Before treating standing water as a fault, it helps to know what normal looks like. On GE dishwashers with a fine filter, a small amount of water sitting in the sump, the recessed filter area, is by design and keeps the seal wet. What is not normal is water lying across the bottom of the tub after a completed cycle.
Before You Reach Into the Tub
Cancel or end the cycle and let the dishwasher finish or stop. If you are going to remove the filter and reach into the sump, switch the dishwasher off at its breaker or unplug it first, so nothing can start a drain or fill while your hand is inside. Put a towel down; you will be lifting out water.
Owner-Level Checks, in Order
- The filter. This is the single most common cause. The cylindrical filter in the centre of the tub floor usually turns counter-clockwise to release and lifts out, with a coarse screen beneath it. Rinse both under hot water and use a soft brush on grease and mineral film. Refit until it locks; a filter left loose causes noise and poor cleaning.
- The garbage disposer. If the dishwasher drains through a disposer, a disposer full of debris backs water up. Run it with water, then retest.
- A new disposer or new plumbing. On a new disposer install, the drain plug in its dishwasher inlet has to be knocked out. If it was not, the dishwasher cannot drain at all. This is a very common cause after kitchen work.
- The air gap. If there is a small chrome cylinder on the countertop next to the faucet, pull its cover and clear any debris inside.
- Detergent. Too much, or hand dish soap by mistake, generates suds that stop a drain pump from moving water. If you see foam, run rinse cycles until it clears.
- The hose. Look under the sink for an obvious kink or a hose crushed behind a stored bucket.
What Needs a Technician
If the filter is clean, the disposer is clear and the plug was removed, remaining candidates are a drain pump that is failing or jammed by glass or a fruit sticker, a check valve stuck shut, a blocked drain line inside the machine, or a control fault. Removing the sump and pump assembly means working with plumbing and wiring inside the base of the machine, and it is where a self-repair attempt can put warranty coverage at risk if it is not done by an authorized technician. Check your warranty terms.
Bail out the standing water first so the tub does not smell, then book GE dishwasher repair. Say whether you hear the drain pump attempt to run at the end of a cycle: a humming attempt and total silence point at different parts.