Dishwasher not draining completely

cougar_67 · 01-07-2009, 09:20 PM

Hi
The house I'm renting has a GE dishwasher (model GSD400T-48WA). At the end of a complete cycle, there is quite a bit of (mostly dirty) water in the bottom - it comes up to the bottom of the lower rack. At one point, I siphoned the water out by hand and got about 3 gallons. I then ran the dishwasher again and once again it was full of water.
If I leave the water in there and run the machine, I end up with the same amount of water as before. So it appears that it's trying to drain - just not fast enough or completely.
It appears that all plumbing connections were made from below as there are no hoses leading from the dishwasher to the sink drain. (no disposal, single sink).

Is this most likely a problem with the dishwasher drain or pump? Or is it more likley related to the drain pipe it dumps into?
thanks
Steve

glennjanie · 01-08-2009, 11:46 AM

Welcome Steve:
The dishwasher probably only holds 3 gallons of water and is not pumping any water out at all. If it were pumping water out and more was coming in you would end up with clear rinse water. I think your pump is gone, or else the timer is not turning the pump on to drain. However, if you can hear the pump running during the cycle, then the drain is probably blocked.
Glenn

travelover · 01-08-2009, 12:39 PM

Mother-in-law's is doing the same thing. I found this site to be helpful.

Fixitnow.com Samurai Appliance Repair Man » Blog Archive » GE Dishwasher Drainology

cougar_67 · 01-09-2009, 03:20 PM

Thanks guys!

I found many chunks of unrecognizeable items in the drain "bucket" - including a few things that had no earthly reason to be inside a dishwasher.

working fine now - thanks again.

Steve

JALEXED2 · 07-10-2009, 10:54 AM

If you have a GE dishwasher, it is possible that the check valve located in the rear of the dishwasher is damaged. Remove the screen filter located on the back wall on the bottom of the dishwasher and unscrew the valve. The rubber seal may be worn or damaged causing the water to recirculate rather than discharge. Part cost is about $15. Hope this helps.