Leaky Dishwasher

Hi Folks, We have the leaky dishwasher, a Maytag perhaps from the late 70s, perhaps more recent as we have only been here for 12 years. It does not happen all of the time, only maybe one out of 3 or 4 times we use the unit. What we find is on the floor there is a river of water, not a flood, and the amount varies. There is no water underneath or behind. It happens not early in the cycling, but later on, either in the rinsing or the drying phases. We use the granular Cascade detergent.

I replaced the main gasket around the door to no avail. While doing this I really cleaned the dirt both under the gasket and where the gasket meets up with the frame.

The water must be coming from somewhere else, but where? Is there another gasket somewhere on that door? I seek clues or better from this post. Questions for clarification are welcome.

Thanks folks, Tomes

Reply to
Tomes
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We had a similar problem. The problem was that detergent builds up, eventually causes too much foam, which keeps water from draining so it runs out. Solution: pour in one quart of white vinegar (no dishes) and run through a full cycle. I switched to liquid detergent, but don't use the d.w. often enough to repeat any problems. The fix was recommended by pro repairman, and I thought he was putting me on, but it worked.

Reply to
norminn

Cool. I will try this degunkifying trick and report back [but don't let this stop other replies...]. When we first moved in here we tried the liquid stuff and it leaked then, so we went to the granular and it behaved for 10 years, so we decided that the liquid stuff was evil. I suppose all it did was buy us that time. Tomes

Reply to
Tomes

If any of the dishes were coated with regular dish soap, from either soaking in the sink or hand pre-washing then you might have produce a leak but that would show up early.

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Inspect the water level float for sticking/restricted movement.

Shut the power off, remove the kick plate (maybe 4 screws/bolts) and use a mirror and a flashlight to look for past leaks/ water trails under the unit. Old leaks with be easy to see by the water (lime) deposits.

Cheers, Jim

Reply to
Jim2009

Hi, I won't even bother. It is old enough to be replaced. Bottom seal may have a crack.

Reply to
Tony Hwang

Our dw was relatively new when we first experienced the overflowing. Hubby likes more detergent when he volunteers :o)

Reply to
norminn

Fixed my old Maytag leak by tightening up the latch a bit. Lasted out the decade.

Joe

Reply to
Joe

I had a bad box of detergent one time that foamed much more than normal, it caused leaking. A new box of another brand that did not foam stopped the leak.

Run the dishwasher with the cover/kickplate off and see where the leak is coming from .. You can also take the front panel of the door off (the one that you see when the door is closed), and see if it is getting into the door somehow and then running down the inside of the door.

Reply to
hrhofmann

I had a bad box of detergent one time that foamed much more than normal, it caused leaking. A new box of another brand that did not foam stopped the leak.

Run the dishwasher with the cover/kickplate off and see where the leak is coming from .. You can also take the front panel of the door off (the one that you see when the door is closed), and see if it is getting into the door somehow and then running down the inside of the door. ================================ Thanks folks for the discussion. I now have 2 things to try out. Run it with the front panels off to see what I see and when it is empty to run it with vinegar. It is partially full with dishes right now, so this will likely happen tomorrow. I will post what happens. Much appreciated, Tomes

Reply to
Tomes

"Tomes" ...

Update: Took off the kick plate [snow day today...] and the underneath looks fine - water never went there. Ran it with a quart of vinegar dumped in and watched it drip from the bottom right of the door. I am thinking that it's gotta be some other mysterious seal within the door.

I intend to run a few more vinegar cycles when I can, then if it still leaks the door is coming apart. Any tips for that? Handy diagram source? Thanks, Tomes

Reply to
Tomes

"Tomes" wrote in news:glqq2l$k3l$ snipped-for-privacy@news.motzarella.org:

Just remembered something from long ago 20+ yrs. Had a door seal leaking. Did many things. All NG. So I left it until I had an appliance guy come out for something else. Turned out some plastic part down in the bottom of the DW was broke/cracked or something. Caused water to be tossed directly at door in some fashion it wasn't suppose to.

Sorry for the sketchy story but the point is the cause of the leaky door had nothing to do with any kind of seals. Poke around at things you "know" could not possibly be the cause!

Reply to
Red Green

When it leaks open the door and inspect the water level, it if looks high then you have a problem with the float shut-off.

Another off-the-wall idea ....inspect the hinges and the latch for loose/worn mounts.

Keep us posted.

Cheers, Jim

Reply to
Jim2009

"Jim2009" ...

How can I tell if it looks too high? I like this idea of analysis, yet I do not really know what to look for...

Good thought, the door seems to be not loose at all and clamps seemingly tight. Tomes

Reply to
Tomes

The door on your dishwasher is some what like a shower door, it reflects water, it does not make it water tight. So if the water level it too high (bad float) it would leak.

Think of the bottom of your unit as a bowl. When the unit leaks open the door and inspect the water level, it should be lower then the inside edge of the bowl (on the door side) or in other terms - the water level should be lower than the inside bottom edge of the door.

Cheers, Jim.

Reply to
Jim2009

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