The machine fills ok, but won't drain and it just sits there humming at me, full of hot, dirty water at the bottom. I've felt the outlet hose and it's not even warm, so it can't be a blockage there as none of the water is even getting that far. Is there some kind of a pump that could have packed up? If it has, then what's the 'I'm doing something important here' sound that the machine continues to make while it's trying to drain?

Jennie Crosby, September 2005

Your description of your problem sounds exactly the same as what happened to ours recently. My housemate told me he cleared the drain to no avail. However after draining the dishwasher thoroughly, I removed a lot more muck from the drainage hole in the bottom of the dishwasher (from inside). I checked the pump was working (which was more complicated and time consuming) and checked that the draining hose was also clear, turned the thing back on and it worked perfectly again. My assumption is that if we had cleaned the drain regularly, we would not have had this problem.

David, May 2006