The answer first
On a Loch dishwasher a leak is usually at the door seal or the supply fitting, or it is foam rather than water at all. The first checks below need nothing but a torch and a sheet of paper. A tub or pump seal is the last entry on the list.
What you observe
- Water at the supply fitting under the sink — Nothing to do with the cycle: a fitting under pressure whenever the valve is open.
- Foam on the floor rather than clear water — Detergent, not a fault: washing-up liquid or an overdose lifts past the seal.
- Water running down the front of the door — The door seal, a door out of alignment, or foam lifting over the seal.
- NEAR MISS — the cabinet beside the machine is wet but the floor is dry — Look at the supply and drain connections in the adjacent cupboard before suspecting the machine.
Causes, most likely first
- The machine is out of level — A dishwasher tilted forward spills over its door lip; one tilted back holds water where it should not. Machines slid into a cabinet run often end up sitting on their front feet with the rear ones short of the floor. This is the one to start with: how it sits decides whether the door can seal at all. Loch sells countertop and portable dishwashers that connect to a kitchen tap, so the inlet adapter and the drain hose are part of the machine as far as faults are concerned.
- The supply fitting or the drain connection — The inlet fitting is under pressure whenever the valve is open, and the drain connection at the sink is under pressure every time the machine empties. Both live in the cupboard next door, and both leak onto a floor that is blamed on the appliance. Second on this brand: they are quick to inspect and they explain the leaks that happen with the machine idle.
- Detergent, foam and overfilling — Washing-up liquid in the dispenser, or far too much dishwasher detergent, produces foam that climbs past the door seal and out of the vent. The floor gets wet, nothing is broken, and it happens again on the next cycle with the same dose. Third on this list: it explains the intermittent leaks rather than the steady ones.
- The door seal or the door alignment — The seal around the door catches debris, hardens with age and splits at the corners. A door that has dropped, or one that is not latching square, holds the seal open at one point and lets water past there on every wash. Next after those: it is a real cause but the fittings above it are commoner and quicker to check.
Work through it in this order
- Put a level across the door opening and along the base — A machine tilted forward will spill over the door lip at the end of a fill regardless of how good its seal is.
- Dry the inlet and drain fittings and wrap each in paper towel — Within one cycle the towel shows which joint is weeping, without a tool being used.
- Look at whether the water on the floor is foamy — Foam rather than water is detergent every time, and no seal in the world holds back foam under pressure.
What an owner can safely check
- Level the machine front to back and side to side — Adjust the feet with the machine pulled forward slightly, then check the door still closes square before pushing it home.
Tools: spirit level, adjustable spannerAbout 25 min
- Dry and check every fitting, then run one cycle and look again — Shut the supply valve before touching a fitting. Hand-tight plus a small nip — over-tightening splits the washer inside.
Tools: paper towel, adjustable spannerAbout 25 min
- Run one cycle with the correct dose and nothing else added — Never put washing-up liquid in a dishwasher. If the floor stays dry, the dose was the fault.
About 60 min
- STOP before pulling the machine out of its cabinet run to chase a leak — The hoses and the cable are short, and a machine pulled out on a wet floor is a hazard in itself.
The part that is not optional
Safety
Switch the dishwasher off at its breaker or unplug it before any panel comes off — a capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. Shut the supply valve before touching a fitting, and mind the heating element in the base of the tub: it stays hot long after a cycle ends.
When this becomes a service call
Call when the seal is sound, the fittings are dry, the dose is right and water still appears — particularly if it arrives only during the drain step. Switch the machine off at its breaker and call at once if water is reaching a socket or spreading under adjacent units.
Nearby pages
What is deliberately not here
Generalized information. This page covers leaks on Loch dishwashers as a class, not one family or model line; where a family-specific page exists it is the better answer and is linked above. Not covered here: seal part numbers, hose routing and figures that vary between families.
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
