Bosch Dishwasher Not Draining? What to Check First

Before you call

1. Pull and rinse the filter

   Bosch puts a cylindrical filter in the floor of the tub. Twist it counter-clockwise, lift it out, and rinse it under a tap. A filter packed with soft food waste is the single most common reason water won't clear.
2. Check the drain hose under the sink

   Follow the hose to the disposal or the standpipe and look for a kink behind the cabinet. Hoses get pushed out of shape by anything stored under there.
3. If a disposal was installed recently, check the knockout plug

   A new garbage disposal ships with a plug sealing the dishwasher inlet. If nobody knocked it out, the dishwasher has nowhere to drain — and it looks exactly like a failed pump.
4. Run the disposal, then start a rinse cycle

   Food waste sitting in the disposal can back up into the dishwasher's drain path. A few seconds of running it clears that possibility.
5. Listen at the start of the drain cycle

   A drain pump that hums but moves no water is usually blocked. One that stays silent has usually failed outright. That difference is the first thing a technician confirms.

When it's time to call a technician

If the filter, the hose, and the knockout plug are all clear and it still holds water, the drain pump or the control board is the likely cause. On most Bosch models the pump is reachable without pulling the whole machine out, which keeps that repair straightforward.