When my dishwasher flooded my kitchen I started to mentally prepare myself for calling a plumber. Before I took that drastic step, I checked the owners manual and googled around. I was quite pleased to discover there was a quick fix to this little problem.

When crusty old food and detergent collect around the seal of the dishwasher it can create leaks. This is especially true at the bottom of the dishwasher where the door closes. Food that falls on the door when the baskets are pulled out for loading can then collect in this area when closing it. Over time this may cause a leak.

Cleaning the crusty old food and detergent grossness required little more than a sponge with a scrubby side and a little dishwasher deteregent -- and a lot of elbow grease. While I was at it I decided to also run a cycle of vinegar through the empty dishwasher. I filled the detergent cup and ran a short cycle to help clean the inside and remove any built-up detergent.

Of course now that I'm aware that skipping routine maintenance on the dishwasher can actually make it leak, I'll make it a monthly task. Cleaning around the seal once a month should require less elbow grease than scrubbing off a year's worth of grossness. Yuck!