Many thanks to all in this, and a lot of other, threads about this problem.
As someone else mentioned, mine is 'built in' and would have meant demolishing half the kitchen to get it out! They said they had used a small pipe to suck out excess water - I don't know how that could have worked, as the bottom 'chamber' of the machine, where the float apparently is, I don't think is accessible without (in my case) at least removing the bottom surround and plinth from the dishwasher base unit and neighbouring units.
Sucking water out of the salt container shouldn't make any difference - it seems to fill right up again during the next wash. But I'm wondering if I've had 15 years of trouble-free operation because in Glasgow the water is soft enough not to need salt. I presume salt will act as a corrosive over time?
My pump started running quite a few hours after I had last used it, and seemed to be set off when I was tapping debris out of my sink colander into the bin, which is the adjacent unit. So I wondered how the vibration might have affected it.
I don't think it would be an option to have the drain pump set up to drain the bottom chamber as well - this might only act as another possible failure point.
I think my problem must be either a very slow leak, or possibly condensation building up in the float chamber -the dishwasher is situated against an outside wall, and it's been blooming cold this December in Scotland!
I'm hoping it's the latter, because I didn't use it for 2 days while contemplating what I was going to do, and when I switched the power and water on again, it worked fine!
BUT I also noticed my filters had worked loose (due to continuing vibration from operation?) and there was a piece of plastic (cling film?) in the chamber below the filter. Although removing the offending plastic and cleaning the filters didn't immediately solve the problem, other suggestions made me think this has been a contributing factor. So, clean the filters, and check they don't work loose over time.
My very non-technical partner suggested using a hair dryer on the base of the machine - not such a daft idea if it's only a very minor leak - I'm assuming my 2-day abstinence effectively did the same job! Or maybe just leave the door open overnight?
And of course 2 days of hand-washing (OK, just for the 2 of us) reminded me how much power and water I could save in using it less often!
Finally, out of interest, I mentioned my problem in the pub that night. Someone else remarked that they had to do the 'tipping over to clear accumulated water in the base' routine on a regular basis, and seemed to be quite unfazed about doing it. Judging from the number of other suggestions along the same lines, I have a mental picture of half the dishwasher owners in the country doing that regularly without a second thought!
Good luck to all with the same problem. Jack.
Jack Murdoch, December 2008
