Help me install my dishwasher
December 28, 2011 3:45 PM   Subscribe

Help me connect the water supply to my dishwasher.

I have a Whirpool dishwasher, the one with a giant plastic tub. For reasons extraneous to this conversation, I became responsible for connecting the water supply into it. Having located the proper inlet, I attached the water supply (with tubing like this).

Upon opening the water supply, water began leaking at the bottom of the dishwasher (which is disconnected from the power supply, thankfully). I immediately disconnected the water supply, and examined the water inlet in the dishwasher. I put my finger in it to see if there was something inside it, and there seems to be something (some kind of membrane or plastic piece) in the inlet. My first instinct was to push it in (it will go in if I do push), but I'm afraid it's something important that will screw everything up if removed.

What is that small piece? Should I remove or puncture it?
posted by dcrocha to Home & Garden (9 answers total)
 
There's not enough information here to answer this question. We don't know what model dishwasher you have, exactly what type of flexible line you have, where the problem is or what the 'some kind of membrane or plastic piece' is. We could guess at a lot of this, but it would be irresponsible to do so; water damage is expensive. Frankly, I think you ought to get some in-person help (paid or otherwise) from someone who knows what they're doing.
posted by jon1270 at 4:18 PM on December 28, 2011


Does the leak originate at the connection between supply and line hose, or between the line hose and the dishwasher? My guess is that you haven't tightened the connections, you have used plumber's tape on a joint that doesn't need it, or you have a faulty line. But there are too many unknowns to give a definitive answer. However, you definitely do not want to remove or puncture anything from the dishwasher innards, which will result in an expensive repair. Call in outside help who can look at the situation in-person.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 4:29 PM on December 28, 2011


It's most likely a screen/washer to catch sediment.
posted by lee at 5:04 PM on December 28, 2011


If you can post close-up photos of the hose end and the dishwasher connection point, it will probably be obvious to somebody what's wrong.

Most likely cause of gross leaks in a screw-on hose fitting is a lost rubber sealing washer.
posted by flabdablet at 6:40 PM on December 28, 2011


A good size beach towel is going to take care of most of your leak problem while you get this fixed and are turning the water off and on (mostly off) to see if you have solved the problem. (IE: make changes; have someone observe the underside of the dishwasher, turn on the water and have them check for leaks. Even a hose that blows completely off is only going to spill a litre of two of water while you turn the supply tap off that you are standing right next to.) Wring it out as needed.

Like flabdablet said if your hose is the right one for the dishwasher then the problem is 99.5% either a defective hose or sealing washer. Because there was no power to the D/Washer the leak should be confined to down stream of the fill valve (IE: the part the hose screws onto) (these are normally closed so that every power outage doesn't cause a kitchen flood). Sometimes the screen on the fill valve inlet will get crudded up (even right from the manufacturer) which will cause your D/W to not fill but won't cause a leak. So check the hose has a quarter sized flat ring of rubber in the male part of the threads.

And ya, even a crappy cell phone pick of the general assembly and a view down the interior of of the valve and hose would really help pin this down.

If your washer does not have a connection with course threads exactly like a exterior water tap then you don't have the right hose and you should either call someone or post a few pics.
posted by Mitheral at 9:27 PM on December 28, 2011


"I immediately disconnected the water supply, and examined the water inlet in the dishwasher. I put my finger in it to see if there was something inside it, and there seems to be something (some kind of membrane or plastic piece) in the inlet. "

Hmm... on third reading it appears you are talking about the inlet actually within the "tank" of the Dishwasher (IE: where the dishes go). If that is the case you are looking in the wrong place for a leak as 99.999% of the time water can't reach that point until after you energize power to the dishwasher and actually turn it on (and even then not all the time). And that bit is supposed to be springy.
posted by Mitheral at 9:32 PM on December 28, 2011


Have you read the installation instructions? Maybe start there. If you don't have a copy, you should be able to obtain something at the manufacturer's website.
posted by thatguyjeff at 7:12 AM on December 29, 2011


Are you sure that's the proper inlet?

All the dishwashers I've installed [OK, three, but still] have had a different, much smaller, connector. Are you sure you aren't connecting the water supply to the drain line?

Is this a new dishwasher? As mentioned, do you have the install instructions? If not, given the model number, you can probably find the install instructions online.

I wouldn't go poking things further into supply lines without a very clear idea of what's what. It's extremely unlikely that connecting a water supply line to a dishwasher involves pushing a bit of plastic back into the inlet valve assembly.
posted by chazlarson at 8:30 AM on December 29, 2011


The larger course thread connector is typical on some European brands and european import badge engineered models like some whirlpools.
posted by Mitheral at 1:40 PM on December 29, 2011


« Older How do wills work?   |   Why does my LG BD560 Blu-Ray player play DVDs but... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.