How to Stop a Dishwasher From Leaking

Dishwasher leaks are a common, not to mention extremely annoying, problem. There's no need to call a repair person and spend a lot of dough, though--all you need are a few easy diagnostic tips and a couple of common household tools. Read on and learn more.

Instructions

1. Determine whether the leak is coming from inside the door liner, underneath the door or out the door gasket. If necessary, put several old bath towels on the floor around the dishwasher and run it for a few seconds so you can see the leak.

2. Make sure your dishwasher is properly installed and sitting level. Check the level from front to back and from side to side. Improper installation can cause plastic dishwasher interiors to warp.

3. Use shortening if your dishwasher leaks soapsuds. This can happen if you use liquid dish washing soap instead of dish washing detergent in your dishwasher. Remove the dishes from the dishwasher, then use a bowl to scoop as many suds as possible out of the dishwasher. Put two or three tablespoons of vegetable shortening in the bottom of the dishwasher, run a complete cycle, then add dish washing detergent and run a complete cycle again.

4. Check to see if the water level in your dishwasher comes up to the bottom edge of the heating element. Turn on your dishwasher, then open the door after it fills with water and starts spraying. If the dishwasher is not level, the water won't be level with the heating element.

5. Center the door liner in the door gasket. Misalignment of the door liner and door gasket may cause your dishwasher to leak.

6. Inspect the door gasket for cracks, tears and shrinkage, all of which lead to dishwasher leakage.

7. Look for splits on your dishwasher's wash arm. Splits in the wash arm push water at high pressure directly at the door and through the gasket. Run your dishwasher to heat up the arm, the twist both ends of the arm and look for splits.