What F7 Means
WHICH MACHINES THIS APPLIES TO: single-character F7 is a DW20 and DW70 platform code, and the manual narrows it further - it applies to machines fitted with a pressure sensor. On the DW90 and current platforms the drain fault is F11.
DW20 AND DW70 PLATFORM - WHAT F7 MEANS: the service manual reads "Pumping out fault (machines with pressure sensor). Water not evacuated after 120 seconds' pumping out. Programme interrupted." The drain pump ran for two full minutes and the pressure sensor still reported water in the tub at the end of it. The control does not distinguish between a pump that is not turning and a path that is blocked; it only knows the water is still there.
WHAT THE MACHINE DOES NEXT: it interrupts the programme. This is one of the faults the owner does see, and what they see first is usually the result rather than the code - dirty water standing above the filters when the door is opened. The DW20.4 and DW20.5 text panels put it in words: "Drainage - The drain is blocked." The DW70 manual adds a line the DW20 manual leaves out: also check whether the filter is blocked.
CLASSIFICATION: fault, with real owner checks at the front of it. Most drain faults on these machines are a blockage somewhere along a path that is partly accessible without opening the appliance.
Common Causes of F7
- Coarse or fine filter clogged
- Drain hose kinked, crushed or blocked
- Sink waste or trap spigot blocked at the point the hose joins it
- Drain hose installed at the wrong height or without the required loop
- Foreign object jammed in the drain pump
- Drain pump worn, or a control or wiring fault stopping it running
🔧 One Safe Check You Can Try
Switch the dishwasher off at the outlet or the breaker before you put your hands in the tub, because the drain pump can be commanded to start again the moment power is restored, and expect standing water, so have towels and a shallow container ready before you open the door. With the power off, scoop the standing water out, lift out the coarse and fine filters - Asko documents removing and cleaning those as an owner task in the care and cleaning chapter of every dishwasher manual in this family - and wash them under the tap. Then follow the drain hose from the back of the machine to where it discharges and check it for kinks, for a crush point where the machine was pushed back into the cabinet, and for a blocked spigot at the sink trap or waste connection. That is the documented extent of the owner's side on this generation: Asko's drain-fault instruction for DW20 and DW70 machines stops at the hose, the outlet and the filters. Removing the drain pump stop to clear the impeller is documented as an owner task on the current DBI, DFI and DSD machines, not on these, so on a DW20 or DW70 the pump is a service job.
⚠ Why You Shouldn't Go Further Than That
- The drain pump can be energised by the control as soon as power returns, so the machine has to be switched off at the outlet or the breaker before anything is reached into.
- The tub holds dirty standing water with broken glass and food debris in it, which is why it is scooped out rather than felt around in.
- The drain pump on these older machines sits under the tub and is reached by drawing the appliance out of the cabinet, which is not the same job as the filter cleaning Asko documents for owners.
Opening a panel to inspect or repair something yourself doesn't automatically cancel your manufacturer's warranty — but it can risk accidental damage, and some manufacturers do have specific service conditions. Check your product's warranty terms, or ask us, before deciding.