Common Dishwasher Faults

If your dishes are coming out exactly as they went in (likely dirty and dry), then your dishwasher is not filling with water. The first thing to check is your water stop valve in the home – make sure this is fully open and supplying water. If it’s not, you may need to call a plumber to check – there’s a chance that it could be clogged up with debris and need clearing out.

The second part of the dishwasher to investigate if the machine isn’t filling are the spray arms. These are the spinning parts inside the dishwasher that are full of small holes (they look similar to octopus tentacles!). If you’re in a particularly hard water area, limescale deposits can build up on the water holes, much like with a shower head. If this is the case, it’s best to give them a good scrub – using lemon juice or vinegar can help shift some of the limescale deposits if you’re having a particularly hard time.

Lastly, the water inlet valve could be the culprit here. Check behind the machine to ensure that there are no kinks or bends in the pipework that could be restricting the flow of water into the machine.

A complete wash cycle should use up one complete dishwasher tablet and some of the rinse aid in the reservoir. If you’re opening up the tablet flap and there’s still a large amount of the tablet remaining, then it’s likely that the water supply is the issue here. Either there is an issue with the pressure of the water coming into the machine being too low or there is no water coming in entirely. Much like the issue above for ‘not filling’, make sure to check the pipework behind the machine for kinks and bends that could limit the inbound water pressure to the dishwasher.

If your dishwasher is making a lot of noise whilst the cycle is running, then there could either be loose objects that have fallen away from the racks inside or a loose/broken internal part. When the dishwasher is off and has cooled down, empty any plates & cutlery and look around the bottom of the appliance for any large debris or small cutlery as this is usually the problem.

Excessive noise can also be attributed to the appliance not being level. You may need to rest a spirit level on top of the dishwasher to check this and if it is not level, simply adjust the feet at the bottom of the appliance until it sits level on the floor.

First of all, check that the dishwasher isn’t powering on because of a user error. A lot of dishwashers won’t start a wash cycle until the door is closed properly and the sensor on the dishwasher recognises that there is a seal before starting a wash. Some dishwashers will also not start a cycle until it recognises that there is an inbound flow of water to the machine.

If your dishwasher is starting to smell, there are three internal parts that can be cleaned – the filter, the rubber seals and the spray arms. 

This should help you troubleshoot and understand what’s wrong with your dishwasher. If you need more assistance, we recommend you see a professional.