The cause of dishwasher vent leak

dishwasherleak

My dishwasher has a vent in the top of the door which I suppose is opened during the dry cycle to allow steam/moisture to escape. Recently, after running a load of dishes, when I open the door, about 2-3 oz of water leak from the vent and form a puddle on the floor.

What could be causing the leak, and can it be repaired?

This dishwasher has a "quiet" feature which involves a solenoid-operated value (that's too generous a description — it's more of a flap) which blocks closes off the vent drain to reduce noise during the wash cycle. I removed the door control panel to inspect the valve/vent system. There is no crud clogging the drain, and the solenoid seems to be normally open (to the drain).

(See the part labeled "5" here)

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Best Answer

Does the water appear clear/clean, or does it have food bits and/or detergent in it?

My guess is one of two things:

  • The seal on the flap has degraded and the high-pressure jets are now able to force water in under the flap.
  • There is some "ledge" in this assembly in which water can collect and puddle, and doesn't dry during the dry cycle (possibly because of the extremely humid air passing by it; there's no capacity in the air to hold any more water).
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