Homeowner guide · Last reviewed: September 5, 2026

Dishwasher making strange noises? Check the load, spray arms, filter, and timing

Swishing, clicking, and low humming can be normal, while rhythmic knocking often comes from dishes touching a spray arm. Repeated loud grinding, buzzing, or squealing can signal debris, a water-supply problem, or a pump fault.

Short answer: First stop the dishwasher for leaking water, smoke, sparks, a burning smell, unusual heat, or a tripped breaker. Otherwise, note exactly when the sound occurs: filling, washing, draining, or drying. Some swishing, clicking, snapping, and low humming are normal on many models. After the cycle is canceled and all motion has stopped, switch off the dishwasher circuit at the breaker before putting your hands inside. Secure loose dishes and utensils, confirm accessible spray arms can turn without striking anything, and clean and lock the removable filter only as the exact model manual directs. Run one supervised test. If loud grinding, buzzing, squealing, or knocking continues with an empty machine, or the dishwasher also will not fill, wash, or drain, stop using it and arrange qualified service. Do not remove panels, pull out the dishwasher, reach into an inaccessible pump, or test wiring or components.

Why it matters

GE Appliances explains that clicking during cycle changes, swishing while water sprays, and some intermittent humming can be normal. It associates rhythmic knocking with a spray arm striking dishware and rattling with unsecured dishes or lightweight items. Samsung similarly says low humming or buzzing can be normal, while loud, repeatable grinding or buzzing may involve debris beneath a model-accessible filter; it recommends service when that area is not homeowner-accessible or the noise persists. Sorting the sound by timing and checking only the load, free spray-arm clearance, and a manual-designated removable filter can prevent needless service without turning a simple observation into an unsafe internal repair.

Safe checks, step by step

1
Check for hazards before touching the appliance. Stop immediately for water on the floor or near wiring, smoke, sparks, popping, a burning or electrical odor, unusual heat, a damaged cord or outlet, or a breaker that trips. Do not stand in water or reach for a wet plug or switch; keep people away and call the appropriate appliance, electrical, plumbing, or emergency professional.
2
Listen from a safe distance and record the sound on your phone. Note whether it happens during filling, washing, draining, drying, or only when the door moves. Clicking at a cycle change, swishing water, a detergent-cup snap, and low intermittent humming can be normal on some models; compare the sound with the exact owner’s manual rather than assuming every unfamiliar noise is a fault.
3
Cancel the cycle using the normal controls and wait until spraying and draining have fully stopped. Turn the dishwasher circuit off at the breaker before placing hands inside the tub. If the breaker is unlabeled, inaccessible, wet, damaged, buzzing, or hot, do not guess or operate it; call a qualified professional.
4
Inspect the load without forcing a rack. Secure lightweight items, move utensils that hang through the rack, and separate dishes that can knock together. With power off, gently rotate only the spray arms that the owner’s manual identifies as user-accessible. Rearrange the load if an arm touches a plate, pan, utensil, rack, or loose item; do not bend, remove, or force an arm.
5
Clean and reseat only a removable filter described in the exact model manual. Wear cut-resistant gloves because broken glass, bone, and hard plastic can be sharp. Lift away visible debris with a tool only if the manual permits it and the area is fully accessible. Do not reach into a pump opening, remove a cover or fastener, probe an impeller, pour in chemicals or lubricant, or use WD-40.
6
Restore power and run one supervised empty or lightly loaded cycle only if there were no hazard signs and the manual permits it. Listen for whether the noise returns at the same stage and confirm the machine fills, sprays, and drains normally. If a loud or new sound remains, cancel the cycle, switch the breaker off, and give the recording, timing, model number, and any error code to a qualified technician.

Stop and call a professional if

Water leaks onto the floor, reaches electrical equipment, appears below the cabinet, or the appliance must be pulled out to locate it
There is smoke, sparking, popping, scorching, a burning or electrical odor, unusual heat, a damaged cord or outlet, or a breaker that trips, buzzes, or will not reset normally
Loud grinding, buzzing, squealing, scraping, or metal-on-metal noise repeats every cycle, continues with an empty machine, or grows louder
The dishwasher hums but does not fill, spray, or drain; dishes remain dry; standing water remains; or the same error code returns
Banging seems to come from household pipes, the shutoff valve moves or leaks, or correcting the issue would require plumbing work or moving the dishwasher
Diagnosis requires removing the kick plate or another panel, reaching into an inaccessible pump, removing a pump cover or fastener, pulling or tilting the appliance, testing energized wiring, bypassing a latch or safety device, or replacing a motor, pump, control, or internal part

Related guides and tools

Sources

Last reviewed: September 5, 2026. This date changes only when the content is reviewed or revised. Always follow the instructions for your exact model.

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