Bosch Dishwasher Troubleshooting

Having chosen a top brand for your dishwasher, it’s understandable if you feel irritated when it doesn’t seem to work right one day. Even worse, if the warranty has expired, you might already be worrying about the cost of a new unit.

Don’t panic yet! The problem is very likely less serious than you think, and you might even be able to repair the machine yourself without any trouble. Here are some steps to go through if your Bosch dishwasher is misbehaving:

Check the Power and Water Supply

This is the very first thing a professional repairman will do. Verify that the problem is not just a tripped circuit breaker or an unplugged cord. It happens!

Water being supplied at the right pressure is very important to the appliance’s correct and noise-free functioning. Assuming that the tap is in fact turned on, you might have an air bubble trapped inside the feed hose. To correct, disconnect from the faucet, hold “upright” so that, the closer to the machine any portion of the hose is, the lower it is. Fill with water from a jug, tapping the hose to loosen any clinging bubbles, and reconnect.

Verify That it’s Clean

Often enough, the appliance is mechanically and electrically sound but just dirty. We tend to forget about the simple things: check the drain trap, sides and sprayer arms for accumulated gunk or blockages. Do what you can by hand, then run an automatic cleaning cycle. Your problem might just disappear as if by magic.

Reset the Electronics

The computer controlling your dishwasher might still think it’s partway through yesterday’s wash cycle, or have gotten confused in some other way. Depending on the model you have, just press and hold down the “Start” or “Cancel/Reset” button for three seconds, leave it alone for a full minute, and try to start the machine again.

Run a Test Cycle

All Bosch dishwashers can perform an auto-diagnostic program that should at least give you an idea of where in the wash cycle the fault lies. The exact names of the buttons to press varies by model and region, but you should be able to figure it out with a little patience and logic. As one example, “Regular Wash” is the equivalent of “Eco” on a different product.

Just switch off the machine, hold down “Power Scrub Plus” and “Regular Wash”, turn on the washer and release the two buttons. You should see their associated LEDs turning on and off rapidly. Press the two “Wash” buttons again, and your machine will do its best to tell you what’s wrong with it. After a while, an error code will be displayed if your model is capable of it, or lighting specific LEDs will perform the same function. Searching the internet for your Bosch model number and the relevant error code will give you a good idea of where to go next.

Instead of immediately assuming that it has to be a complicated and expensive fault, try a few simple remedies first. You might just be surprised at the results.

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