Any dishwasher experts?

[ParishSpinster]

My dishwasher (hotpoint aquarius) is about 12 years old and lately has been filling with water and draining. Its the cup at the bottom., water seems to drip in and fill it then it drains. Turned off but still plugged in and switched on at socket.

Any ideas if this can be fixed? I will pull it out later to see if water inlet hose has an issue but I have checked the filter and outflow pipe and there are no blockages there. Water isn't coming from the spinning arms as far as I can see.

Thank you!

If it's filling up and emptying while it's not running then the water inlet must be leaking, have you tried turning off the water to the machine and seeing if it stops? Probably a new inlet valve needed which is at a guess 20 pounds plus fitting.

Will try that, thank you. Really helpful.
But...

1. how do I know the water is turned off? Its possible the water hose connection to the pipes under the sink was knocked by DH when he tidied. I can't figure out which is on or off.

2. what sort of tradesman would do the fix? I'm happy to try and do things but always worry about creating more problems than I am trying to fix.

Does it drain by itself or do you have to start the dishwasher? Most dishwashers have to pump water out of the bottom because it's usually lower than where the outlet pipe connects to the drain and in my admittedly non-technical experience water rarely travels uphill against gravity.

If it's emptying without switching on then I'd start looking for a pool of water underneath.

Is the water getting in dirty? Does it get in when you empty the sink or run the taps in the sink? If so, then it's probably the return valve that's failed - it's designed to stop drain water flowing back in under gravity from the outlet pipe and ultimately the drain.

It's a user-changeable part on my dishwasher (Miele) but I'm afraid I know nothing about Hotpoints apart from to question whether a 12 year old one is nearing the end of its life.

Its definitely not a blockage from the drain pipe. Water is clean and I spent a merry 5 minutes watching it slowly drip into the cup at the bottom of the machine so definitely issue with water just coming in rather than not going out. Definitely not getting in when I run the taps or empty sink - my FIL has that issue, smell is horrific but he won't call anyone to fix it. Anyway, that is a different story.

The water is pumped out fine during a programme - and I've made sure the outlet hose isn't blocked or kinked so the water is getting out. I've had that issue in the past! Its just a constant dribble of water filling the cup then the machine pumps it out.

Pulled it out - couldn't wait till this evening - and no visible puddles or water leaks on the floor, inlet hose is dry at connection to machine as well.

Have ordered part - i just need to figure out how to turn the water to machine off.

I get really stressed and anxious about this stuff. DH not DIY minded at all. I'm happy to do it so that I can add it to the list of things I can fix. Its just not knowing if I can fix it that makes me stressed.

It will be worth it. I always feel amazing when I have worked out how to fix something. Is the part you ordered an inlet valve?

Yep - double checked with company and its the inlet valve. DH and I agree we (i) may as well try this before buying new dishwasher. If it doesn't worked, any other alternatives for a bit to repair are expensive enough for us to go for new machine instead.

Regarding "how do I know the water is turned off"

If there's a little tap that can turn 90 degrees, it's on when it's in line with the pipe and off when it's perpendicular.
If the handle has snapped off then you can see slight flats on the spindle where the handle went and that would need a spanner.

Regarding which trades person i think you can get appliance repairs people but I'd expect a decent handyperson be able to do it.