Dishwasher Not Draining? How to Fix It

A dishwasher not draining usually comes down to something blocking the water’s path out: a clogged filter, a kinked hose, a plugged air gap, or a garbage disposal that hasn’t been cleared. Most of these take less than 30 minutes to fix with basic tools. Start with the easy checks below before you assume the pump has failed.

TL;DR

A little water in the bottom, about half a cup, is normal. A pool covering the floor of the tub is not.
Clean the filter at the bottom of the tub first. It is the most common cause and the easiest to fix.
If the dishwasher drains into a garbage disposal, run the disposal. If the disposal is new, check that the knockout plug was removed.
Look under the sink for a kinked or sagging drain hose and a clogged air gap on the countertop.
A humming or grinding sound with no draining points to a jammed drain pump. If clearing debris doesn’t fix it, call for service.

Why Your Dishwasher Isn’t Draining
Symptoms and Likely Causes
How to Fix a Dishwasher That Won’t Drain
What Not to Do
When to Call a Professional
How to Prevent It
FAQ

Why Your Dishwasher Isn’t Draining

Water exits through the filter and sump, gets pushed by the drain pump through the hose, and empties into the disposal or sink drain. A blockage anywhere on that path leaves water in the tub. Whirlpool says about half a cup sitting in the filter area is normal.

Clogged Filter

Most modern dishwashers have a manual filter under the bottom spray arm that you clean yourself. Food scraps, seeds, labels and broken glass collect there until water barely gets through. Bosch and Whirlpool both name filter debris as a leading cause.

Kinked, Crushed or Clogged Drain Hose

The drain hose can get pinched when the dishwasher is pushed into place. Samsung notes that a new unit is sometimes set down right on its own hose. Items stored under the sink can crush it, and food can pack the inside.

Blocked Air Gap

An air gap is the small cap on the countertop next to the faucet. It lets air into the drain line so wastewater can’t siphon back into the dishwasher. Drain water passes right through it, so food builds up inside, and you may see water spilling out of it during a drain.

Garbage Disposal Knockout Plug

New garbage disposals ship with a plug sealing the dishwasher inlet on the side of the unit. It has to be knocked out before the hose is connected. If the dishwasher hasn’t drained since a new disposal or dishwasher went in, this is the likeliest cause, and Whirlpool lists it first.

Full or Clogged Garbage Disposal

Food left in the disposal chamber can block the dishwasher inlet, and running the disposal clears it. If the disposal hums but won’t spin, see our guide to fixing a garbage disposal that hums but won’t turn.

Missing High Loop

Without an air gap, the drain hose needs to rise in a high loop under the counter. Without it, dirty sink water can run back into the dishwasher. Samsung and Whirlpool both flag this after installations.

Sink Drain or Plumbing Clog

The dishwasher can only drain as fast as the sink drain below it. If the kitchen sink is slow too, the clog is in your plumbing, not the appliance. Samsung’s quick test is to run the sink faucet for about 30 seconds and watch whether the water goes down.

Jammed Drain Pump or Stuck Check Valve

The drain pump sits under the filter, and glass, pits or bone fragments can jam its impeller. Whirlpool says a steady hum with no water moving can mean a jam, and grinding can mean hard debris.

Many dishwashers also have a one-way check valve that keeps drained water from coming back. GE Appliances describes its version as a valve in the pump housing that opens the drain port at the end of each wash and rinse. If it sticks, water can’t leave or flows back in.

Cycle Interrupted Before the Drain

The final pump-out happens at the end of the cycle. If you opened the door, lost power or canceled the program, the machine may have stopped with a full tub. It isn’t broken; it just never reached its drain step.

Too Many Suds

Hand dish soap in a dishwasher creates foam that the pump can’t move well. Whirlpool says to turn the machine off, let the suds settle, and use only automatic dishwasher detergent from then on.

Symptoms and Likely Causes

Symptom	Likely cause	DIY or pro?
About half a cup of water near the filter	Normal	No fix needed
Slow draining, food bits left in the tub	Clogged filter	DIY
Never drained since a new disposal or dishwasher went in	Knockout plug still in place, or hose pinched during install	DIY
Water spills out of the countertop air gap	Clogged air gap or blocked hose downstream	DIY
Kitchen sink is also slow or backing up	Sink drain or disposal clog	DIY first, plumber if it persists
Dirty sink water appears in the dishwasher	No high loop or air gap, or a failed check valve	DIY for the loop, pro for the valve
Humming or grinding, no water moving	Debris jamming the drain pump	DIY to clear debris, pro if the pump has failed
Silent during drain, error code shown	Failed pump, control or wiring fault	Pro
Full tub after a power outage or a door opened mid-cycle	Cycle interrupted	DIY (run a cancel or drain)

How to Fix a Dishwasher That Won’t Drain

Tools and supplies: towels, a bucket, a plastic cup, a turkey baster or sponge, a soft brush, a flashlight, a screwdriver, needle-nose pliers, a hammer, zip ties, gloves and your owner’s manual.

Safety: Unplug the dishwasher or switch off its breaker before you reach into the sump or disconnect the hose. The control panel’s off button isn’t enough. Shut off the water at the valve under the sink, and wear gloves, since Bosch and Samsung warn the drain area can hold sharp debris.

If you smell burning, see damaged wiring, or the breaker trips repeatedly, stop and call a technician. Our guide on why a circuit breaker keeps tripping explains what you can safely check.

Step 1: Try a Cancel or Drain First

If the cycle was interrupted, latch the door and use your model’s cancel, drain or reset function. That’s often a button or button combination held for a few seconds, and your manual gives the exact sequence. Give the pump a couple of minutes before you open the door.

Step 2: Remove the Standing Water Safely

Turn off the power and lay towels in front of the door. Pull out the bottom rack, bail water into a bucket with a cup, and finish the sump with a turkey baster or sponge. Let hot water cool first.

Step 3: Clean the Filter

On many models the filter twists counterclockwise and lifts out, sometimes with a flat screen beneath it, but check your manual. Rinse the parts and scrub the mesh with a soft brush and a little dish soap. Shine a flashlight into the sump, remove anything loose, and lock the filter back in place, since a poorly seated filter can cause drain errors.

Step 4: Check the Drain Pump Area

With the power off, look for a pump cover in the sump, though not every model has one. Bosch says to remove it as your manual describes and clear out debris, and Whirlpool suggests checking that the impeller turns freely. Use pliers to remove glass or pits, then replace the cover.

Step 5: Run the Garbage Disposal

Run cold water and turn on the disposal for a few seconds to clear the chamber. Whirlpool recommends this whenever there’s an obstruction in the drain or disposal. Make it a habit before you start the dishwasher, too.

Step 6: Check the Knockout Plug (New Disposals)

Unplug the disposal, loosen the clamp and pull the dishwasher hose off the inlet. Whirlpool’s test: a pencil should slide in about 3 inches if the plug is gone. If it hits a wall, tap a screwdriver into the inlet with a hammer, then retrieve the plug from the chamber with pliers, never your hand, and reclamp the hose.

Step 7: Inspect and Flush the Drain Hose

Trace the hose back toward the dishwasher, straighten kinks, and move stored items off it. Disconnect it at the sink end and flush it with warm water over a bucket. For a stubborn clog, Whirlpool suggests a flexible plastic line, and a cracked or permanently kinked hose should be replaced.

Step 8: Clean the Air Gap

Pull or twist off the air gap’s cap and any inner cap, then clear out gunk with a bottle brush and rinse. If water still backs out after cleaning, the blockage is further down, in the hose or sink drain.

Step 9: Set Up a High Loop

Without an air gap, lift the hose as high as possible under the countertop and secure it with a zip tie or bracket. GE’s instructions for one model call for a loop at least 30 inches above the floor, and an air gap if code requires it or the drain connection is under 18 inches high. Check your own installation guide and local code.

Step 10: Check the Sink Drain, Then Test

Run the sink for 30 seconds. If it drains slowly, clear that clog first using our guide to fixing a slow-draining sink. Then turn the water and power back on, run a short rinse cycle, and check the tub when it finishes.

Step 11: Look Up Any Error Code

Look up any code or blinking-light pattern in your owner’s manual, since codes are brand-specific. Samsung, for example, uses 5C, 5E, OC and OE for drain or overflow errors. A drain error after all the steps above points to a pump or control problem.

What Not to Do

Don’t pour chemical drain opener into the dishwasher. Whirlpool specifically warns against using drain-opening chemicals inside the dishwasher.
Don’t reach into the sump or pump area with the power on.
Don’t put your hand inside a garbage disposal, even when it’s switched off. Use pliers.
Don’t push a screwdriver or wire coat hanger through the drain hose. It can puncture the hose and cause a hidden leak.
Don’t keep restarting cycles on a full tub. You risk overflowing onto the floor and overworking a jammed pump.
Don’t use hand dish soap or laundry detergent in the dispenser.
Don’t open control panels or touch wiring. Electrical diagnosis belongs to a technician.

When to Call a Professional

Call an appliance technician, or the manufacturer if the unit is under warranty, when you see any of these:

The filter, hose, air gap and disposal are all clear, and the tub still holds water.
The pump hums, grinds or makes no sound at all during the drain portion of the cycle.
A drain error code keeps coming back after you’ve cleaned everything.
Dirty water keeps flowing back into the tub even with a proper high loop, which can mean a failed check valve.
You smell burning, see scorched wiring, or the breaker trips when the dishwasher runs.
Water is leaking onto the floor or into the cabinet.

Call a plumber instead if the kitchen sink itself won’t drain. That means the clog is in your home’s plumbing.

For budgeting, HomeAdvisor’s 2025 cost guide puts typical dishwasher repairs at $160 to $300. It says most technicians charge a $35 to $100 diagnostic fee that’s often applied to the repair. The same guide lists a replacement pump part at $150 to $350, and local prices vary, so get a quote first.

How to Prevent It

Scrape plates before loading, and keep bones, pits, toothpicks and labels out of the dishwasher. Whirlpool suggests cleaning the filter area about every 30 days. A dirty filter also causes odors, and our guide to getting rid of drain smells covers the rest.

Run the disposal before each dishwasher cycle, and run the faucet until it’s hot so the first fill starts warm. Keep stored items off the drain hose, check that the high loop is still secured, and use only automatic dishwasher detergent.

FAQ

Is it normal to have water in the bottom of the dishwasher?

A small amount, about half a cup around the filter, is normal according to Whirlpool. It gets flushed out when the next cycle starts. If water covers the floor of the tub or reaches the bottom spray arm, something is blocking the drain.

Why is my new dishwasher not draining?

The two most common causes after an installation are a knockout plug left in the garbage disposal inlet and a drain hose kinked or pinched behind the unit. A missing high loop is the third thing to check. All three are usually quick DIY fixes.

Can a garbage disposal cause a dishwasher not to drain?

Yes. If the dishwasher drains through the disposal, food sitting in the disposal chamber can block the inlet. Run the disposal with cold water for a few seconds and try again, and if the disposal is new, confirm the knockout plug was removed.

How do I get standing water out of my dishwasher?

First try your model’s cancel or drain function with the door latched. If that fails, unplug the unit and bail the water into a bucket, finishing with a turkey baster or sponge. Then clean the filter.

How do I know if my dishwasher drain pump is bad?

Humming with no water movement often means debris is jamming the impeller. Silence or a repeated drain error after you’ve cleared the filter, hose and air gap suggests the pump or its controls have failed, and a technician should diagnose it.

Why Your Dishwasher Isn’t Draining (And How to Fix It)