How to Remove a Dishwasher in 9 Easy Steps

Dishwashers provide convenience and are a great time-saver for you and your family.

However, if it gives signs of trouble and there is no good repair option available, replacement is the only option. Then there’s the question of how to remove a dishwasher.

According to a survey by Consumer Reports, the life span of a dishwasher is about ten years.

After a decade, there may be frequent breakdowns, upgrades in technology or the warranty period may expire.

If you’re tired of dealing with breakdowns, don’t worry.

Here’s a tried-and-true method for getting the dishwasher out more quickly and confidently.

Sometimes your dishwasher could be hardwired in place of the standard. Well, both types of dishwashers are easy to uninstall.

But don’t worry if your dishwasher is hardwired or built-in. We have also included the removal step of the built-in dishwasher.

This step-by-step tutorial will support you in removing a dishwasher and cleaning underneath it.

So make sure to read this entire post and not skip any points, or else you will not be able to make it happen.

My research on how to remove a dishwasher will assist you in adequately removing your dishwasher. It’s not that difficult; in fact, it’s simple.

What are the signs that indicate it is time to remove your dishwasher?

We have to look into the signs that triggered the replacement of the old dishwasher. Before we get into how to disconnect a dishwasher, let’s take a look at why it needs to be replaced.

Tenure of the dishwasher:

The tenure of the dishwasher is an indication in itself. If the dishwasher is older than a decade, then it might be time for you to upgrade it.

New models of dishwashers are more energy-efficient and water-efficient, and ultimately, they will save you money on your water and electricity bills in the future.

Dishes are not hot after wash cycle:

After completing the wash cycle, your dishes are not coming out clean. This indicates that the heating element may be malfunctioning.

It will help with heating the tap water and sanitizing dishes. If the heating element is broken or replacement costs more. It would be better to have a new dishwasher.

Signs of rust inside the dishwasher

If you find any signs of rust inside your dishwasher that means water is leaking in places where it should not or some other serious issue.

Be sure that this rust should not be from rusty pots or pans that we kept for the load. Check this by running an empty load of a dishwasher with citric acid.

Doors does not latch

If the door latch on your dishwasher breaks, you’ll need to repair or replace it. The dishwasher will not start the wash cycle if the door does not latch properly.

Check to see if it’s possible to fix it before purchasing a new one. If this isn’t an option, the only other choice is to replace the dishwasher.

Dishwasher does not drain properly:

Suppose there is a pool of water left in the dishwasher’s bottom. This shows that the dishwasher drain is clogged.

Then you should determine whether it’s a minor issue or a major issue. It will need to be replaced if there is a serious problem.

Tools & Material:

When you want to take out the dishwasher, be ready with the tools and materials. You don’t have to search for tools again and again.

Ensure you have all of the tools you’ll need for the dishwasher replacement.

• A pair of Hand gloves
• Flattened Screwdriver
• Crescent wrench
• Voltage tester
• Sponge/Rag or an old towel
• Pliers
• Gloves

If you feel some tools are missing from your toolbox, you can order them quickly.

Now we will disconnect the power, water, and drain line so make sure to read below carefully.

How to remove dishwasher: 9 Easy steps

Your dishwasher could be of any brand. But do not worry about the removal process. I have mentioned below all the easy steps which will help you remove your dishwasher very quickly.

Disconnect the Power

As you know your dishwasher connects with the electrical wiring of your Home. So it is the primary step to plug off your power connection first.

This will make things easier for us to remove the dishwasher.

This will help to work with ease while removing the dishwasher. Disconnect the circuit breaker for your dishwasher from the electrical panel.

Just flip off the dishwasher circuit breaker and in this way you will disconnect the dishwasher electrical.

You may have two types of dishwasher wiring. Your dishwasher could be hardwired or direct wired. Most dishwashers are directly hardwired to the electrical system of the home.

There could be a possibility that your dishwasher is directly wired, then in that case, unplug your dishwasher directly from the wall socket.

Disconnect the water supply line

As you know, the dishwasher cycle will not run without a water supply.

The dishwasher’s incoming water source is normally found under the kitchen sink. So we have capped off the dishwasher water line.

To proceed further in how to turn off the water to the dishwasher, you must disconnect the water supply line.

By removing the cabinet door of your sink where the water supply is visible, you can easily detach the water lines.

This will give you more room and allow you to disconnect the water supply safely.

You must go beneath the sink. And identify the valve through which water goes inside the dishwasher. It would be best to disconnect that valve by turning it to the right side.

This will help us to move to the next step.

Disconnect the drain hose

First, we will understand the connection of the drain hose. So that we can take it off easily. The drain hose pipe connects the dishwasher to the sink trap.

Water that goes out from the dishwasher simply cannot flow in the sink. There might be chances that it will flow back again to your dishwasher and dishes get contaminated.

Therefore your dishwasher could have a high loop set up or an air gap. They both will make sure that no dirty water flows back again into the dishwasher.

Your dishwasher is connected to the drainage system through a drain hose.

So you have to first identify a drain water hose under the sink.

Now you must disconnect the dishwasher’s drain water hose.

With a flattened screwdriver, remove the drainage hose. Then all you have to do is feed it into the dishwasher cabinet.

Open the Dishwasher Access panel

Your dishwasher access panel has all the water and electrical connection. So we will open the access panel to disconnect both lines. In the next step, we will remove the access panel which is at the bottom of the dishwasher.

You will notice that there may be two screws holding the access panel in place. One screw is on the left side of the panel, and the other is on the right.

To remove dishwasher access panel, you’ll need to unscrew both of them.

You have to be ready with a torch or flashlight handy, so you can shine some light over there while unscrewing.

Now you can look inside your dishwasher access panel.

Disconnect the water supply from the Downside Access panel area

Once you have opened your dishwasher access panel. You can see the water and electrical connections.

We will first find the connection of the water supply underneath the dishwasher area.

There will be some water clogged in the water supply pipe when we remove it.

To avoid making a mess, place a sponge or towel beneath the water supply pipe as you remove it. If the water supply valve appears to be very tight, try unscrewing it with a wrench before placing a towel underneath it.

If you turn it on a little more, you may notice a small amount of water dripping from the valve.

That indicates that the valve is loosening, and you can now place a towel beneath it. It will open up, and a small amount of water will come out if you turn it in the opposite direction.

You can wipe off all the water coming out of the valve.

So now you have to plug off your dishwasher water supply.

Next, we will move to disconnect the electrical connection.

Remove the electrical supply from the Downside Access panel area

If you have a built-in dishwasher or hardwired dishwasher. This is the mandatory step.

Now you have to work on removing the built-in dishwasher electrical supply.

Before working on the electrical supply, make sure there is no power supply by using a non-contact voltage tester and making sure it is not beeping.

This means you can now work comfortably to remove all electrical wires.

In most cases, wire nuts are used to keep the cables together. As a result, you’ll have to start removing the wire nuts.

You have to pull out all the electrical wires from the dishwasher and in this way you will remove the electrical connection from the dishwasher. All cables, including neutral, ground, and power, will be removed.

Now your dishwasher is free from electrical, water, and drain connections.

Well done, you are very near to removing the dishwasher.

Remove the mounting screw from the dishwasher top

We will further remove the mounting screw. Screws that are used to attach equipment to racks or cabinets are known as “mounting screws”.

You will now remove the mounting screw from the top of the dishwasher.

To find them, simply open the dishwasher door . Two screws, one on the left and the other on the right, are used to secure the dishwasher in place with the cabinet. Next , it’s time to remove both screws.

After removing the mounting screw, close the dishwasher door and proceed to the bottom of the dishwasher.

Now we will see how to take out the dishwasher from the cabinet.

Adjust the dishwasher legs

Last but not least, we must lower the legs before pulling out the dishwasher.

When we reduce the dishwasher’s legs, we’ll have more room to take the dishwasher out.

It will free up more space and make removing the dishwasher much easier.

So we’ll loosen the leg screw with a crescent wrench by rotating it anticlockwise. You will be able to remove the dishwasher after lowering the leg.

By loosening the two front legs, you can create at least an inch of space between the leg foot and the floor.

This will allow you to tilt your dishwasher and pull it out from under the counter.

Finally, remove the dishwasher

How do you take a dishwasher out? Ask someone to assist you in lifting it over the edge of the floor.

Pull it out carefully enough to give yourself enough room to reach behind it and pull out.

Congrats !! Finally, you know how to remove a dishwasher from the cabinet. To avoid scratches on the floor, place a piece of cloth or cardboard near the dishwasher.

Keep your dishwasher slightly above the floor when removing it from the counter. It’s finally time to put your new dishwasher into place.

Wrap up – How to remove a dishwasher

The procedures above should be enough to understand how to get a dishwasher out of the cabinet.

It is good to have an extra set of hands available when executing this task, especially if the dishwasher is heavy or has sharp edges.

However, we can easily disconnect the power, water, and drain lines before removing the dishwasher.

When it comes to replacing your old dishwasher. You have the option of removing the dishwasher yourself or hiring a professional.

Depending on the skill you require, call a plumber or an electrician, in this way we can save time and money.

Whichever option you choose, it’s critical that you carefully follow all of these procedures so that your dishwasher uninstallation is safe and easy.

FAQ: How to disconnect a dishwasher