dishwasher leak from bottom front middle upon start of cycle

Question

My dishwasher has been leaking some from the bottom of the door in the middle.  There is no gasket there, so that is not the problem.  My air gap was clogged, could that have exascerbated the issue?  I did find out that if I position the sprayer arm so it faces sideways instead of front-to-back the problem is minimal.  Any ideas?  From my internet research it seems that most leaks are in the corners of the door, not in the middle like mine.  And note that it ONLY leaks when the dishwasher starts;  mid-cycle it is fine with no leaks.

2014 Whirlpool WDT710PAYM6

3/16/2019 update.  I took the kickplate off and started the cycle and it is not from underneath the dishwasher -- the water comes out from the front between the door and the dishwasher.  Perhaps my (old) floor settled some and I just need to adjust the front of the dishwasher up?  Or perhaps there is some flange I could add to the front lip of the dishwasher to make it higher?

JRaef · Answer

Two possibilities:

Your clogged air gap resulted in the tank at the bottom not draining and the excess water level cause a spill over a lip/edge that normally would have prevented the leaking.
You are loading something in your racks in such a way as to make it direct a strong stream of water at a point that makes it leak.

Joe Fala · Answer

After reading the answers and comments thoroughly I can only think of one thing.

Dishwashers don't really have a seal on the bottom of the door. They do often have a drip gutter on either side and a lip on the door that sits in the pan when closed. At full water level, just before starting there is very little space between the top of the water and the top of the pan.

Dishwasher pumps are very strong and when they come on a torrent of water rushes all over but before the water gets suspended out of the pan on the dishes and in the cabinet, you have a violently churning pool of water typically less than half an inch from leaking out.

I'd say your best bet would be to disable the float by propping it up carefully and manually adding in water to a lower level.

If it passes this test the dishwasher is sloping to the front too much or there is a problem with the float.

dishwasher leak from bottom front middle upon start of cycle

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