A dishwasher door open on a kitchen floor with the lower rack pulled out and a cloudy puddle in the tub.

What it is trying to tell you

Common problems
guides.

What a dishwasher means when it leaves water behind, stops mid-cycle, washes poorly or will not dry.

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Three guides
Read before you book
Says where to stop

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Common problems,
guide by guide.

This section starts from what you find when the door opens at the end of a cycle: water still sitting in the tub, a plate with last night's dinner baked onto it, a towel's worth of water on the kitchen floor. Each of those is a symptom with a short list of usual causes, and the guides rank that list by how often each cause turns out to be the answer.

All 18 guides

A built-in stainless dishwasher in a US home kitchen with its door open and the lower rack pulled out, a shallow pool of water visible on the tub floor around the filter.

5-minute read

Why dishwashers stop draining, from the filter to the sink

Water left behind is a blockage somewhere between the tub and the sink drain, and the pump is rarely the first suspect.

An open built-in dishwasher in a US home kitchen with a lower spray arm lifted out and held beside the rack, clean plates in the upper rack.

4-minute read

Why dishes come out dirty, read from the residue

Stuck food, sandy grit and white film each point to a different cause, and most of them are fixed without a part.

A built-in dishwasher in a US home kitchen with its toe kick panel removed and a folded towel on the wood floor in front of it.

5-minute read

Why a dishwasher leaks, traced from the puddle

Front, underneath or in the sink cabinet: where the water collects decides which seal or connection to look at.

What it is trying to tell you.

Every guide follows the water: where it comes in, where it is sprayed and where it leaves. That route is the same in a standard built-in, a panel-ready model behind a cabinet front, a double drawer and a compact, but the parts sit in different places on each, and the guides say where to look on every type.

Read them before booking a visit. Many end with a filter, a hose or a loading habit, and the ones that do not tell you plainly where an owner should stop and what to describe when you call.

Not sure where to start?

The short answerWhy dishwashers stop draining, from the filter to the sink

Standing water in the dishwasher usually means the exit path is blocked, not that the pump has died.

The short answerWhy dishes come out dirty, read from the residue

Dishes still dirty after the dishwasher usually come down to water that is not reaching them or not hot enough: blocked spray arm holes, a clogged filter, loading that shields the arms, or incoming water below about 120°F.

The short answerWhy a dishwasher leaks, traced from the puddle

Asking why is my dishwasher leaking starts with where the water shows up.

When reading
is not enough.

If the checks in these guides did not settle it, the visit picks up from there, stop by stop.

What repairs cost

01Find the cause
02Price it first
03The part
04Fix and run a cycle

The problems
these answer.

Each has a page of its own, with the causes in the order worth checking.

All 17 problems

An open dishwasher with the lower rack pulled out and cloudy gray water standing across the bottom of the stainless tub around the filter.

Problem

Dishwasher Not Draining

6 causes, cheapest first

A hand in a rubber glove wiping the lower door gasket of an open dishwasher with a cloth, a bowl of vinegar solution on the counter beside it.

Problem

Dishwasher Smells Bad

5 causes, cheapest first

A dishwasher control panel lit up with a small digital countdown glowing on the door edge, the machine closed and running under evening kitchen lights.

Problem

Dishwasher Cycle Takes Too Long

5 causes, cheapest first

A dishwasher door tilted open with a small illuminated display on its top edge showing a short blinking code, a phone held nearby to photograph it.

Problem

Dishwasher Showing an Error Code

5 causes, cheapest first

A family unloading clean plates from an open dishwasher together in a bright contemporary kitchen, a child handing a plate to a parent — For the heart of your home.

Questions about
common problems.

Which guide should I open first?

The one that matches what you can see right now. Water left in the tub goes to the draining guide, dirty dishes to the cleaning guide, and water outside the machine to the leak guide.

Are these written for one brand?

No. They are organized by symptom and by type of dishwasher, because pumps, filters and seals work the same way across makes even when their layout differs.

What if the display shows a code?

Note it exactly and check our error code pages for your brand. The code narrows the search, and the matching guide here explains the parts it points to.

The other
sections.

Split by what you are trying to find out rather than by which part of the appliance it concerns.

All guides

A homeowner's hands lifting the cylindrical filter out of the floor of an open dishwasher tub.

Checks you can make yourself

Back to your everyday

Let’s get your dishwasher working again.

Three short steps online, or one call. Tell us what you are seeing and pick a window that works.

Schedule a repair Call (844) 430-4286

Common problems
guides.

Common problems,
guide by guide.

Why dishwashers stop draining, from the filter to the sink

Why dishes come out dirty, read from the residue

Why a dishwasher leaks, traced from the puddle

What it is trying to tell you.

The short answerWhy dishwashers stop draining, from the filter to the sink

The short answerWhy dishes come out dirty, read from the residue

The short answerWhy a dishwasher leaks, traced from the puddle

When reading
is not enough.