Keeping Your Dishwasher Running Optimally

With many Canadians under stay-at-home orders, families are going through dishes a lot faster than usual. Suddenly, the whole family is eating lunch at home, and no one is out with friends over dinner either. All those dishes can pile up fast, so it’s important to keep your dishwasher running great. While sometimes you’ll have no choice but to call in a Calgary plumber if your dishwasher stops working, many of the most frequent problems can be handled by a hands-on homeowner.

Leaks.

No one enjoys discovering water leaking from their dishwasher, and leaks can be caused by a lot of problems from a torn gasket to a failed pump. When a part has worn out or broken, you may have to seek help. 

However, many leaks are caused by something other than a part failure. Your dishwasher relies on many tubes and lines. There’s a hose or pipe that delivers the water from your plumbing line to your dishwasher, and there’s another leading away from the drain. These connections (either the hoses or their clamps) can become loose and start to leak. If that’s the case, you should be able to fix the problem by yourself in about a minute.

No Water at All.

While a leaking dishwasher is impractical, a dishwasher that refuses to fill with water in the first place is truly useless. This generally happens when one of the safeties (put in place to prevent leaks) fails. Some of the more common problems are, for example, the door sensor failing or a broken float switch.

The door sensor is responsible for knowing whether the door is open or latched. When the door is open, the dishwasher will refuse to fill with water. So if the sensor is obstructed (sometimes a small object will fall in or residue can build up), the door will not latch correctly, and the sensor will believe the door is still open. As a result, your dishwasher will refuse to fill with water. Examine the latch with a flashlight to see if you can spot anything blocking the sensor. If you don’t see anything, it may be an electronic problem instead. 

A float switch monitors how much water is already inside the dishwasher. As the dishwasher is filled, this switch floats on top of the rising water level. When the switch reaches the up position, it tells the dishwasher to stop filling. Like the door sensor, this switch can get stuck by residue. A build up of soap scum, or even a fallen utensil, can keep the float switch trapped in the up position. The switch can also break. In this case, it will need to be replaced.

Once you’ve experienced the joy and convenience of a dishwasher, there really is no going back to hand washing. If your dishwasher has broken, you’ll want it fixed — fast. Fortunately, many of the common problems can be handled at home without professional help. And of course, if you need help, our friendly Calgary plumbers are here to help! Give as a call today at (403) 452-2911.