My 8 yr old kenmore ultrawash dishwasher won't empty!?

My kenmore ultrawash had difficulty emptying yesterday and then stopped draining completely today. I'm so mechanically inept that I expected a $45 service call to tell me something dumb my large family had done.

I disconnected the outlet hose from the copper pipe under the sink and ran through a cycle to watch if the water drained. It drained, but it was very slow. Something seemed to be reducing the flow rate of the water.

I connected my bicycle pump to the hose, and applied about 30 psi of pressure into the outlet hose. There was a "plop" sound and the dishwasher cavity got some more water in it. If there is some form of anti-siphon valve on that pump, I just destroyed it.

I was then able to run the dishwasher through a drain cycle and get a much better flow of water. I can't recommend this for anyone else because I don't know if I did permanent damage to the dishwasher.

Be warned, if there is an anti-siphon valve on the pump, this technique will probably damage or destroy it. I was at my wits end and assumed I would replace the dishwasher before paying $45 for a service call and $50-100 for parts and labor.

The dishwasher has run a full load of dishes, and they seem acceptably clean, and water is not pouring all over the floor, so I think if there was damage, it must have been "acceptable" damage.

Mark Waite
August 2005