The short answer
A new noise on a Danby Designer dishwasher usually resolves to debris in the filter or sump being churned. Danby Designer is Danby’s mainstream retail line — the same compact and apartment-scale platform in more finishes, with a little more electronic control content than the value lines. The brand moves two things: machine not level or not secured in its opening ranks higher here than it would on a machine installed any other way, and items contacting the spray arm or each other lower. The first two checks below are owner work and need no tools beyond what is already in the house.
What you observe
- A grinding or crunching during the wash
- A rhythmic knocking or thumping
- A high-pitched whine that rises and falls
- A humming with no water movement
- A rattle that changes when the load is rearranged
Ranked for a Danby Designer dishwasher
- Debris in the filter or sump being churned — Why this rank: Fruit stones, glass fragments and bones grind audibly as the pump moves water past them. — Owner checkable: true
- Items contacting the spray arm or each other — Why this rank: A handle hanging through the rack and stopping the arm is both the loudest and the most common noise in a dishwasher, and it is free to fix. — Owner checkable: true
- Object in the drain pump impeller — Why this rank: A grinding that happens only at the drain step is the drain pump, and it usually means something hard got past the filter. — Owner checkable: false
- Spray arm bearing worn or the arm loose — Why this rank: A worn arm wobbles and knocks against the rack above it on every rotation. — Owner checkable: true
Check in this order
- Remove the filter and look into the sump. — Because: It sits at rank 1 on this brand.
- Spin each arm by hand with the racks loaded and see what it hits. — Because: It sits at rank 2 on this brand.
- Note whether the noise is only at the drain step. — Because: It sits at rank 3 on this brand.
- Lift each arm and check for play at its mount. — Because: It sits at rank 4 on this brand.
Steps a homeowner can safely take
- Run the machine empty on a normal cycle — a noise that disappears with no load is a loading problem. — Tools: none — Time: 1 cycle
- Spin each spray arm by hand with the racks loaded as usual and see what it strikes. — Tools: none
About 10 min
- Remove and clean the filter assembly and check the sump for glass, stones and bone fragments. — Tools: gloves, warm soapy water
About 20 min
- Note when the noise happens: fill, wash, or drain. Each step is a different component. — Tools: notepad — Time: 1 cycle
- Check the machine is level and secured in its opening so it cannot move against the cabinetry. — Tools: spirit level, screwdriver
About 20 min
- Lift each spray arm and check for looseness or play at its mount. — Tools: none
About 10 min
- Stop condition: Stop at the first step that would require a meter on live terminals.
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. Nothing on this page asks you to work at a live terminal, and none of it asks you to defeat a door interlock or a safety switch — those exist to stop the machine running in a state that can injure you, and a machine that will not run with its door open is working correctly. If a breaker trips twice on the same operation, leave it off: a repeat trip is a fault to be found, not a nuisance to be reset. Stop at the first step that would need a meter on live terminals. unplug-before-service branch-circuit-15-20a
Owner fix or service call
A grinding noise happens only at the drain step The noise is present with the machine completely empty A whine rises and falls with the wash regardless of load The noise arrived with a drop in cleaning performance
Nearest pages of the same kind
Generalized information
This page is generalized across the Danby Designer dishwasher range: no model-specific wiring diagrams, no part numbers, no service-manual procedure for any individual unit. Where your model differs, the model documentation wins. For the whole Danby range rather than this line, see Danby Dishwasher: Abnormal Noise or Vibration. It does not cover the other fault classes on this appliance — those are separate pages, listed below. model-specific wiring diagrams part numbers service-manual procedures
Links up: - [Danby Dishwasher: Abnormal Noise or Vibration](/blog/danby-dishwasher-abnormal-noise)
Danby Designer dishwasher
Other faults on this appliance
- Common Danby Designer Dishwasher Problems
- Danby Designer Dishwasher: Does Not Clean or Dry
- Danby Designer Dishwasher: Controls, Display or Error Code
- Danby Designer Dishwasher: Cycle Will Not Run or Complete
- Danby Designer Dishwasher: Door, Latch or Seal Fault
- Danby Designer Dishwasher: Will Not Drain
- Danby Designer Dishwasher: Electrical, Fire or Gas Hazard
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
