You Can Troubleshoot Your Dishwasher And Get It Going Again

A dead dishwasher may not ruin your life, but it can certainly ruin your day. When it doesn't work, the first thing you want to do is figure out why it isn't working. The second thing you want to know is what you can do about it. The nice thing is that you can troubleshoot the problem and even repair some issues yourself. 

Power

Checking to see if your dishwasher has power is your first step. You may feel a little silly checking to make sure that it's plugged in and receiving power, but it's a very sensible thing to do. If your dishwasher gets plugged into an outlet instead of being hardwired to your electrical system, make sure that the plug is all the way in the outlet. It may look plugged in, but the plug may be out just enough to break the circuit. Another issue is that your GFCI outlet may be triggered. If you look at the outlet, you will see that there are two buttons, one which says reset and the other which says test. If the red test button is slightly raised, then something tripped the circuit. Push the reset button, and your dishwasher should work. If the circuit trips again immediately, there is a more serious problem and you need to get a appliance repair professional out to look at it. 

If your dishwasher is hardwired to your electrical system, then you will need to check your circuit breaker or fuse box. If the fuse or circuit have blown, then all you need to do is turn the circuit on or replace the fuse. If you have to replace the fuse, make sure that the one you replace it with is the exact same as the one you removed. If the fuse doesn't have the same voltage, the circuit may not shut down when it is overloaded, which can lead to other problems. 

Puddles

If you notice that you have puddles on the floor of your kitchen around the bottom of your dishwasher, they could be caused by several things. The most likely is that your door gasket has failed. The gasket is the flexible rubber strip on the door. It is designed to seal against the dishwasher and keep the water inside your dishwasher. If the seal is loose or hard, then it won't do the job it's supposed to. Luckily replacing the strip is pretty easy. You can order a new gasket online or buy it from a home improvement store. Make sure that you get the right gasket for your make and model dishwasher. In most cases, all you need to do is pull the old gasket out from the channel that it is in and then push the new one in. Make sure that you take a few minutes to look it over very carefully before you do anything, so you can be sure of how the gasket is fastened to the door. If that doesn't stop the leak, you will need to have a repairman come out to look at your dishwasher. 

If your dishwasher has stopped working and you aren't sure you are comfortable troubleshooting it, then the best thing you can do is call a repair person to come out and check it out for you.

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