6 Reasons Why SAMSUNG Dishwasher Is Not Draining

For a Samsung dishwasher to work effectively, clean water must flow in, and dirty water must be able to drain out without any problems. However, there are times when the appliance will fail to drain the water inside.

If your Samsung dishwasher isn’t draining, it will display error codes indicating a draining problem. The problem could be caused by clogs in the drain hose, a fine filter, drain pump, or water inlet assembly. Besides that, parts like the check valve and drain solenoid could also fail to open, thereby preventing any water from flowing out of the dishwasher.

Let’s take a closer look at why your Samsung dishwasher isn’t draining and what you can do to fix it.

Before performing any repairs on your Samsung dishwasher, always disconnect the appliance from its power supply. Doing this will eliminate the danger of electrocution and reduce any injury risk.

Working with dishwashers also involves dealing with water. So, shut off the water supply to the appliance and prepare towels to wipe up any spills.

Lastly, be sure to keep your user manual and any available technical sheet nearby. These documents are helpful references to help with locating and identifying essential components.

Some Samsung dishwasher models will display error codes to inform you of draining problems. Among the codes that you might come across include:

• 5C
• SC
• 5E
• SE
• OC or 0C
• DELICATE light flashing

To know which error codes apply to your Samsung dishwasher model, refer to the user manual. There, you’ll find standard error codes and what they mean.

False Error Codes

In some cases, you might also experience false error codes. That’s when the dishwasher displays any of the error codes listed above, suggesting a draining issue, even though the appliance continues to function and drain normally.

While this issue is happening, the dishwasher may also stop mid-cycle after 9 minutes for no apparent reason.

If that’s the case, then the problem might not be with the drain, but the Drain Sensor or Samsung Dishwasher ECS Sensor instead. Unfortunately, over time, these sensors experience wear and tear and might get dirty or fail.

So, you’ll need to locate and clean these sensors. If that doesn’t work, you’ll need to replace it entirely.

Suppose your Samsung dishwasher is not draining at the end of the cycle. Here are six reasons why that might be the case and what you can do about it.

Drain Hose Clogged

What it is: The drain hose allows all of the dirty and used water from your dishwasher to flow out into your household plumbing. Since the dishwasher is typically located in the kitchen, the drain hose is connected to the same drain as the sink, or it might share one with the garbage disposal.

How it fails: Your Samsung dishwasher will have a challenging time draining all of the water out if there’s something preventing water from flowing through the drain hose. 

Firstly, the hose might be kinked and therefore restricting the flow of water. That tends to happen when the dishwasher shares a drain with the sink.

However, if the appliance shares the same drain as the garbage disposal, check to ensure that the drain isn’t clogged with food bits or other junk.

How to fix: To fix this, start by inspecting the entire length of the dishwasher’s drain hose. Make sure that no part of the hose is kinked. Then, remove the hose to check that there are no blockages, such as a buildup of food bits or other items coming from the garbage disposal.

Lastly, check to ensure that you’ve removed the knockout plug, especially if you’ve just installed new garbage disposal. The knockout plug will prevent the dishwasher from draining down the same drain.

Check Valve Worn Out

What it is: At some point along the length of the dishwasher drain hose, you’ll find a check valve. This valve ensures that water only flows one way, i.e. away from the dishwasher. In doing so, it prevents any dirty water from back flowing into the dishwasher instead.

For a Samsung dishwasher to work effectively, clean water must flow in, and dirty water must be able to drain out without any problems. However, there are times when the appliance will fail to drain the water inside.

If your Samsung dishwasher isn’t draining, it will display error codes indicating a draining problem. The problem could be caused by clogs in the drain hose, a fine filter, drain pump, or water inlet assembly. Besides that, parts like the check valve and drain solenoid could also fail to open, thereby preventing any water from flowing out of the dishwasher.

Let’s take a closer look at why your Samsung dishwasher isn’t draining and what you can do to fix it.

Before performing any repairs on your Samsung dishwasher, always disconnect the appliance from its power supply. Doing this will eliminate the danger of electrocution and reduce any injury risk.

Working with dishwashers also involves dealing with water. So, shut off the water supply to the appliance and prepare towels to wipe up any spills.

Lastly, be sure to keep your user manual and any available technical sheet nearby. These documents are helpful references to help with locating and identifying essential components.

Some Samsung dishwasher models will display error codes to inform you of draining problems. Among the codes that you might come across include:

• 5C
• SC
• 5E
• SE
• OC or 0C
• DELICATE light flashing

To know which error codes apply to your Samsung dishwasher model, refer to the user manual. There, you’ll find standard error codes and what they mean.

False Error Codes

In some cases, you might also experience false error codes. That’s when the dishwasher displays any of the error codes listed above, suggesting a draining issue, even though the appliance continues to function and drain normally.

While this issue is happening, the dishwasher may also stop mid-cycle after 9 minutes for no apparent reason.

If that’s the case, then the problem might not be with the drain, but the Drain Sensor or Samsung Dishwasher ECS Sensor instead. Unfortunately, over time, these sensors experience wear and tear and might get dirty or fail.

So, you’ll need to locate and clean these sensors. If that doesn’t work, you’ll need to replace it entirely.

Suppose your Samsung dishwasher is not draining at the end of the cycle. Here are six reasons why that might be the case and what you can do about it.

Drain Hose Clogged

What it is: The drain hose allows all of the dirty and used water from your dishwasher to flow out into your household plumbing. Since the dishwasher is typically located in the kitchen, the drain hose is connected to the same drain as the sink, or it might share one with the garbage disposal.

How it fails: Your Samsung dishwasher will have a challenging time draining all of the water out if there’s something preventing water from flowing through the drain hose. 

Firstly, the hose might be kinked and therefore restricting the flow of water. That tends to happen when the dishwasher shares a drain with the sink.

However, if the appliance shares the same drain as the garbage disposal, check to ensure that the drain isn’t clogged with food bits or other junk.

How to fix: To fix this, start by inspecting the entire length of the dishwasher’s drain hose. Make sure that no part of the hose is kinked. Then, remove the hose to check that there are no blockages, such as a buildup of food bits or other items coming from the garbage disposal.

Lastly, check to ensure that you’ve removed the knockout plug, especially if you’ve just installed new garbage disposal. The knockout plug will prevent the dishwasher from draining down the same drain.

Check Valve Worn Out

What it is: At some point along the length of the dishwasher drain hose, you’ll find a check valve. This valve ensures that water only flows one way, i.e. away from the dishwasher. In doing so, it prevents any dirty water from back flowing into the dishwasher instead.