Problem with draining dishwasher

[roflwaffle]

Hi, the dishwasher at my grandparents house has trouble draining all of the water from a cycle. I checked the dishwasher lines/air gap as well as the p-trap, and everything looks good. When I ran it through a cycle, the only problem I noticed was that the water wasn't draining fast enough in the disposal, and I'm guessing that's why the washer isn't draining completely. Turning on the disposal while the dishwasher is draining stops the backup.

Is this probably a clog/buildup farther down in the line, or could the disposal itself have some gunk I need to clean out?

 

[Jadnashua]

If they use a powdered detergent, and their water is not hot enough or the DW won't preheat it, there could be a. Major clog in the tailpieceto the DW...there was on mine. Solved, after clearing it out by turning on my DWs preheat function and running the hot in the sink until it was full hot (won't help if you use a time delay start).

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Jadziedzic]

From your description of how the water drains when the disposer is running it's possible the drain connection leading into the wall is higher than the outlet of the dishwasher. Post a picture of the plumbing (drains) under the sink and perhaps the pros here can point out issues.

 

[DonL]

Make sure the water float moves freely. It may think it is empty when it really is not.

What is your model number ?

Good Luck.

 

[roflwaffle]

I checked the drain hose/air gap height and that was OK. From there I decided to disassemble the dishwasher sprayer/pump, but everything looked pretty clean there. Only then did I notice that the cap at the front right of the washer could be removed (didn't see the screw from outside the washer). I removed the cap, and found a filter that was clogged with dried soap/film, and ever since then the water pressure's been much better and it's draining completely after each wash/rinse cycle. Thanks everyone!