Base of a dishwasher opened up, the circulation pump, sump and grey drain hose exposed.
Under the tub: the drain pump on its housing, with the drain hose looping away to the right.

Checks you can do yourself

  1. The filters. Lift them out of the tub floor, rinse them under the tap and look into the sump below for glass, seeds or labels before you refit them.
  2. The disposer. Many dishwashers drain into the sink disposer. Run it with cold water; if it is clogged, the dishwasher cannot empty. A newly fitted disposer may still have the plug in its dishwasher inlet.
  3. The air gap. The small chrome cap beside the faucet, if your sink has one. Pull the cover and clear what has collected inside.
  4. The hose. Under the sink, look for a drain hose crushed by stored bottles or kinked where it leaves the cabinet.

Then run a short cycle and listen near the end for the pump.

Signs it is a part, not a clog

  • Silence when the dishwasher should be draining: the pump is not running.
  • A hum without the sound of water moving: the pump is trying, but something is jammed in it or the motor has failed.
  • The drain message returns with clean filters and a clear sink: a pump, a hose behind the cabinet, or the pressure sensor Cove lists among the causes.
Dishwasher sump and drain hose under the tub, a wrench on the towel below.
Lower panel off: the sump and pump assembly in the middle, the drain hose on the left.

These sit behind the kick plate, next to water and wiring, so leave them to the visit. Our Cove dishwasher repair page explains how it runs.

Standing water, briefly

How much water in the bottom is normal?

Some. Cove’s support page says water underneath the filters, in the sump area, is normal. What is not normal is water standing above the filters or around the lower spray arm once a cycle has finished, or a cycle that stops with a drain message.

Can I bail the water out and keep using the dishwasher?

You can bail it with a cup and a towel so the filters come out cleanly, and that is often all a blocked filter needs. If the water comes back after the next cycle, stop there: running it again and again on a failing pump or a blocked hose only adds water to clear.

Source

  1. Cove support, "Cove Dishwasher Does Not Drain"