Scheduled visit
Kitchen sink backs up when the dishwasher drains
When the dishwasher pumps out, dirty water rises in the kitchen sink and drains away slowly afterwards. Sometimes the washing machine does the same in a utility room. It usually starts gradually.
Plumbing
Active leaks are treated as emergencies. Pressure and drainage complaints are normally same-day or next-day.
Call nowRequest drain clearing on WhatsApp01LIKELY CAUSES
What usually sits behind this symptom, and what tells one cause from another.
Grease and food build-up in the shared waste
Restriction found beyond the junction of sink and dishwasher.
Blocked or kinked dishwasher hose
Hose inspected for kinks and debris.
Grease trap or gully needing cleaning
Outside gully or trap found full.
02BEFORE ANYONE VISITS
What you can safely check.
- Clean the sink trap and dishwasher filter.
- Avoid pouring fats down the sink.
- Check the outside gully if accessible.
- Note if other appliances also back up.
03WHAT WE MEASURE
We check the sink trap, dishwasher hose and junction, then test the waste run to the outside gully or stack with rods or a camera. Finding where the restriction sits decides the clearing method.
04IN A VILLA
Villa kitchens can have long waste runs to the outside, sometimes through a grease trap or a gully at the side of the house, and busy family kitchens produce more grease than a flat ever does. Many villas also have a show kitchen and a back kitchen sharing one waste, so a restriction affects both.
05THE FIX
Which repair, and when.
Backing up becomes overflowing, with dirty water on kitchen floors and cabinets.
Clear the kitchen waste
Grease build-up is found.
Re-route or replace the hose
The dishwasher hose is kinked or blocked.
Clean the grease trap or gully
It is full.
06Typical villa plumbing callout
AED 200 – 1,400 depending on access
Tap, trap and fixture work sits low in the band. Pump and vessel replacement sits mid. Anything requiring buried-line access or surface breaking is quoted only after the leak is located, because the location determines most of the cost.
07QUESTIONS
- Is the dishwasher faulty?
- Usually not; the shared waste is the issue.
- Can grease traps be cleaned?
- Yes, and they need periodic cleaning.
- Will it get worse?
- Grease blockages tend to grow over time.
- Can I prevent it?
- Scrape plates into the bin, keep fats out of the sink and clean the dishwasher filter regularly.