Your GE Nautilus dishwasher not draining is a great nuisance and an environmental and health risk. Besides flooding your floor and causing a stink in your kitchen, you can easily fall sick from contamination. It isn’t difficult to point out that your dishwasher is not draining. There will be puddles of dirty water on the floor. Again, the dishes will not be clean at the end of the washing and drying cycle.

Once you establish the cause for this annoying issue, it is smooth to resolve it. The reason for your GE Nautilus dishwasher not draining includes a clogged filter, oversudsing due to the wrong detergent, and a broken pump. Also, a faulty drain valve, clogged air gap, and a kinked drain hose restrict water flow. Fortunately, you can resolve the problem by following this guide.

Dishwasher Oversudsing

Dishwashers require the appropriate detergents that do not over-froth. Unrecommended detergents lead to oversudsing, thus overworking the drain pump. Again, adding excess detergent can cause lots of effervescence. The tub fills with froth, and instead of the pump working to drain water, it overworks to remove the suds. 

How To Fix Oversudsing

The first step if you notice oversudsing is to cancel the cycle. Open up your Nautilus dishwasher to allow the suds to evaporate. Luckily, the foam evaporated quite fast.

Once it dries up, pour a gallon of clean, cool water into the tub and press the start button twice. That will pump out all the water into the drain. Repeat the washing cycle, but remember to use the right detergent and quantity this time.

Clogged Drain  

Your GE Nautilus dishwasher pump works by forcing dirty water into the drain. If you haven’t emptied food remains into the trash can before putting your dishes in the washer’s tub, then debris is buildup.

The buildup is inside the pump, thus causing a draining issue. Besides blocking the drainage, such debris can cause a hazard. The waste consists of food particles, fiber, and other stuff, which can rot and cause a stench in your dishwasher. Rot is also a health hazard. 

How to fix a clogged drain

You must clean if you smell rot from your dishwasher, even if the unit drains well. Remove the dishes, the lower rack, and the spray arm. Once you remove the items, it is easy to access the pump. Follow these steps to unclog the pump. The steps also include unclogging the filter and sink gap;

• With a drain snake, flush the debris from the drain.
• Mix the baking soda and vinegar and pour in the drain.
• Loosen the filter by rotating it clockwise. 
• Clean all the debris in a water bowl and rotate it anticlockwise to fix it back.
• Remove the sink gap by turning it counterclockwise, and use a stiff brush to remove all the debris.
• Examine the drain pipe for blockages, kinks, and bends. The pipe is at the back of your GE dishwasher.  
• Pour in hot water to flush any debris into the drain. If the water doesn’t go through, the clog is solid, so you must replace it. 
• Pour a mixture of baking soda and vinegar to flush any remaining debris.  
• Fix the drain back and run a hot rinse cycle.
• Call your plumber to examine the drain and waste disposal if nothing works. 

Drain Valve

The drain valve opens and closes to allow water to flow from the tub. The GE Nautilus dishwasher not draining may indicate that the valve is malfunctioning. This valve has an internal solenoid that controls its operation.

The solenoid has an electrical functionality and is subject to a disconnect. If it stops functioning, the drain valve won’t open to drain and close to hold water. Of course, there could be wear and tear, but the most cause for not draining is a malfunctioning solenoid.

How to fix

A continuity test is the only way to determine if the solenoid is working. You will require a multimeter to connect the black and red terminals to the solenoid. An open reading means that the solenoid is broken. You have to replace it to resolve the valve issue.

But as we said, it could be functional, but the valve has some food debris choking it. Again, it could also be that some heavy dishes are pressing on the valves. The levers also corrode and get stuck. Clean the chaff, remove any items on the valve, and lubricate the lever to fix the issue.

Filter Clogs

When discussing cleaning the drain, we discussed unclogging your dishwasher filter. But it is no harm if we discuss this further. There are two filters in your GE Nautilus dishwasher, the fine filter and the ultra-fine filter. The filter aims to sift large food particles to safeguard the drain pump from clogging. Unfortunately, the filter can get clogged. If the food particles choke up any of the filters, water will not drain.  

How To Fix Filter Clog

One of the dishwasher instructions is to get rid of food debris before cleaning them in the appliance. That prevents clogging and harm to the filters and the drain pump. You may not always avoid the problem, but regular dishwasher cleanings help resolve blockage issues.

Also, cleaning eradicates germs and odor in your kitchen. There are easy steps to clean GE Nautilus dishwasher filters.

Follow this guide to clean a full GE dishwasher filter:

• Empty the utensils and remove the base rack.
• Locate the Fine filter and twist it anticlockwise. Do the same for the Ultra Fine filter.
• Disassemble both filter components and dip them in warm soapy water.
• Wash with a utensil sponge.
• Fix back the Ultra Fine filter by twisting it clockwise and then align the Fine filter on top. Observe the arrows so that they align with the Fine filter for a perfect fit.

Clogged Air Gap 

Again, a clogged air gap will restrict water from draining. The purpose for this feature is to prevent a backflow of dirty water into the dishwasher from the drain. Air gaps separate the dishwasher’s two hose branches with a physical gap.

The air gap ensures that cross-contamination doesn’t happen between the dishwasher, drain, and garbage disposal. Is impossible. Also, the air gap has two branches, one fitting into the dishwasher and the other descending to the garbage disposal. Food particles and other debris clog the gap over time. If you do not clean it, it becomes a nuisance. 

How to fix 

• Shut off power connectivity to the dishwasher and remove the air gap cover.
• Disconnect the water supply to your Nautilus dishwasher by rotating the knob under the kitchen sink clockwise.
• Open your dishwasher door to access the mounting screws that hold it in position. Unthread them and keep them in a bowl.   
• Pull out your dishwasher to get hold of the drain hose.
• Loosen the hose inlet and outlet air gap clamps.
• Pull up the air gap cap on the countertop next to the sink. 
• Unthread the retainer nut that holds your air gap tower in place.
• Pull out the air gap tower from under the countertop.
• Clear all the debris with a towel.
• The air gap should be free from clogs before replacing it. 

Garbage Disposal Errors

Finally, your GE Nautilus dishwasher not draining may be due to garbage disposal problems. New installations full of errors will cause clogs and restrictions on water flow. Always ensure that plumbing professionals install your dishwasher and garbage disposal.

Again, clogs between the garbage disposal and the drain hose may happen, causing draining issues. Other problems include power disruptions and reset issues.

How To Fix

Issues to do with garbage disposal are complex. If you aren’t sure about following the process, GE appliances can help you. Call them.

Final Thoughts

Ge Nautilus not draining is a pain in your kitchen. You must devote time with a checklist to ensure that you move step by step to resolve the drain issues. When you have done everything on this guide but nothing seems to work, its time you thought of an overhaul. a kitchen remodel checklist will come in handy. May be your plumbing systems are messy. contact a general contract to help you out. Good luck!