I took out the filter of my whirlpool dishwasher to clean it. The filter and the well were coated with soft gunk, even tho I cleaned them about 2 months ago. I noticed that the well that the filter sits in was full of water. (Photo 1 shows the well, Photo 2 gives some perspective, and Photo 3 is the label showing the model number, after much cleaning.) Is water in the well normal or a symptom? If a symptom, what should I do to get the dishwasher to drain it out?

Thank you.


Perspective view of well



It's unintuitive, but understand that it's relatively easy to get most standing water removed, but very hard to get it all removed. A major reason for this is that you generally have to drain uphill. Dishwashers do that to prevent sewage from siphoning back into the basin. It's just not possible to empty that hose 100%. As such, some water from the rinse cycle (which should be relatively clean) will remain the dishwasher.


We have a new dishwasher which works very well and there's water in exactly the same place. I believe our front loading washer also keeps some water in the base, so I wouldn't worry about it.

Our user manual says that when you first switch it on you should pour some water into the bottom. I assume this is to prevent pump damage by running it dry. This would explain why it's designed to hold some water in the bottom. The user manual also says that the filter should be taken out and rinsed after every use. I try to do this and there's always some greasy residue on it, so the recommendation seems sensible. Cleaning every two months probably isn't adequate if you're running it daily.

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