Why a New Dishwasher Installation Isn’t Draining

Did you recently purchase a new dishwasher only to discover that after its first use, water is sitting at the bottom? Whether you installed it yourself or had a professional team out to do it, if your recently installed dishwasher isn’t draining, it is due to a missed step during the installation. This is a step that is easy to forget about as well as pretty easy to fix without completely having to reinstall your dishwasher. So before you call the installation service or undo those mounting brackets yourself, why not check this simple solution?

In most cases, if your brand new dishwasher isn’t draining, there isn’t a clog anywhere. Instead, it is likely that when installing, someone forgot to remove the knockout plug on the garbage disposal. Your garbage disposal comes with a plastic fitting that allows you to connect the drain line to the garbage disposal. However, it comes already plugged up by default for those that do not have dishwashers to attach to it. By keeping it plugged by default, this prevents any leaking as well.

However, if you installed a dishwasher yourself or had a newer installation technician, then that plug might not get knocked out before the hose is placed on. However, it is an easy fix. You simply need to unthread the drain hose from the dishwasher and knock it out. When removing the drain hose, you will want to have a bucket ready if you did not manually drain your dishwasher.

With the drain hose removed, you will want to pull the plug out with a pair of pliers. If you accidentally knock it into the garbage disposal, you will have to go fishing for it up top with pliers, tongs, or another grabbing utensil. Be sure that the garbage disposal is disconnected from the power first, however.