What to do When a Dishwasher Door is Leaking

Have you noticed a puddle of water immediately under the dishwasher door? This is worrying, and there can be a dozen different ways your dishwasher can leak. In order to discern where the water is coming from, you must clean this puddle and play the waiting game. If the water does not come back until you use the dishwasher and the water pools immediately at the bottom of the door, then the cause of the leak is the dishwasher door itself.

While your dishwasher door doesn’t use water, it is in charge of keeping it inside. If the parts that help it do that begin to fail, you will need to troubleshoot it and repair the issue. What can cause your dishwasher door to leak?

Door Gasket

Like your refrigerator or washer, your dishwasher also comes with a pliable piece of rubber around the edge of the door or the tub that is charged with creating a seal when the door is closed. This helps keep any splashing water from escaping the dishwasher.

By design, the gasket only covers 3 out of 4 sides of the tub opening on your dishwasher as it’s normally not necessary to seal the bottom opening.

Unfortunately, this piece of rubber is not infallible. Over time, these door gaskets become older and more brittle. When the rubber doesn’t form a seal properly or cracks, then water can leak out as the dishwasher runs. Luckily, replacing this part requires little disassembly and is quite easy to do.

Door Latch

The door latch on your dishwasher is responsible for holding the door firmly closed when it is in use or otherwise. However, over time, this latch can become loose or bent from closing the door too quickly. If this is the case, you will note that your dishwasher door fights you to close at times. You may also notice that, when touched, the latch physically moves. It should not do that.

In some cases, the solution to this problem may be to simply tighten the latch assembly, but usually, you will need to replace it. This is a task that will require only light door disassembly.