--- title: "Dishwasher not draining" description: "GE dishwasher not draining: the most common dishwasher call, and GE's own troubleshooting starts outside the machine: the air gap, the drain hose and the…" url: "https://gemiami.support/symptoms/dishwasher-not-draining/" date_modified: "2026-08-31" Appliance type: "Dishwashers" --- # GE dishwasher not draining ### If a disposer was fitted recently, check its plug A disposer arrives with a moulded plug closing the dishwasher inlet, and it has to be knocked out during installation. When it is missed, the dishwasher cannot drain into it and holds water every single cycle from the day the disposer was fitted. GE names the disposer in their own list for these codes. It costs nothing to check and it is a five-minute fix. ### Most of this repair is not in the dishwasher The air gap, the disposer, the hose and the house drain are all upstream of the pump, and between them they account for most of the water left standing in a tub. That is why an honest visit starts under the sink rather than under the machine, and why this repair is priced below a pump replacement. ### The codes actually help here GE gives a solution column for dishwasher codes, which most of their tables do not. C1 points at the air gap, the hose and the disposer; C3 asks for a thirty-second power cycle before service. Telling us the code on the phone means we arrive with the right parts. A disposer inlet plug that was never removed The commonest cause after a kitchen change, and not a repair to the appliance at all. The drain hose and its high loop A hose that has slipped down siphons water back. GE asks to replace or reposition it before anything else. A blocked air gap On sinks that have one. GE lists cleaning it first for the C1 code. The filter and the sump Glass, seeds and labels collect there and stop the pump doing its job without breaking it. The drain pump itself Last, and tested for current and obstruction before it is condemned. A pump straining against a blockage is not a failed pump. Look for a code on the panel C1, C2, C3 and FTD are all drain codes and each has its own steps in GE's table. Photograph it before cutting power. Run the disposer, then run the dishwasher GE's own advice. A disposer full of waste blocks the shared drain. Look under the sink at the hose It should rise to a high loop before it drops to the drain. A hose lying flat siphons. Clear the filter at the bottom of the tub Most GE dishwashers have one that lifts out, and what is in it is often the whole story. Water standing in the bottom after every cycle What it usually means Water left in the tub at the end C1, C2, C3 or FTD on the display Started after a new disposer was fitted If a disposer was fitted recently, check its plug A disposer arrives with a moulded plug closing the dishwasher inlet, and it has to be knocked out during installation. When it is missed, the dishwasher cannot drain into it and holds water every single cycle from the day the disposer was fitted. GE names the disposer in their own list for these codes. It costs nothing to check and it is a five-minute fix. Most of this repair is not in the dishwasher The air gap, the disposer, the hose and the house drain are all upstream of the pump, and between them they account for most of the water left standing in a tub. That is why an honest visit starts under the sink rather than under the machine, and why this repair is priced below a pump replacement. The codes actually help here GE gives a solution column for dishwasher codes, which most of their tables do not. C1 points at the air gap, the hose and the disposer; C3 asks for a thirty-second power cycle before service. Telling us the code on the phone means we arrive with the right parts. ### There is a code but the manual is long gone. Tell us the letters and numbers and we will tell you what GE's table says. C1 through C8 all mean specific things and several of them have free fixes. ### Is it worth repairing an old dishwasher? For a drain problem, almost always — the causes are cheap. It is the pump and the control board where that question becomes real, and we will raise it before ordering anything. --- **[Read full article: Dishwasher not draining](https://gemiami.support/symptoms/dishwasher-not-draining/)**