What Causes A Dishwasher to Overflow?

6/25/2018 (Permalink)

As stated in HomeSteady; An overflowing dishwasher can be a serious problem in your kitchen. Water leaking from the unit can cause damage to your floors that requires major repair. Several underlying problems can cause a dishwasher to overflow with water and detergent. The problems range from simple user error to faulty parts that need adjustment or replacement. Knowing the potential causes can help you diagnose and repair the problem quickly before more damage occurs.

1. Dish Detergent:

The most common reason for dishwasher overflow is soapsuds. By using a poor detergent that leaves more than 1/2 inch of suds on top of the water, a soapy overflow can happen. Also, the addition of even a very small amount of dishwasher liquid or hand soap can cause overflow around the door. If you have inadvertently put too much detergent or the wrong type of soap into the machine, add some vinegar to the tub to remove the foam.

2. Door Gasket

If water is leaking out around the dishwasher door and it is not soapy or foamy, there is a good chance that the door gasket has worn out. The door gasket is a rubber seal that surrounds the door opening and prevents such leaking. But if the gasket is torn, worn, dirty or missing entirely, it can easily allow large amounts of water through the opening and into the floor. Replacement is generally the best way to repair this problem.

3. Tub Seal

If the motor in your dishwasher is mounted vertically beneath the main rack in the bottom center of your machine, the tub seal may be leaking, which typically results in water overflowing underneath the dishwasher and running either behind or out in front of the unit. With this type of motor, you can remove the seal from its housing and replace it to solve the problem. Otherwise, you may have a motor that is mounted horizontally. These machines are not as self-service friendly and usually require professional repair or complete replacement of the motor assembly.

4. Water Supply Tube

Water flows from the same water pipes that supply the rest of your home into a supply tube that hooks into the machine, generally near the bottom rear of the dishwasher. If you are seeing evidence of overflow, the problem may not be an overflow at all. In fact, the water possibly never reached the machine at all. Holes in the supply tube will result in water spillage as will improperly connected tubes. Water may actually be spilling out from the connector and causing you to think there is a problem with the machine.