Rangemaster dishwasher not draining

What is actually happening

A dishwasher drains through a filter, a pump, and then a hose that usually loops up and into the sink waste. Standing water almost always means a blockage in that path rather than a failed part — food debris in the filter and a blocked sink trap between them account for most of it. The one to check first is whether a new sink or waste disposal has been fitted, because the blanking plug in a new waste spigot is a classic.

The Rangemaster fault codes that point at this

A Rangemaster dishwasher will usually tell you what it thinks is wrong before anyone opens it up. These are the codes we hold for this make that relate to not draining:

• F00 — The dishwasher has detected too much water inside it and has shut the cycle down to stop a flood.
• F01 — The dishwasher has decided there is too much water inside it and has shut down to stop it overflowing onto your floor.
• F02 — The dishwasher can't get the dirty water out, so it has halted with water still sitting in the bottom.
• F03 — The dishwasher has decided water is still coming in when it should have stopped, so it shuts the cycle down to avoid flooding.
• F04 — The dishwasher isn't seeing water flowing in when it tries to fill, so it stops the cycle.
• F05 — The dishwasher isn't getting enough water in, so it has halted the programme rather than run the pump dry.
• F06 — The dishwasher has shut the cycle down because the water temperature reading has gone too high, or the sensor that measures it is giving a faulty reading.
• F08 — The dishwasher's control board has lost or corrupted the settings stored in its memory, so it will not trust itself to run a programme.

If yours is showing one of those, that is a much shorter conversation than a general fault — tell us the code when you book and the engineer can often carry the part.

The usual causes on a Rangemaster dishwasher

• A clogged filter and sump at the bottom of the machine
• A blocked or kinked drain hose, or a blocked sink trap where it connects
• A blanking plug left in the sink waste spigot after a new sink or disposal unit was fitted
• A failed drain pump, or one jammed with a piece of glass or a label
• A drain hose fitted without a high loop, letting waste water siphon back

What you can safely check yourself

1. Bail out the standing water, then lift out the filter assembly and clean it thoroughly
2. Check the sump underneath the filter for glass, labels and debris
3. Check the sink trap the dishwasher drains into — clearing that alone fixes a good share of these
4. If a sink or waste disposal was fitted recently, check the blanking plug was knocked out of the spigot

Common questions

Why is my Rangemaster dishwasher not draining?

The cycle ends with dirty water standing in the bottom of the machine. A dishwasher drains through a filter, a pump, and then a hose that usually loops up and into the sink waste. Standing water almost always means a blockage in that path rather than a failed part — food debris in the filter and a blocked sink trap between them account for most of it. The one to check first is whether a new sink or waste disposal has been fitted, because the blanking plug in a new waste spigot is a classic.

Can I fix a Rangemaster dishwasher not draining myself?

Bail out the standing water, then lift out the filter assembly and clean it thoroughly. Check the sump underneath the filter for glass, labels and debris. Check the sink trap the dishwasher drains into — clearing that alone fixes a good share of these. If a sink or waste disposal was fitted recently, check the blanking plug was knocked out of the spigot. Those checks fix it more often than not.

What Rangemaster error codes mean not draining?

Rangemaster dishwashers report this through their own fault codes. The ones that point at not draining are F00, F01, F02, F03, F04, F05. If your machine is showing one of those, that narrows it down considerably — each has its own guide on this site.

How much does a Rangemaster dishwasher repair cost?

£66 including VAT for an engineer to come out and diagnose it, or £84 in total including VAT if it is put right on the visit and no parts are needed. Any parts needed are quoted on site before we fit them — you decide. Every repair carries a 90-day workmanship guarantee.

Other Rangemaster dishwasher faults

• dishwasher will not switch on
• dishwasher not cleaning the dishes
• dishwasher not drying the dishes
• dishwasher leaking
• dishwasher not heating the water
• dishwasher lights flashing

Repairs we cover near you

• Dishwasher Repairs — what we charge and how it works
• Dishwasher Repairs in Nottingham
• Dishwasher Repairs in Arnold
• Dishwasher Repairs in Beeston
• Dishwasher Repairs in West Bridgford

Written by the engineers at ASAP Repairs from our own repair notes. See also our general guide to dishwashers not draining and our Rangemaster repairs page.