The answer, before the detail
A Kova Select dishwasher holding water is telling you the path out is restricted. Begin with a sump filled with what came off the plates, then follow the water outwards to the sink. Listen during the drain phase as well: a pump that hums but shifts nothing tells you something different from a pump that is silent.
What the dishwasher is actually doing
- A humming sound during the drain phase with nothing leaving — The pump is being asked to run and cannot move water — a jam or a blockage downstream.
- Water backs up into the sink when the machine drains — A shared waste line or a blocked sink trap, not a dishwasher fault at all.
- The cycle seems to run much longer than it used to — Machines that cannot drain often extend the cycle while they try again, so a long cycle can be the first sign.
- NEAR MISS — the machine will not start at all — No cycle and no lights is a power, door-latch or control fault, and a different page covers it. Drainage faults happen at the end of a cycle, not before it.
The ranking, and why it is this way round
- A sump filled with what came off the plates — This heads the list on almost every dishwasher because it is the one maintenance item the machine actually needs and the one owners most often do not know exists. Top of the list, because everything below it is harder to check and less likely to be the answer. The platform behind a smaller badge is usually a common contract build, so the causes that lead here are the generic ones that class is known for.
- Kinked drain hose, or a lost high loop — The drain hose is the longest part of the path and the only part that can be physically damaged by moving the machine, which is why so many of these faults date from the last time the kitchen was cleaned. It takes second place because the check is quick and because leaving it unchecked makes everything below it harder to read.
- The drain pump itself, electrically failed — The distinction that matters here is between a jam and a failure. A pump that hums is powered and obstructed; a pump that is silent when it should run is an electrical fault, and that is a technician's diagnosis. It sits here because it is a genuine cause with a narrower set of circumstances behind it.
- Blocked sink trap or shared waste line — A dishwasher discharges into the same waste as the sink beside it. If that trap or branch is partly blocked, the machine cannot push water into it, and water may even return the other way when the sink is used. Last, because the three above explain most of what actually comes in on this fault.
Check in this order, and why
- Scoop the standing water out and look into the sump under the filter — Glass, labels and fruit stones collect there and go unnoticed while the filter is in place. Start at this check: it is the one most likely to end the job on its own.
- Open the cupboard under the sink and follow the hose from the machine to the waste — Look for a kink, a crush point, and whether the hose rises before it drops. Next, because it takes the same few minutes and covers the other likely half.
- With the power off, look into the sump opening under the filter for debris — Anything visible on the pump inlet can be lifted out with fingers or pliers. Third, and the last thing worth doing before the phone comes out.
What to do, step by step
- Remove the filter stack, rinse it under a hot tap with a brush, and refit it locked home — A filter left a quarter turn short of home lets debris bypass it straight into the pump.
Tools: washing-up brush, clothAbout 20 min
- Ease the machine forward enough to free a trapped hose — Do it slowly, with the door shut, and watch the supply line as you move it.
About 25 min
- Switch the machine off at the wall, then clear what is visible at the pump inlet — Never put a hand into a sump with power available to the machine.
Tools: glove, torch, pliersAbout 30 min
- STOP at the point where a panel has to come off to go further — Everything past that point is measured, not looked at, and measuring means live terminals. Book the visit instead.
Read this before you start
Safety
Isolate the machine at its socket or switch before working on it, and close the water supply valve under the sink before opening any fitting. Water arriving under pressure into a cupboard does more damage in an hour than the repair costs.
When to hand it over
Book a visit when the pump hums against an obstruction you cannot reach, or when everything on this page is clean and the water still will not go. If the sink is the blockage, book a plumber instead: a technician cannot help with a household waste line.
Pages next to this one
What this page does not cover
What you are reading is written for the class, not for one Kova Select model. A family- or model-specific page, where one exists, carries what this page cannot: the exact part numbers, the board layout and the disassembly order for that line. Go there first if your model is named.
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
