The short answer
A Caf ZDT dishwasher that leaks is worth stopping immediately: the water runs under the cabinet floor where nobody sees it until the flooring lifts. The matrix below carries a single model tag, so there is no revision fork to work around on this family: what holds for that tag holds for the line. Detergent is the cause people never suspect — the wrong product foams over the door seal on a perfectly sound machine.
What you can observe on these models
- Water tracking down the inside of the door panel — The vent or the detergent dispenser area is spilling, which points at suds or at a blocked vent rather than the tub seal.
- A puddle at the front, under the door — The door gasket, the door alignment or foam escaping over the seal. All three leak at the same place and are separated by when it happens.
- Foam on the floor rather than clear water — Over-sudsing from hand dish soap or too much detergent. The machine is sound; the chemistry is not.
- Water only on heavy or long cycles — A leak that needs heat and pressure to appear is usually a sump seal or a hose clamp rather than the door.
- NEAR MISS — standing water inside the tub with a dry floor — That is a drainage fault, not a leak, and the drainage page covers it.
Causes, most likely first on this family
- Supply-side fitting, fill hose or inlet valve — First when the water arrives under pressure: a fill-side leak can empty a supply line into a cabinet, which is the one failure here that causes real damage fast.
- Sump seal, pump housing or hose clamps — Second, and the reason a dry machine on a rinse cycle can still flood on a heavy wash.
- Door gasket and its seating — Third: still common, but a gasket leak puts water in front of the machine rather than under the cabinet.
- Detergent foam escaping the vent or the seal — Fourth, and free to rule out on the next load.
- Levelling and floor slope — Last: a machine leaning forward carries any small amount of water to the front edge and drips it where a leak looks worse than it is.
Check in this order, and why
- Establish whether the water is foam or clear — Foam is chemistry, clear water is a seal or a fitting. Nothing else separates the causes so quickly.
- Inspect the vent and dispenser area on the door — Water tracking down the inside of the door points at the vent rather than at the tub seal.
- Feel along the underside of the door for the lower seal — On these models the lowest part of the seal takes the most wear and is the first to let go.
- Pull the machine out only once the door is cleared — With the supply closed and the power off, check the sump, the clamps and every fitting with a dry tissue.
Before you open anything
Safety
Kill the power and close the supply before any fitting is disturbed — a capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. The fill line stays pressurised until it is bled, so open it into a towel and expect the residue in the hose to be hot after a recent cycle.
Models in the ZDT family
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| ZDT98***N*** (v7) | caf:dishwasher:zdt |
When to call a technician
Anything reachable with the door open is yours: seal, latch face, detergent, loading, levelling. Anything that needs the machine pulled out with the supply closed — sump seal, pump housing, hose clamps, inlet valve — is a service call on these models. Stop using the machine in the meantime rather than running it over a wet floor.
Other faults covered for this family
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
