Is my kitchen sink plumbing set up correctly?

[Sainterchic]

Hi everyone, fantastic community that is here & im grateful to be able to be a part of it. 

I have a question regarding the pipe set up underneath my kitchen sink, & was hoping to get some advice from here.

Backstory is: I purchased a Midea dishwasher from Bunnings a few months ago. It was to replace an old & outdated one I already had. As it was not a new installation, just a basic swap over, I didn't feel there was any need for a professional to come and do it so I did it myself. Everything seemed to be working fine until a few weeks ago when I came home to a flooded kitchen and a dishwasher showing an error. I was unable to press any of the buttons, but could see the error light flashing which the manual said indicated the fault was relating to an overflow issue of some sort, which was already evident from the puddle in the kitchen & the murky water that remained in the base of the dishwasher. I went thru the troubleshooting process as outlined in the user manual & other information i had gathered on the internet - emptied the water that wouldn't drain, checked & cleaned the filter & spray arms (which were already fairly clean anyway) & unplugged the dishwasher before removing it & tipping it on its side to check the drain tube was also free from blockage. Everything appeared to be fine with regards to all of this (however when i did return the dishwasher to its upright position & to its  spot, i was able to start a new wash cycle but towards the end the same error occurred & again i couldn't press any of the buttons whatsoever - not sure if this is important or not.)

As it was only a few months old so still under warranty, & still having the receipt, i contacted Bunnings to see how to return it. They then informed me that it wasn't an item they dealt with after the sale & I had to go through Midea directly. Reaching out to Midea I was initially met with fantastic customer service. After explaining my problem & what I had done they advised me to fill out a warranty claim & they would send a service technician. I did as instructed but then heard nothing back so followed up with Midea a few days later. They then requested the details of the installer i used, at which stage i had to advise i didn't use one. They said they couldn't do anything, but then backtracked and said they would send a technician, but that I had to pay $165 for this, and would only be refunded if/when it was found to be an issue with the dishwasher and not the connection etc. This was better than the initial response of "we can do nothing" but not ideal, as money is very tight and not easy to find $165 even if it was going to come back to me. I explained my situation & appealed to their kinder side, and they have now agreed to arrange for a technician to attend under the condition that if it isn't a problem with the dishwasher itself that I then pay the $165 call out as well as associated costs to rectify the issue.

So I am going to go ahead and schedule a technician to attend, and I am fairly confident it isn't related to anything I have done or an incorrect installation. But in saying this, I would feel a lot better knowing that the pipe set up & dishwasher drain connection is correct.

I have included a photo of the pipes etc under the kitchen sink & am asking for any advice I can get as to whether this is all set up correctly. In the photo you should be able to see the drain tube coming in from the upper left hand corner (the dishwasher is directly next to this underneath the bench, which is the same location as where the previous dishwasher was located.) Also any advice on other troubleshooting i can do on the dishwasher myself would also be appreciated so i can ensure i have done everything i could before calling someone out. Hoping it's all ok & therefore not something that will cost me, fingers crossed!!!

Thanking you all in advance for taking time to read this & offer any help/advice that you might be able to give. As I said before this is a fantastic community & I'm sure someone will be able to give me the guidance I'm looking for. The only downfall of this community is i have been inspired by other peoples posts & i now have a number of projects and home improvements i want to engage in, but just need to find the right time to do so, which isn't easy - but as the saying goes, where there is a will there's a way, and one day i might be able to post about some of the projects i have hopefully been able to successfully complete.

Thanks again for any help/advice any of you can offer me & I look forward to the responses I can get!!

Cheers,

Clare

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Sainterchic. It's great to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about installing a dishwasher.

A couple of things to check:

• The height the hose has to travel to clear the cabinetry. I see it's coming from just below the sink, which means it's had to raise to that height. Please measure from your floor to the highest point the hose is. This measurement needs to be less than 1000mm, according to the instructions for that unit. If it is higher than 1000mm the excess dirty water will likely flow back into the machine. Also, check that the hose hasn't kinked or squashed going up and over the cabinet wall.

• Has the spigot been drilling out fully that you attached the hose to on the drain pipe? If it hasn't been drilled out fully, then it might be restricting the flow.

If that pipe is travelling up to a height above 1000mm from the ground, then I suggest drilling a hole in the cabinet carcass wall lower down and passing the hose through there.

Do you happen to know where the water came from that flooded your kitchen? Was it out of the dishwasher door, or perhaps one of the connections?

Mitchell
 

[Sainterchic]

Hi Mitchell, thanks So much for taking the time to reply.

I did read about the height requirements for the drain hose - The height of the cabinet from floor level is 900mm so even from the high point of entry it still is under the required 1000mm, but i have actually tried it from a lower point of entry at the bottom of the cabinet as well, just incase, however it didn't appear to make any difference.

Before this i wasn't actually aware that the spigot had to be drilled, But did learn about it through my extensive investigation online and definitely have checked it to make sure it has been drilled, So there shouldn't be a blockage there. Is the way the tube bends to attach the spigot still ok though? I'd rather not have to do it but if necessary I could change the setup & have the spigot on the other side, almost like a mirror image of the current set up - The p-trap is one of the ones that can swivel, So really it would be about just flipping 180° the section above this.

Regarding where the water came from, I honestly can't tell you. It might possibly have come from me opening the door to see if there was water still in the base when the fault occurred each time, But in all honesty it could possibly have come from elsewhere too.

Also the machine did work for just a couple of months before it had this error, one would think that if there is some sort of blockage it would have formed over time and not been there from the start? And if not a blockage than more likely an actual fault with the dishwasher & not related to misuse or incorrect installation?

It's amazing how much of a headache this has all been, & definitely something I don't wish to have to go through ever again. But your response with tips to help has really been amazing and greatly appreciated so thank you.

[MitchellMc]

Is that a pre-fabricated bend that came on the end of the hose @Sainterchic? If so, I don't see any issues with it. Silly question, but that's not a hard plastic electrical conduit fitting, is it? If it is, I'd be interested to know how you got it to seal, and if it's possibly a potential leak point. However, if that was the source of the leak then I can't see how a leak would result in the system issues you're having. They sound very much like a blockage or that the motor is having difficulty pumping the water out.

"Also the machine did work for just a couple of months before it had this error, one would think that if there is some sort of blockage it would have formed over time and not been there from the start? And if not a blockage than more likely an actual fault with the dishwasher & not related to misuse or incorrect installation?" I think it's quite reasonable to presume that. There are just so many variables at play here it's hard to nail down the reason. From your images, I can only assume that your installation looks similar to what I'd expect from a professional.

We'll get through this. Keep me updated on what the technician says when they come out.

Mitchell

[Sainterchic]

Again thank you so much for your response. The hose that came with a dishwasher was actually too short so we replaced it with a new one. It's been a slight argument between me and my boyfriend as I think he's put it on the wrong way around. Could this maybe cause the problem? The big part came with the hose already attached, but I'm not the understanding that part should actually come out of the dishwasher not the other way around that it is

[MitchellMc]

As long as both ends are secure and watertight, I don't think it matters what way around the hose is @Sainterchic.  

Mitchell