Dishwasher not filling with water: causes and what to do

Likely causes

• the supply valve to the machine is closed, or the water is off in the house;
• a kinked, squashed or damaged inlet hose;
• low pressure — Bosch gives a rule of thumb: about 10 litres per minute from a fully open tap;
• a blocked filter at the inlet valve (LG lists this cause too);
• the machine did not drain after the last programme: a blocked filter, drain hose or sink trap;
• a frozen hose if the machine stands in a cold room;
• a faulty inlet valve, flow meter or board.

Safe steps you can try

1. Open the kitchen tap: if there is no water anywhere, it is off in the house.
2. Check the supply valve under the sink — it must be open (anticlockwise). LG and Bosch note it is often forgotten after plumbing work or a holiday.
3. Check the inlet hose: no kinks, and nothing heavy resting on it.
4. Check the pressure: hold a bucket under the fully open tap — according to Bosch, about 10 litres should fill in a minute.
5. Clean the filter at the bottom of the machine and check the drain hose: disconnect it from the sink trap, put the end in a bucket and run Drain. If hardly any water comes out, clean the hose and the trap.
6. If the hose has frozen, wrap it in a towel soaked in warm water — as LG advises.

When to call a technician

Call a technician if the valve is open, the pressure is fine, the hoses and filters are clear but the machine still does not fill, or the error code keeps returning. The inlet valve, the flow meter or the board is most likely at fault.

A MasService technician will test them on site, replace the faulty part and name the price before the repair.

Book a technician