Dishwasher Help

[Guest db99wj]

Ahhh, the joys of home ownership.

Anyway. Got this dishwasher. Works great, quiet, cleans good. Problem it has started to leak...bad.

Quick answer is the rubber gasket seal around the edge. I know.

Not sure if that is my problem. It is leaking at the bottom of the door, along the bottom. There is no seal there, there is a lip and foam on the inside of that lip, and that with the height of it, keeps water from leaking. I think the water level is too high and it leaks through it. It has rusted my hinges.

This dishwasher is 10+ years old and I would still rather not buy a new one. Could the drain be slow and not emptying fast enough causing the water to come out in this gap?

I guess I need to run it and look for it when it leaks and look at the waterlevel.

Any idears?

[Guest David865]

You might just have to replace the seal on the door. parts for your needs is a very good website to get parts for appliances. I have ordered many parts for them. I took the door completely off of mine and took it outside and cleaned it with a hose before. It had some soap buildup or something on it and around the seal causing it to leak. Worked fine after that.

[TripleDigitRide]

You've probably already looked, but make sure food scraps aren't blocking the drain.

[Guest GT_Rat]

Check the drain. Also check the sensor that detects the water level in the bottom. On mine it is on the left side near the front. Mine started doing that and it was because the water level sensor was clogged up with hard water mineral build up and soap residue. Once I cleaned that out it stopped. Also make sure the drain in the sink the dishwasher drains into isn't clogged as well. I had both problems as my sink ended up having a slow drain as well.

[Mike.357]

is there air in the tires?

[Guest db99wj]

I had the front panels off, laying in the floor looking around, and lifted up on the door by the handle edge and the whole dishwasher moved up quite a bit, the legs weren't even touching the ground. I lowered the legs and got my level out, if this is level { __ }, the dishwasher was probably this _{_ }, after I adjusted, it is { __}. So it appears the dishwasher was leaning forward too much, possibly causing the water to get too high.

Not clogged up.

water sensor, is that the mushroom looking thing toward the front?

I do have some soap residue that has built up, will give it a good cleaning.

[Mike.357]

powdered dishwasher soap can cause lots of problems in the long term. The stuff clogs and is very hard when it builds up. No telling what it could do to seals and such.

Stick to liquids. ( my tip of the day)

Glad it was not an air problem, that can be difficult to fix.

Our whole dishwasher rocks forward when you open the door, I can't figure out how to re-anchor it. The anchors are there they just have nothing to screw into. I never thought about legs, gonna check into that.

[Guest db99wj]

Ran it again tonight, still leaking, think it is the gasket. More beer will help me decide.

[Guest jackdm3]

I've had the same Maytag mid-level washer since '96. It's only ever had one problem and that was last year. I had leaking out front under my feet. I got some needlenose pliers and pulled the gasket out 3/16" all the way around. No problems since.

Mike, if you have this under the counter and you have the space, use two-part epoxy and some wood of the right thickness that will take up the space.

[Guest GT_Rat]

I had the front panels off, laying in the floor looking around, and lifted up on the door by the handle edge and the whole dishwasher moved up quite a bit, the legs weren't even touching the ground. I lowered the legs and got my level out, if this is level { __ }, the dishwasher was probably this _{_ }, after I adjusted, it is { __}. So it appears the dishwasher was leaning forward too much, possibly causing the water to get too high.

Not clogged up.

water sensor, is that the mushroom looking thing toward the front?

I do have some soap residue that has built up, will give it a good cleaning.

Yep, the mushroom looking thing. Take it apart and clean it there's probably a crapload of soap residue in it. It should move up and down freely. If it still leaks then the next thing to check is the kitchen sink drain. As I mentioned mine was draining slowly and that has an effect on if the dishwasher drains freely as well.

[analog_kidd]

I had this exact problem on my dishwasher. Kept thinking it was the seal that went around the edge of the door.

There was a clear plastic strip about 1.5" wide and as long as the door is wide, and about 1/32" thick that had fallen out. I thought I had it figured out where it went, but it kept falling out of place. I went and ordered a new one and had the same problem.

Finally, I dook the door apart from the inside of the washer. There were several large headed screws to unscrew. I did it easily by myself, but an extra hand would have been nice. Once the inside panel was off, It was very clear where the strip went, and I was definitely doing it wrong initially.

Put the strip in properly, screwed everything back together and it works perfectly.

Not sure what your model is, but mine is a Fridgedaire Ultraquiet II.

[VERO1]

Just talked to my dad in Fl. His dishwasher also started leaking. They pulled it out and discovered that mice had chewed a hose into! New hose, handfull of DCON, and all is well!

[Guest db99wj]

I'm thinking it is the gasket. I cleaned some of the soap residue off of it and the bottom, where the door cinches down onto the gasket, it was very supple and I got black stuff all over my fingers where it appears that the gasket is deteriorating. They say, when you get a new gasket, soak it in warm water to soften it up. Mine is very soft.

I cleaned out the drain, wasn't that dirty, and while it was leaking, I opened the door and the water level was where it should be, not enough to go out of gap that is in the door. The only place water could come out would be where the gasket is at the hinge points of the door.

Got to pick one up quick, we wash dishes about every day and a half, more if we eat at home every night.

[Guest db99wj]

Update: Still haven't done anything to fix it!

I think it is the gasket, the gasket costs almost $90 plus tax, there is rust on the hinges and bottom of the dishwasher, so this may or may not fix it. So, I'm not going to.

I friend of my wife's got kicked out of their rental, due to the owner not paying the mortgage with the rent money, and they took their dishwasher with them, but don't need it, it is a newer model Kenmore that...doesn't leak. I pay $75. It is in my carport.

Installation. I understand the power, I understand the water drain that attaches to the sing piping. What about the hot water. It has a copper line with a compression fitting. Do I need to replace that whole line, or can I reuse the compression fitting? Do they make a line that is not copper that would be better to go with like they have done on fridges water supply's?

[Guest jackdm3]

Just keep your parts similar. I made the mistake once of putting a copper inner sleeve in a plastic compression line fitting and it wouldn't seat. Had to go back and get plastic sleeves and it all went together. No drips. If you want to reuse the supply line of either type, there should be enough to cut the end off and get a fresh one on. But you should be able to use it with one or two turns of teflon on the male fitting, wrapping it the correct way.

[peejman]

What Jack said. *gasp* Did I really mean that?

Copper is the best (most durable) option. Next to that is finding a braided steel line that'll fit. If you get the vinyl lines, best sure you get one that's several inches too long. Hot water will make them shrink... ask me how I know.

Use the feet and make sure it's level. Shim if necessary. The anchors are mainly for kids crawling on it (mine does).

[hardknox00001]

With careful inspection of the compression fitting, it can be used again. Where the problem with compression fitting reusing comes in is if the initial installation was racked up TIGHT, causing the crimped on "ring" on the pipe to disfigure. If it comes apart ok and looks ok, it will probably work just fine. That ring on the pipe seats against the fitting and clamps itself sealed with the "cover" nut that slides down the pipe when you take it loose. Be careful of flexing the copper excessively...................too much flexing leads to cracks

[gregintenn]

Mine was leaking the other day. I almost ordered a seal for it when something told me to pull it out and run it where I could see. Turns out the pump was leaking. I threw it away and bought a new, quieter dishwasher.

[jay1313g]

OK, you recently repaired your refrigerator and now it's the dishwasher! You know this kind of stuff comes in threes.

Keep a close eye on the stove! LOL!!!!

Jay

[Guest jackdm3]

Or chickie's favorite power tool.

[Varmint]

What Jack said. *gasp* Did I really mean that?

Copper is the best (most durable) option. Next to that is finding a braided steel line that'll fit. If you get the vinyl lines, best sure you get one that's several inches too long. Hot water will make them shrink... ask me how I know.

Use the feet and make sure it's level. Shim if necessary. The anchors are mainly for kids crawling on it (mine does).

The anchors do a lot more than that.

Try opening the door, then pull the lower rack out with a full load of dishes and see what happens if it's not anchored.

Copper is the best hookup, but never try to reuse a ferrule that has been compressed. Trying to save twenty cents can cost you a lot more. It can develop a small leak that will go undetected until it's too late, and you'll be replacing a floor.

Make sure your drain hose loops higher than the bottom of your sink to create an air gap to prevent backflow.

If you have a disposal, make sure the drain nipple is not partailly clogged.

"Varmint"

[Guest db99wj]

OK, you recently repaired your refrigerator and now it's the dishwasher! You know this kind of stuff comes in threes.

Keep a close eye on the stove! LOL!!!!

Jay

I already have a new washing machine!!

[Guest db99wj]

As i mentioned in Mike357's thread I installed the dishwasher, fixed leak....fixed leak....fixed leak with copper line from old machine, cussed because it wouldn't run, pulled out, re connected two wires from the motor to the capacitor, started running, mowed yard, found but dishwasher never would cycle from wash, reset the panel, dinner, shower due to a similar case of swamp ass as mentioned above, on minute 51 of a 80-95 minute wash cycle.

It's a kenmore with ultra wash, quietguard, and smartwash. Very quiet. A little concerned about it being stuck on a cycle. It looks like I reset it, we will see in about another 30 minutes.

[Guest db99wj]

Damn. 100 minutes still in the "washing" cycle and "sensor" cycle. Right before it was removed, they ran a full cycle through it, been sitting at my house for a week and a half two weeks.

Well at least it is not leaking!!!

[peejman]

We have a Kenmore with the "Smart" cycle. It's very slow... it'll run for a good 2 hours on a full load of dishes and it stops for a minute so several times during the cycle. I was concerned about it at first, but apparently that's normal.