this process on the video 2 times, and I ran a rinse cycle, and there was still water in the dishwasher, and it wouldn’t drain. Does anybody have any sugestions, I dont know what to do now, and I cant afford to buy another one right now.

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#5 written by iroc2400 1 year ago

I did this 3 times and nothing, just small bubbles coming from the drain. I disconnected the drain hose from the garbage disposal to see if the obstruction was there, and nothing- no problem noted. Dishwasher is only 7 yrs. old and there is no air gap. Any suggestions?

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#6 written by crowpeak 1 year ago

Thanks for the video!
I took the strainer off and it was plugged.
It’s great!

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#7 written by aramosvizcarra 1 year ago

Like magic. Thanks a lot, my dishwasher was almost new, we almost never used it and we found this problem. Very simple and effective solution.

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#8 written by STUPIDSNOOPYHELL 1 year ago

OMG! this was very helpful! thank you so much!

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#9 written by MsOldGregg 1 year ago

This tip worked on the first try.I did remove the strainer that is under the basket removed the standing water and debris inside with my fingers.
I also ran th dishwasher through a cycle with the basket off to be sure the problem was fixed.

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#10 written by JayJayZeroFour 1 year ago

works great, thanks

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#11 written by Quite1walksalone 1 year ago

I just wanted to say a Big Thank You, I had a new unit put in about a year ago, and after 6 months it got clogged up so I just started putting my spices in it because I was so upset with myself because I could not figure out how to fix it! Thanks Again Tim!!!

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#12 written by ThePigskinProwler 1 year ago

Thank You Tim,
My Wife is impressed by my new found Handy Man Skills. I …..well…..ugh um of course gave you credit..

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#13 written by soccerstud79 1 year ago

Thanks Again ! I will look for your other posts

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#14 written by soccerstud79 1 year ago

WOW It worked my husband torn the whole thing apart — We gave up ready to call and get a new pump… saw this said let’s try it… And you are the man !!! love you! my husband loves you too LOL

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#15 written by laytbug 1 year ago

Thanks a million, Mr. Gibson!! It worked. Saved us a repair charge. AND we wish you a very happy New Year!!

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#16 written by RealSJ2571 1 year ago

And what happens if the drain pump is dead? This fix won’t work in that situation. You need to let people know that a food blockage is not always the reason that a drain won’t work.

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#17 written by titus0123 1 year ago

(Continuing from the previous comment)

Thank you for the person who made this video and uploading it in the internet … it was most helpful and saved a lot of money … Thanks again

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#18 written by titus0123 1 year ago

(Continueing from the previous comment)

… also note there is water underneat of the “upside down basket” (mentioned in the video) … this water needs to be removed as well before applying the fix, suggested in the video … the “upside down basket” can be removed by removing two screws which holds down the “upside down basket” … also note, underneat of the basket, there is another “grid”. This “grid” can be taken out (by hand or fingers) for a thorough cleaning … (Continuing in the…

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#19 written by titus0123 1 year ago

(Continuing from the previous comment)

The reason why I thought the fix suggested in the video would not work on my dishwasher, was because in the video the dishwasher did not show standing water in the bottom of the dishwasher, unlike my dishwasher, which had full of water in the bottom of the dishwasher … so to apply the fix suggested in the video I had to first remove all the water in the bottom of the dishwasher, by hand …

(Continuing the the next comment)

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#20 written by titus0123 1 year ago

The other option was to call a repair person or buy a new dishwasher. Weighing my opions, I said I better at least try what was suggested in the video before I spend a lot of money … so I did what was suggested in the video, with some modification … I use the entire box of baking soda (16 oz or 1 lb) and used boiling water to form the baking soda paste … also boiled the vinegar (since high heat is important in dislodging the debris plug) …I did one treatment and the dishwasher now works

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#21 written by titus0123 1 year ago

When I first watched this video, I thought the fix suggested in the video would not work on my broken dishwasher (full of water not draining in the bottom of the dishwasher), because the bottom of my dishwasher was full of water just sitting there and not draining. I thought the dishwasher must be, for sure, be plugged up very tightly and the fix suggested in the video, for sure, would not work for my broken dishwasher.

(Continuing the next comment)

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#22 written by AddictedZealot 1 year ago

I followed the steps, but still had the same problem.

So I checked the draintube. And it was sealed. Just have it removed, then it should work just fine! =)

So Actually after this step, just check the draintube and look carefuly so the exit is not sealed with food etc. IF it is, please remove it. =)

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#23 written by loadedandreved 1 year ago

Thank you so much! I was goin crazy with the drain, followed your directions and it was good after just one treatment, you saved me a repair bill, I owe ya, thank you sir.

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#24 written by loudep 1 year ago

You da man. Watched the video and had it drained in 10 minutes. Thanks Much. Lou Ridley, PA.

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#25 written by Bdk989 1 year ago

Did the trick, only costed me about two bucks to do, saved me a few hundred. Great video.

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