Washing your dishes using a dishwasher is about as easy as can be. All you have to do is put your dishes inside of it, press a button, and wait for your dishes to come out clean. With that being said, dishwashers are of course not perfect. As is the case with any piece of technology, dishwashers do experience some problems.
One of the most common problems that a dishwasher experiences is that it becomes clogged. A clogged dishwasher doesn’t function properly anymore. It won’t clean your dishes properly, it won’t drain, and it can lead to bigger problems too.
Therefore, what we are here to discuss today is exactly how to unclog your dishwasher. However, we also want to talk about how you can tell if your dishwasher is clogged. Let’s help unclog that dishwasher of yours.
How to Tell if Your Dishwasher is Clogged
Before you can get to unclogging your dishwasher, you need to make sure that a clogged dishwasher is the problem in the first place. Well, there are several things that you might notice if your dishwasher is clogged.
First and foremost, if your dishwasher is clogged, you might realize that your dishes aren’t clean. There might still be residue present on your dishes. This will especially be the case with the dishes on the bottom rack. If there is a water buildup and it doesn’t drain quickly enough, that debris is going to get stuck to your dishes.
Second, perhaps the biggest sign of a clogged dishwasher is if the water doesn’t drain out anymore. If you open up your dishwasher after a cycle and there is a bunch of water in the bottom, then it is clogged.
Of course, many modern dishwashers come with sensors that will indicate that such a problem is happening. If your dishwasher starts giving you error codes, there is a chance that it is clogged.
You may also see water and debris coming up your sink drain if it is connected to the dishwasher. This means that the drain pipe below the dishwasher and below the sink is clogged. Now that you know the telltale signs of a clogged dishwasher, let’s move on and talk about how to unclog it.
How to Unclog a Dishwasher
The fact of the matter is that there are many ways to unclog a dishwasher. Of course, it all depends on what the underlying problem is. Let’s take a look at all of the possibilities here, and what you can do to unclog your dishwasher.
Some Preliminary Steps
On a side note, before you can follow any of these tips, there are some steps that you need to take first. First of all, you want to empty your dishwasher of all dishes. Obviously, you can’t perform any maintenance tasks on your dishwasher if it is full of dishes. Moreover, you will probably need to wash those dishes as they will likely still be dirty.
The second thing that you will want to do here is to totally disconnect your dishwasher from power. Unplug your dishwasher so that there is no electricity running through it. You never want to perform any sort of maintenance on an electronic product when it still has power running through it. You might get electrocuted, so this is of course best avoided.
Before you can perform any kind of maintenance on your dishwasher, you will also need to remove any remaining water. If there is any remaining water in the dishwasher, do anything you can to remove it. You can use some cups or glasses to scoop it out, or you can soak it up with paper towel. The bottom line is that you need to be able to get to the drain to unclog it.
Now that we have taken all the necessary preliminary steps, we can get to actually solving the problem at hand. Let’s unclog that dishwasher.
1. Inspect Your Garbage Disposal
Speaking of your sink, if you have a garbage disposal, that might be the problem. Garbage disposals can also become clogged. Moreover, there might be debris in the line below the garbage disposal.
If your dishwasher and your sink use the same pipe, this may very well be the problem. You need to remove the backed up debris in the drainpipe. You might need a drain auger for this, a plunger, or a chemical drainpipe cleaner.
Once the water drains out of the sink, it should then also allow the water to drain out of the dishwasher. To make sure that everything is back in working order, run a quick rinse cycle in the dishwasher. If this doesn’t do the trick, move on to the next step.
2. Check the Sink’s Air Gap
If you don’t have the garbage disposal, the sink could still be the issue. Here, you want to inspect the sink air gap. This is a small and slotted cylinder that rests below the sink and near the outlet hose of your dishwasher.
Here, you want to remove the air gap by turning it counterclockwise. The issue is that this could in itself be clogged. Now, you want to use a stiff brush, or anything similar, to clean any debris out of that air gap.
With the debris removed, replace it, and try running the dishwasher. If your dishwasher runs normally, then the problem has been solved. If this doesn’t fix the issue, move on to the next step.
3. Clean the Filter
One of the most common causes of a clogged dishwasher is if the filter is clogged. The fact of the matter is that filters in dishwashers do get dirty. In fact, this is what they are designed to do.
Filters are designed to stop debris from going down the drain, which of course means that they themselves get dirty. In case you didn’t know, it is recommended that filters be cleaned at least once per month.
How often you have to clean this filter does depend on how dirty your dishes are and how often you use the dishwasher. In order to clean the filter, simply run it under the sink with some hot water and soap. You can then use a soft towel or sponge to clear out any debris out of the mesh.
Just be sure to not use anything abrasive such as a stiff brush, or else you may damage or even break the filter. Once the filter is clean, reinsert it into the unit and see if the problem is solved. If the filter wasn’t the problem, move on to the next step.
4. Clean the Drain
Another common issue that causes dishwashers to clog is if there is debris in the drain. The drain is a bit harder to deal with as you can’t actually get in there physically. Therefore, you will have to use some kind of cleaning substance in order to unclog it.
If you don’t want to spend any money, using a combination of baking soda and vinegar might do the trick. This should be able to loosen up any stuck debris. Pour a good deal of vinegar and baking soda right into the drain and wait for about 15 minutes.
After you have done this, run the machine to see if it is in working order. Generally speaking, however, you don’t want to use a chemical drain cleaner because you don’t want that stuff getting on your dishes. If this is the case, then it is the drain hose that you will need to deal with.
5. Clean the Drain Hose
The drain hose is where all of the dirty water exits your dishwasher. This is located at the rear of your machine. You may have to pull the appliance away from the wall to get to it. You first want to see if there are any kinks in the hose. If there are any kinks, simply straighten the hose and this might solve the problem.
You then want to see if there is a clog in that hose. Put the hose over a bucket and pour some water in the top to see if it flows out. If there is a sign of a clog, try using hot water and a good bit of pressure to blast the clog out of the hose. If this does not work, you can use any kind of stiff object to push the clog out.
You may also use a chemical drain cleaner to melt the clog and dislodge it. You will then need to reattach the hose to your dishwasher.
At this point, we’ve covered everything that you can possibly do on your own to unclog your dishwasher. If none of these tips helped solve the issue, you will need to call in the big guns. In other words, you’re going to need either a plumber or a dishwasher expert.
Conclusion
If you have followed all of our tips, you should now have an unclogged and perfectly functioning dishwasher. However, if you are unable to get it working yourself, you will need to call in an expert.