How to Remove a Dishwasher

Most homeowners throw up their hands when confronted with the need to remove a major appliance. Refrigerators, ovens, washing machines, and dishwashers—nobody wants to install these themselves. And removing them once they’re all hooked up to water, power, and drainage sounds even harder, right? Not necessarily so. It’s easier than you think to remove your dishwasher. All it requires is time, patience, and a few materials that most people have lying around the house. You may not even need to entirely remove your dishwasher to replace it with a new model. When an appliance hooked up to water and power is malfunctioning, you’ll need to remove it (temporarily) from its wall hookup to complete the fix. Whatever reason you’re planning on removing your dishwasher, you should follow these six simple steps, including tips on disposing of your dishwasher the eco-friendly way.

Before You Begin

You need to know a few things about removing a large appliance before you go ahead and do it. First, shutting off whatever lines feed into the appliance, whether water, power, or a drain line, is of the utmost importance. You could seriously injure yourself or even fry the appliance if you don’t correctly disconnect its wiring. There are only a few things you need to disconnect and remove a dishwasher properly:

• Channel Lock Pliers
• Screwdrivers
• A Drop Cloth
• Wrench

The pliers must be channel lock pliers, or else they aren’t going to do their proper job. The screwdriver can be a Phillips or flat head; either get the job done. Use caution at all times when removing your dishwasher. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission report, appliance malfunctions and furniture tip-overs cause many accidents and injuries yearly. Safe removal is key to preventing injury. To unhook and remove appliances safely, use caution and follow these six steps carefully.

Step 1: Disconnect the Power

The first thing you’re going to want to do is to cut the power supply. If you can cut it room by room, just cut it from the kitchen. But if you want to be extra safe, cutting the power to the entire dwelling is also a good backup measure. Make sure if you have perishables in the fridge, you don’t open it. If you have a fish tank, you don’t leave the filter off for too long, etc.

Step 2: Shut Off the Water Supply

This step is of the utmost importance. After you’ve cut the power, you’ll want to find where the water line connects to your dishwasher and follow it to the water supply shut-off valve. In most kitchens, this valve is located under the sink. Some dishwashers don’t offer the ability to easily shut off the water supply to the specific dishwasher, so you’ll have to cut water momentarily from the entire dwelling. Even if you only shut off water heading to the dishwasher, it’ll likely knock out the water going to your sink as well. If you have any dishes to do, plants to water, or hands to wash, do them before you start removing the dishwasher.

Step 3: Remove the Kick Plate

The kickplate is the piece of metal or plastic fastened to the bottom of your appliances to keep them from getting scuffed by shoes. This plate also protects the appliance’s connection to the water line. You need to disconnect this piece by loosening the screws with your screwdriver and pulling it off.

Step 4: Remove the Attachments and Disconnect the Drain Line

After you’ve removed the kickplate, you can work on removing the mounting attachments, like the drain hose. If you pull your dishwasher out far enough to check out the back, you’ll see two hoses leading away under the sink. One is the water line, the input, and the other is the output, the drain line. If you listen to a dishwasher while it’s running, you’ll hear that it drains all the water it takes in several times. That adds up to a lot of pumped in and pumped out water. This step is where both your pliers and your towel come in. Spread the towel on the ground under the drain pipe hook-up. When you remove the water line and the drain pipe, you’re bound to get some leakage.

Step 5: Prepare the Area For Removal

If you’ve removed the kickplate and all the wiring from the back, you should be good to pull the dishwasher out from its counter housing. But sometimes appliances like dishwashers are built into the cabinets. An area on the top that fastens to the countertops. If this is the case, remove the fastening screws and brackets and proceed with the removal process.

Step 6: Remove and Replace

The final step is removing the dishwasher and replacing it with a new one or making the necessary tweaks. Each appliance has its estimated lifespan. Fortunately, dishwashers are among the highest, at 10-13 years. A longer lifespan means you won’t have to repeat this process often. You may not need to replace your dishwasher frequently, but it will need regular servicing if you want it to run smoothly. Be sure to get it serviced routinely to avoid repeating this removal process.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I Remove a Dishwasher Myself?

You can remove your dishwasher yourself. All you need is a pair of channel pliers, a screwdriver, a towel, and a wrench. With these tools at your disposal and the guide above, removal is a piece of cake.

Do You Need to Turn the Water off to Remove a Dishwasher?

You must turn the water off when removing your dishwasher or risk flooding the kitchen. First, you must unplug the unit from the outlet. Then you need to cut off the supply of water that runs from the water line into the back of the unit. Most dishwashers have a dedicated shutoff valve that you can find on the back of the unit. Simply pull your dishwasher from the counter where it’s stowed and find the shut-off valve on the back. Don’t worry about confusing the water and drain lines, as you’ll need to shut both off for removal. Also, be sure you have a towel on hand. It helps ensure that water doesn’t splash the area where you remove the lines.

How Do I Dispose of a Dishwasher Sustainably?

There are a few ways you can sustainably dispose of your dishwasher. First, you can recycle it via a local appliance retailer or utility company. You can also check the municipal government to see if they have any appliance or waste recycling programs. Another option is to call a junk removal expert. They can take your appliances to the relevant recycling and processing centers so that you don’t have to worry about illegal appliance disposal or the environmental impact of appliance waste.

Need a Pro? Give us a Call

Nixxit Junk Removal is your go-to junk removal service in the Bay Area of San Francisco. Whether refrigerators, sinks, garbage disposals, dishwashers, or something else, our appliance removal and recycling service can help. Call us to help you remove, recycle, and donate the same day you call. Call to get a quote today.