When your dishwasher won't drain, few things are more annoying. With any luck trying these tips will solve your drainage problem:

• First you must find out, if you don't already know, what type of dishwasher you have. It can be either a direct drive dishwasher or a forward reversing kind.

• Most of the time in my experience, my dishwasher didn't drain because of my garbage disposal. If you have your dishwasher hooked into a garbage disposal, make sure that the water is running freely in the disposal. If it is even a little clogged up, the dishwasher will not be able to drain properly. If you have recently installed a garbage disposal, and that was the same time that your dishwasher started having drain issues, be sure that you have removed the knockout plug. It is located on the side of the dishwasher. Consult user's manual if you have a hard time finding it.

• Check to make sure that your drain pipes are not all clogged up with grease and goop. Clogged pipes are a real concern when it comes to improper dishwasher draining.

• There is a basket on the bottom of your dishwasher that is where the water drains and is filtered during the washing process. If all other tips have failed, you may need to remove this cover, you may need a screw driver, and after that there may be a flap that also has to be lifted off. Be careful as you do this however, as you don't want to bend the delicate parts. If you see a sight that makes you want to run for the hills, i.e. smelly old food, and water that looks like it has been there for years, you need to siphon the nasty water out and use a cloth to totally clean everything in there. Once all the junk is gone, hopefully it will work like a charm.

If all of these tricks do not work, calling an experienced repairman may be the only other option, short of throwing it out and getting a new one.Best of luck to you!