The short answer
On Foster water escaping the machine is most often a tired or dirty door gasket, not a cracked tub. Ranked that way because the wash pump is strong enough to mask a partly blocked spray path until the filter is genuinely full.
What you observe
- Water at the bottom corners of the door — The classic door-seal signature, and the cheapest cause on the list to check.
- Foam creeping out of the door — Detergent, not a fault. Washing-up liquid is the usual culprit.
- NEAR MISS: the water is inside the tub rather than on the floor — Standing water in the bottom is a drainage fault, and it has its own page.
Causes, most likely first on Foster
- The door gasket is tired, dirty or displaced — First on a fitted machine, which is only ever as good as its installation. Water escapes from the bottom corners of the door first, because that is where it collects. A gasket with a hardened set, a crumb holding it open, or a corner that has popped out of its channel will all let a thin stream out at exactly that point.
- Too much foam, or the wrong detergent — Second: on a fitted machine this is the next thing genuinely yours to check. Washing-up liquid in a dishwasher makes foam that climbs the tub and escapes past a perfectly good door seal. So does a rinse-aid dispenser set too high, or a load that went in coated in soap from a hand wash.
- A hose or a fitting under the machine is weeping — Third. The fill hose at the valve, the drain hose at its clip and the connection under the sink are all candidates.
- The tub, the sump seal or the pump seal has failed — Last, and it is the reason the order above matters. Water appears under the centre of the machine with clean hoses, a good gasket and no foam, and it returns on every cycle.
Check in this order, and why
- Run a finger round the door gasket looking for grit, splits and flat spots — Water at the bottom corners of the door is the door, and this check finds it in a minute.
- Open the door mid-cycle and look for foam above the water line — Foam above the water line is a confirmed cause and it costs nothing to check.
- Pull the kickplate and look underneath with a torch while a cycle runs — It separates plumbing from door and foam problems, and it is the only way to see the leak at all.
What an owner can safely check
- Clean the gasket and the door frame, and press the gasket back into its channel — Warm soapy water restores a gasket that has gone tacky; a split one needs replacing.
Tools: cloth, warm soapy waterAbout 15 min
- Run a rinse-only cycle with no detergent to clear the foam, then use dishwasher detergent only — Never put washing-up liquid in the machine, and stop pre-washing dishes in soapy water.
About 30 min
- Remove the kickplate and look for wet trails along the hoses and fittings — Dry everything first, then run a cycle and watch which fitting wets again.
Tools: screwdriver, torch, paper towelAbout 25 min
- STOP HERE if the next step needs a meter on live terminals — That is where an owner check ends and a service call begins.
Before you open anything
Safety
Switch the machine off at its breaker before mopping under or behind it, and shut the water supply valve before touching any fitting. Water reaches the outlet behind the machine and the junction box under it long before it reaches you. Never run a cycle with the door propped open to watch where the water goes.
When to call a technician
Call when the gasket is good, the foam is ruled out, the hoses are dry and water still appears under the centre of the machine, because that puts the fault in the tub or a pump seal. Call immediately if water is reaching the electrical connection or a neighbouring cabinet, and leave the breaker off until someone has looked.
Nearest pages of this class
What this page does not cover
This page covers the brand and the dishwasher class, not one family or model line. Where a family-specific or model-specific page exists for your unit, that page is the more specific answer and it takes precedence over this one. Not here: part numbers, wiring colours and component locations, which differ by family.
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
