I think my dishwasher is clogged up with grease and doesnt work

TracySouth

Hi

Came home from work yesterday to see flashing lights on my dishwasher, it seemed to have completed the cycle but not drained the water away. My dh had filled it and turned it on, trouble is he put a baking tray in there which I had cooked some sausages on in the oven and lots of fat always comes out of them. He said he drained it away but there may of been some left. My dishwasher now wont work ie no water fills when you start a cycle. i am wondering if the grease has solidified and blocking something. Is it possible to get something like you can use in sinks to unblock the drains? It drains straight into the waste pipe not via the sink so cannot put anything done the sink to clear it. Wonder if anyone else has had a problem like this? Dont really want to call a repair man out as I dont have any spare money but I really miss the dishwasher and it has only been out of action a day

noonesperfect

Have you checked the filters in the bottom of the dishwasher (where water drains through to go out of the machine). Mine has two, so I should think most have them.
Bit of a manky job, best to put on some rubber gloves:eek:

It might be that some cling film, a teabag or some such thing is blocking the filter(s) preventing the water drainage. HTH

I don't think it will re-fill till the dirty water has drained away.

angelavdavis

My OH denies all knowledge too :cool:

First, pull out the machine and check the outlet pipe for blockages. If nothing is apparent that can't be dredged, poor a mix of bicarb of soda and vinegar down the pipe to clear it through. It will fizz up so don't be alarmed. Followup with some boiling water to check it drains OK.

Next, in the DW, check the filters and outlet pipes from the dish washer aren't blocked - unscrew the pipes, site yourself over the sink and see if water will run through OK, if not, use a straightened coat hanger to unblock and then try the bicarb/vin trick.

If it isn't the outlet drain, the pipes or the filter, it sadly could be the pump gone and it might be a trip to dishwasher heaven (or get a chappy out if you can run to it).

But if you can clear the water from the machine, do an empty cycle, with some bicarb of soda and vinegar in a bowl inside to give it a clean up.

The mix is great keeping the machine clean - you can do this on a regular basis to keep the outlet pipes clear.

And I found out tonight that vinegar is great for stopping smells in the washing machine - just poor it in and put the machine on a boil wash empty.

Pink.

Hi tracy,

You should get more help with this on the In My Home board so I'll move your thread over there.

Pink

kwatt

Hi Tracy,

What machine is it? What lights were flashing? They normally will offer a fault code, which means I may be able to give you a clue as to what's wrong.

A dishwasher will almost always drain, to clear the sump, then fill. However the initial drain is almost certainly timed and won't stop the machine from actually filling after that is done, even with a blocked drain.

I wrote a basic fault finding guide, from this link, but it doesn't go into specifics of particular models.

HTH

K.

Kaz2904

If it's the hotpoint FDW60 then we get the flashing lights nearly every time we use it. It's happened since it was installed and it's driving me nuts! I'll be interested to see what the solution is.

kwatt

Hi kaz,

Again, these flashing lights mean something. If you can tell me what ones and how many flashes I may be able to point you in the right direction.

K.