How do I clean out my dishwasher drain?

[jess5377]

Way down at the back of our dishwasher there lives a pool of water over the drain that never goes away. How could I clean out that drain and unclog it?

[RollerCoasterMama]

Originally Posted by jess5377

Way down at the back of our dishwasher there lives a pool of water over the drain that never goes away. How could I clean out that drain and unclog it?

Stalking the answer. I've tried to get that clean and it's tricky. My landlords are actually getting me a new dishwasher because it gets smelly and all of my DIY methods aren't working. I was really asking for a plumber, but I think they've been wanting to upgrade the dishwasher anyway. It's the only appliance that doesn't match the rest.

One thing that seems to help a bit is that I add a generous glug of white vinegar to each load. It wasn't instant, but seemed to help over time. At least there's not stinky standing water any more.

[ChristyMarie]

Do you have a screen over the drain that comes out? I have had one in my last two dishwashers. I had to look at the manual to figure out it was supposed to come out and get cleaned off everyone once in a while.

Can you look up your manual online if you don't have it at home and see if yours is similar? Once you knew how to do it, mine just pop off and you can clean them out and rinse them in the sink.

[mumkimum]

oooh! Would love to also know the secret about this, I swear I never knew this had to get taken care of and we've had so many problems dealing with this.

I've found it helps when:

*we run the dishwasher often (usually we barely fill it in a week - so every other day makes a difference)
*take it all out, search for any clogging stuff, and rinse out really well
*sometimes run it empty just to 'clean the machine'
*at its worst, we dump baking soda and vinegar down there and then run it empty

[Usually Curious]

Originally Posted by mumkimum

oooh! Would love to also know the secret about this, I swear I never knew this had to get taken care of and we've had so many problems dealing with this.

I've found it helps when:

*we run the dishwasher often (usually we barely fill it in a week - so every other day makes a difference)
*take it all out, search for any clogging stuff, and rinse out really well
*sometimes run it empty just to 'clean the machine'
*at its worst, we dump baking soda and vinegar down there and then run it empty

We fill ours nearly twice a day! Reading that made me smile.

[rhiOrion]

When mine had inches of standing water all over the bottom (close to overflowing) and I was doing a lot of googling to find an answer, I came across many things that said a small amount of water right by the drain is normal. It said that it keeps the various rubber seals from drying out.

That said, my washer now doesn't have any standing water. So it doesn't seem normal to me.

I dunno.