TIL my dishwasher drain hose was installed wrong for 3 years

I noticed a small puddle under the sink last Tuesday and thought it was just a loose pipe. After 2 hours of pulling the dishwasher out and taking apart the drain line, I found the hose was looped DOWN before going up to the disposal instead of being high looped. That low spot let dirty water settle and slowly leak over time. It took me 4 hours total to fix because I had to re route the hose and clean out all the gunk that built up. Has anyone else dealt with a sneaky dishwasher leak that drove you crazy?

2 comments

2 Comments

milesrobinson5d ago

Damn, that's rough. So after you re-routed the hose, did you check if the disposal side had any buildup too? I had a similar issue where the high loop was fine but the gunk was actually blocking the air gap on the counter. Wondering if yours had any of that or if it was strictly the low spot causing the leak. Curious if you ran a cleaner through after fixing it or just let it ride.

veramartin6d ago

Bad loop is the silent killer of dishwashers. That low spot just sits there collecting slime until it finally gives up and leaks. Glad you caught it before the floor rotted out.