An effective dishwasher can leave your dishes sparklingly clean, free of egg smears, lipstick stains and casserole splatters – but first it must be properly installed to work effectively.
Start by shutting off both power and water at the breaker box, while also opening up the drain valve under your sink. Next, locate and take steps to unplug any electrical junction boxes with covers.
Positioning
Your dishwasher’s location can have a dramatic impact on how the whole kitchen functions. Placing it close to the sink will save time when unloading, reduce food and water spillage on the floor (creating mess and slip risks), and provide easy plumbing connections access.
Before connecting anything, be sure to turn off the electricity at both your circuit breaker and water supply valve under the sink. It may also be wise to remove the front access panel of your dishwasher for easier access to its water source and drain hose.
Connect power and water lines first, before sliding your new dishwasher in partway into place. Adjust any leveling legs necessary to achieve a snug fit before replacing the access panel. Test to ensure everything works, with dishes coming out sparkling clean! If not, seek professional assistance to make necessary adjustments.
Electrical Connections
Before working with any electrical and plumbing connections, turn off both power to your dishwasher (at its circuit breaker) and water supply at the valve beneath your sink. Also ensure the drain hose has been disconnected from sink pipe/garbage disposal system.
Explore the back of your new dishwasher to determine where the wires and lines should travel, then use the tube-bending spring in your tool kit to guide copper tubing along those routes without becoming pinched or kinked beneath the appliance.
To establish wire connections on a dishwasher, first unscrew its front access panel from its kickplate; this may contain some rusty screws that require unscrewing with a screwdriver. Next, identify the junction box – typically a square metal box with three exposed wires within. With wire nuts attached to each colored wire in this junction box and its counterpart on the dishwasher (white wires to white and black wires to black), connect these same-colored pairs as needed: white to white and black wires respectively.
Plumbing Connections
As with any major purchase, plumbing connections must be secure before installing your new dishwasher. First, switch off the main water source at its source (ie: under sink). Install a dual outlet valve (if applicable) so your dishwasher can connect correctly – referring back to its product manual for any further requirements or details on installation.
Connect the dishwasher drainage hose to the sink drain or garbage disposal and route it in such a way as to avoid kinks in its path. Most models also require an air gap to prevent dirty sink water from entering into its drainage pipe and cause blockages; once all connections have been properly made, run a test cycle just to make sure everything works as it should be.
Installation
As part of any installation project, it’s vital that children and pets remain far away from the work area to prevent accidents from occurring. Electrical wires and hose connections may prove hazardous; while open water lines could result in leakage issues.
Before beginning work on installing or servicing your dishwasher, it is critical that both electricity and the water supply lines be turned off – otherwise you could end up with an unexpected mini flood (or worse yet an electric shock!).
Begin by removing the thin access panel at the base of your new dishwasher to make its electrical and plumbing connections more easily accessible. Carefully tip it on its back to gain access to its junction box – a square metal housing with three colored terminal connectors inside.
Disconnect the existing power cord from the junction box and replace its cover. Connect a new cord to the terminal connectors – matching black wire to black and white to white – with black to black connections on terminal connectors; use wire nuts to secure wires, then thread the green grounding wire through one of the open screws of the junction box or use a grounding wire connector.