The short answer
A leaking DWT machine is usually leaking from a joint you can see, not from the tub. On a built-in half of the joints that can leak are under the sink rather than in the machine. The single most useful thing you can do is note when in the cycle the water appears, because that alone narrows it to one of three causes. There is one number under the DWT label in the table below, so nothing here depends on which variant you own.
What you observe on these models
- A line of water on the floor directly under the door — Door gasket or door alignment.
- The puddle is always at the same corner — A displaced or hardened section of seal.
- The leak began after the machine was pulled out and pushed back — Levelling, a nipped hose or a displaced seal, in that order.
- Water under the sink but a dry kitchen floor — The leak is in the connections, not in the machine.
- NEAR MISS — a wet floor with foam in it — Detergent, not a fault.
Causes, most likely first on the DWT family
- The door gasket and the door alignment — First on this platform: water at the front, across the floor in a line under the door, is a gasket or a door that has stopped closing square, and both are visible without a tool.
- Overfilling from a failed float or inlet valve — Second: a machine that keeps filling puts water over the door lip, and the tell is that the leak only happens during the fill rather than throughout the cycle.
- Overfill, especially where the machine is filled from its own reservoir — Third: filling past the line puts water over the door lip on the first spray.
- Hose connections at the back of the machine — Fourth: they sit against the wall and get pushed.
- The machine standing out of level — Last: a dishwasher tilted forward carries its water to the door seal instead of to the sump, and the leak then looks like a gasket fault.
Check in this order, and why that order
- Work out when in the cycle the water appears — During the fill points at overfill; throughout points at the door or a hose; at the end points at the drain.
- Run a finger round the door gasket looking for hard, flattened or torn sections — A gasket that has taken a set is visible and it is the commonest leak on a built-in.
- Dry the floor, run a short cycle and watch the machine from the side — It tells you whether the water starts at the tap or at the tub.
- Watch the faucet adapter through the fill — Mains pressure is on that joint for the whole fill, so a tired washer shows itself in the first minute.
- Dry the worktop, run a cycle, and note where the first water appears — On a small machine the source is nearly always visible.
Before you open anything
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel. A capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. Treat that as the first step of every check below that involves a panel, a grille or a cover.
Models in the DWT family — The numbers this page covers.
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| DWT18V3S | avanti:dishwasher:dwt |
When to call a technician
A gasket, a coupler washer and a connection under the sink are all owner jobs. On these models the line falls at the drain pump, the door switch and the control board. Call without working through anything at all for water arriving from under the machine with every visible joint dry.
Nearest pages of this class
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
