Kitchen Drain Backing Up Into Dishwasher

Drain hose air gap.

Kitchen drain backing up into dishwasher.

The water from your kitchen sink and dishwasher drain flows into the same drainage line. The air gap the dishwasher the garbage disposal or the sink all of which can cause your sink to fill with water when the dishwasher runs. It usually looks like a silver cylinder set close to the rim of the kitchen sink near the faucet closest to the dishwasher. Pour about a cup or so of baking soda into the drain followed by an equal amount of white or apple cider vinegar.

This air gap creates a section of air in the dishwasher drain line hose loop to prevent dirty sink water from flowing back into the dishwasher. Pour a cup of boiling water into the drain and follow it up with a half cup of baking soda and then a half cup of vinegar. Next run hot water to see if the clog clears. The solution will bubble but when they subside put the stopper in and wait about 15 minutes.

Once the minutes are up pour hot water into the drain. If this happens it is only a matter of time before water from the sink finds its way into the dishwasher drain hose and flows into the bottom of your dishwasher. Dishwashers put out a large quantity of water in a short time so the pipes may no longer be able to handle the volume. Whether it s food waste hair or something else pipes eventually get clogged resulting in a clogged sink or dishwasher.

Both the kitchen sink and the dishwasher get clogged from time to time. Even the dishwasher backing up into the sink isn t too uncommon. Replace the stopper and wait for 10 minutes. City wide plumbing notes that water from the kitchen sink and the dishwasher drain through the same pipe.

Some dishwasher drainlines include an air gap. You may relieve the pressure in the pipes and remove the clog by taking apart the pipes but you must have a bucket under the pipes to catch the trapped water. It s required in some states. However it still may be slow to drain from the sink until the line is properly cleaned out.

That air gap above sink level prevents water backing up into the dishwasher and prevents a vacuum sucking water back into the dishwasher. This is why kitchen sink drains often have water coming up into the sink from the dishwasher when it is discharging water. Kitchen sink clogs typically occur in one of four places. Drain clog clogs may create extra pressure in the sink s pipes forcing the water to flow up the dishwasher s drain line and into the dishwasher.

The dishwasher which is connected to the sink is backing up because it s downstream of the washing machine and something is preventing the water from that appliance from draining.