• 17 parts
  • Checked September 2026

Parts of a Dishwasher Underneath and Inside

Three drawings: the door open, the floor of the tub, and the parts underneath.

Parts of a Dishwasher Underneath and Inside

Name Date

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Tub
  2. Racks
  3. Silverware basket
  4. Gasket
  5. Detergent dispenser
  6. Rinse aid dispenser
  7. Spray arm
  8. Heating element
  9. Filter
  10. Float
  11. Sump
  12. Pump
  13. Motor
  14. Drain hose
  15. Water inlet valve
  16. Kickplate
  17. Leveling leg

Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: the parts of a washing machine

All 17 parts on the diagram

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Inside, door open 6

  1. Tub The inner box holding the racks and the spray arms. The dishes are washed and dried in it.
  2. Racks Wire shelves that hold the dishes. They roll in and out on rollers for loading.
  3. Silverware basket A container in the lower rack for the cutlery. It is also called the cutlery basket.
  4. Gasket Keeps the closed door watertight. A rubber seal round the opening of the tub.
  5. Detergent dispenser A cup in the door. It opens during the cycle and releases the detergent into the tub.
  6. Rinse aid dispenser It releases rinse aid into the tub. Rinse aid helps water run off the dishes, which reduces spots.

Floor of the tub 4

  1. Spray arm Sprays the dishes with hot water under pressure. A rotating arm full of holes.
  2. Heating element An electric element that heats the water and dries the dishes.
  3. Filter A screen that covers the sump in the floor of the tub.
  4. Float It rises with the water in the tub. If the water gets too high, its switch stops the fill.

Underneath 7

  1. Sump The well under the floor of the tub. The water collects here and the pump draws it back out.
  2. Pump It sends water under pressure to the spray arms. It also pumps the dirty water out through the drain hose.
  3. Motor An electric motor that drives the pump. The two together are called the motor-pump assembly.
  4. Drain hose Carries dirty water from the pump to the drain of the house. A flexible hose.
  5. Water inlet valve A valve worked by a solenoid. When it opens, water from the supply line fills the tub.
  6. Kickplate The panel beneath the door. It comes off to reach the parts underneath.
  7. Leveling leg An adjustable foot that supports the machine and makes it level.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where two independent sources use it. (1) The Visual Dictionary Online (QA International, published with Merriam-Webster), dishwasher: tub, rack, spray arm, cutlery basket, gasket, detergent and rinse-aid dispensers, heating element, pump, motor, drain hose, leveling foot, https://www.visualdictionaryonline.com/house/house-furniture/domestic-appliances/dishwasher_1.php. (2) Fix It Yourself: Major Appliances (Time-Life Books, 1999), read as full-text search passages on the Internet Archive: spray arms, heating element, float and float switch, motor-pump assembly, water inlet valve, detergent and rinse agent dispensers, door gasket, drain hose, sump, https://archive.org/details/isbn_0737011424. (3) Two makers' service manuals, read the same way, for names only: sump, float switch, water inlet valve, leveling legs, toe plate or kickplate, silverware basket, filter, tub gasket, https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-7021064 and https://archive.org/details/upload-20250611-040018. (4) Wikipedia, text only: Dishwasher (racks, tub, rotating sprayers, heating element, wash pump, solenoid valve, cutlery baskets, rinse aid, the service kickplate), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dishwasher. (5) How Products Are Made, volume 6, Dishwasher (tub, racks and rack rollers, spray arms, cutlery basket, detergent dispenser, motors and pumps), http://www.madehow.com/Volume-6/Dishwasher.html. Hints and detail lines are in our own words. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's machine, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

The parts of a dishwasher underneath the tub are the ones most people never see: the sump, pump, motor, inlet valve and drain hose. Two more drawings show the parts of a dishwasher inside.

Read the full guide

Follow the water

Water comes in through the water inlet valve and fills the bottom of the tub. It drains through the filter into the sump. The pump, driven by the motor, sends it up through the spray arm and onto the dishes in the racks, again and again. The heating element warms it. At the end the pump pushes the dirty water out through the drain hose. If the tub overfills, the float stops the fill.

  • Sump, pump and motor stack up in that order, top to bottom, under the middle of the tub.
  • This page names parts. For a repair, use the maker's manual for your model.

Questions and answers

What are the inside parts of a dishwasher called?

The tub is the inner box. In it are the racks, the silverware basket, the spray arm, the filter, the heating element and the float. The gasket seals the door, and the door holds the detergent and rinse aid dispensers.

What is under the bottom of a dishwasher?

Under the tub floor is the sump, with the pump and its motor below it. The water inlet valve sits low at the front behind the kickplate, the drain hose leaves from the pump, and the leveling legs stand on the floor.

What is the panel at the bottom of a dishwasher called?

The kickplate, also called the toe plate or toe panel. It is the panel beneath the door, and it comes off to reach the parts underneath.

What does the float in a dishwasher do?

It rises with the water in the tub. If the water gets too high, the float works a switch that stops more water coming in.

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