Dishwasher Making Whistling Noise

Is your dishwasher making a strange whistling noise when it’s washing dishes? It might have a surprising and unusual cause.

Unusual and persistent noises from any appliance shouldn’t be ignored. Some noises may be indicating serious faults, but other noises might have trivial causes. Believe it or not, a dishwasher making a whistling noise could have an unexpected cause.

According to a dishwasher manual I’ve just read, one of the “malfunctions” it advises on in the troubleshooting guide came as quite a surprise –

Possible cause of whistling

If there is a whistling noise during washing. This is not a cause for concern, but to try using a different brand of detergent.   ”

It’s quite an unexpected solution, and amusing to think a whistling noise could be be explained so simply. I can’t think of a fault that would cause an actual whistling noise although unusual noises from any appliance shouldn’t be ignored. If it doesn’t sound like it’s coming from a motor or pump, then obviously you should try a different brand of detergent first.

I would also try running the dishwasher without any detergent in to see if the noise stops. Apparently some dishwasher detergents cause whistling sounds and some don’t. There’s no explanation as to how or why.

I’ve also never come across anyone with this problem, but clearly it’s enough of a potential issue for the manufacturer of this dishwasher to mention it in their instruction manual.