Dishwasher Leaking? It's Usually a Seal or a Hose

A dishwasher sits under a countertop, between cabinets, on flooring that doesn't handle water well. That's why a leak is worth handling promptly, even a small one. The water you can see is often only part of it; the rest can be soaking into the subfloor or the cabinet next to the machine. Most dishwasher leaks come down to two things: the door gasket or a hose fitting.

Where the water shows up

• Under the door, during the cycle: usually the door gasket, the rubber seal around the tub opening. It can harden, tear, or slip partly out of its channel, and food buildup on it can break the seal
• Underneath the machine: usually a hose fitting, on the water supply line coming in or the drain hose going out. A fitting that has worked loose or a cracked hose leaks out of sight
• At the corners of the door: less often, a door that no longer closes square, from worn hinges or a dishwasher that has shifted because it was never secured under the counter

Two causes aren't parts at all. Regular dish soap, even a small squirt, makes enough suds to push past a perfectly good gasket. And a dishwasher that isn't level can let water pool against one corner of the door.

What to do until it's fixed

Stop running it and wipe up the water. The shutoff valve that feeds the dishwasher is usually under the kitchen sink, on the hot water line. If water keeps showing up with the dishwasher off, close that valve. Slow leaks usually show up underfoot, as a soft or swollen spot in the flooring, long before you ever see standing water, so mention it if you've noticed one.

When it's a different problem

Water sitting inside the tub after a cycle isn't a leak. That's a drain problem, usually a clogged filter or drain hose. And if the water is coming from the shutoff valve or the supply line under the sink rather than from the dishwasher, that's a small pipe leak, part of our plumbing repair service.

Is it worth fixing?

For a gasket or a hose fitting, yes, almost always. It's one of the more straightforward dishwasher repairs, and it says nothing about the rest of the machine. It becomes a replacement conversation in the rarer case of a cracked or rusted-through tub, or when the dishwasher is old enough that parts are getting hard to source.