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Is your dishwasher overflowing? This guide helps understand three causes for it to overflow, and also what to do if it is overflowing from the air gap.
Your dishwasher is designed to contain all the water and detergent during a wash cycle. So, as long as the door is closed, water should never overflow. But if that happens, you’ve got a problem that needs troubleshooting.
Your dishwasher overflowing is either because of a faulty water inlet valve letting in too much water, a stuck or damaged float switch, or a worn-out gasket causing water to leak out of the machine. If the water is overflowing from the air gap, the drain hose is clogged, bent, or kinked, and water is backing up inside it.
Troubleshooting this problem isn’t too tricky. This guide will explain to you how it’s done and what you can do to fix the problem.
Note: We will be using an Amana dishwasher as an example in this article, but the principles apply to most other brands out there, as well.
Why Is My Dishwasher Overflowing?
Your Amana dishwasher is designed to keep all its water contained within. So, overflowing should never happen; when it does, that’s a sign of a problem.
Here are 3 reasons why your Amana dishwasher is overflowing and the steps you must follow to fix them.
1. Faulty Water Inlet Valve
About this: An Amana dishwasher gets its water supply directly from a water line that’s part of your household plumbing. That line connects to the machine via the water inlet valve, which opens and closes to control the water inflow.
The inlet valve will open when your dishwasher needs to fill or refill with clean water. Then, once there’s enough water inside, a working water inlet valve will shut itself to prevent water overflowing in the dishwasher.
What’s gone wrong: The first reason an Amana dishwasher would overflow is a problem with the water inlet valve.
Remember: the water inlet valve is meant to close when the dishwasher senses there’s enough water inside.
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Instead, the faulty valve fails to close, allowing much more water to enter the machine than necessary. After a while, that excess water overflows out onto your kitchen floor.
How to fix it: Water inlet valves like the one on your Amana dishwasher can fail for electrical and mechanical reasons.
So, for example, a short circuit or power surge could damage the valve electrically. That would cause the valve not to open and close normally, leading to overflowing. If that’s the case, your valve is no longer proper and must be replaced with another one.
However, you might be able to save the valve if the failure is mechanical. For example, a foreign object jammed inside the valve or sediment buildup could also prevent the valve from closing.
In those situations, you can remove the foreign object or sediment buildup. Doing so will restore the water inlet valve’s functionality, fixing your Amana dishwasher overflowing problem.
Read: How To Unlock Locked GE Profile Dishwasher Control Panel?
2. Stuck Or Damaged Float Switch
About this: As you read above, the dishwasher will signal the water inlet valve to shut once it senses there’s enough water inside. The dishwasher can feel the water levels thanks to a float switch.
That component’s function is described perfectly by its name. Inside your dishwasher is a float that rises along with the water levels. As that happens, the float will trigger a switch when it reaches the target water level.
Your dishwasher will know if it has enough water or needs more based on what happens at the float switch.
What’s gone wrong: From the description above, you can see that the float switch plays a critical role in how much water your dishwasher fills with. That’s why a stuck or damaged float switch can quickly lead to your Amana dishwasher overflowing.
Simply put, that happens because the switch doesn’t tell your dishwasher there’s enough water inside. So, the machine continues filling with water until it overflows.
The float switch consists of two parts: the float rises along with the water level, and it triggers the switch once it rises far enough.
The float can get dirty and stuck, causing the machine to overflow. Meanwhile, the switch can also suffer electrical damage and stop working, leading to the same outcome.
How to fix it: Firstly, check the float to ensure that it can move up and down freely. A buildup of food bits and dirt often causes the float to get stuck. If that’s the case, you can wipe away that buildup to free the float.
However, if the problem is with the switch instead, you’ll have to take it out and put a new one in. The switch isn’t repairable once it becomes faulty.
Read: GE Profile Dishwasher Control Panel Problems And How To Troubleshoot Them?
3. Faulty Gasket
About this: Plenty of water is splashed around in your Amana dishwasher each time you start a new cycle. Yet, none of that water leaks out of the appliance under normal conditions.
That’s possible because the dishwasher has gaskets that ensure a tight seal whenever you close its door. As long as the gasket is in good condition, it’ll maintain that tight seal to prevent water from overflowing from your dishwasher.
What’s gone wrong: The gaskets in your dishwasher will wear out eventually. That’s especially true as it’s exposed to plenty of water, detergent, and anything else being washed away inside the dishwasher compartment.
When the gasket wears out or suffers damage, it’ll fail to keep water inside the machine. As a result, that water will easily overflow outwards.
How to fix it: Firstly, inspect your dishwasher to see if any gaskets are worn out. Doing that will help you confirm that the gasket is to blame and not any other part of the dishwasher.
Unfortunately, gaskets can’t be patched up. So, the only way you’ll stop the overflowing is to remove the worn-out gasket and install a brand-new one.
Read: GE Dishwasher – Lights Flashing And Beeping (What Causes That And How To Fix It?)
Why Is My Amana Dishwasher Overflowing From The Air Gap?
Some Amana dishwashers have an air gap on top of your sink. If your Amana dishwasher is overflowing from that air gap, there are only two possible reasons:
#1 Clogged Drain Hose
Firstly, your dishwasher drain hose is clogged. That can happen quickly with coffee powder and similar materials that your dishwasher’s drain filter can’t catch.
Those materials move through the drain hose and eventually build up inside, causing it to clog and prevent water from flowing through.
As a result, the water backs up and eventually finds its way to overflow from the air gap.
Read: How To Troubleshoot And Reset GE Profile Dishwasher E1 Error Code?
#2 Bent Or Kinked Drain Hose
Another reason this happens is the drain hose is bent or kinked too much. That causes the same problem: water can’t flow through, so it backs up and eventually spits out of the air gap.
Remember: the drain hose should be as straight as possible, without sharp bends or kinks.
Read: GE Dishwasher 888 Code. How To Fix It?
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Below are a few more popular questions and answers regarding overflowing Amana dishwashers:
Can You Clean A Dishwasher Drain Hose?
Yes, you can and should clean your Amana dishwasher drain hose. Remove the hose and take it outside to flush it with water from both ends. For severe clogs (e.g. with coffee powder), you’ll need a narrow stick or something similar to break the clog so it can flow out.
Read: Why LG Dishwasher Keeps Turning Off?
How Often Should Dishwasher Hoses Be Replaced?
Depending on its condition, you might have to replace your Amana dishwasher hose every 5 years. Once you see that the hose is kinked, ripped, or has holes, it’s time to replace it.
What Does Overflow Mean Dishwasher?
Overflow means water is spilling out of your Amana dishwasher even when you’ve shut the door firmly. That is not normal, and it’s a sign that there’s a problem with the appliance.
Can You Replace Rubber Seal In Dishwasher?
Yes, you can replace the rubber seal or gasket in your Amana dishwasher. You can even do it yourself by purchasing the spare part instead of calling a technician.
Why Does My Dishwasher Overflow With Suds?
When your Amana dishwasher overflows with suds instead of water, you’ve poured in too much detergent. Instead, you should stop the cycle, clean out the excess suds, and use only the recommended amount of detergent.
