Bosch E24: Dishwasher Draining Too Slowly

Medium severity

E24 appears when Bosch's control board times the drain pump and the water level in the tub doesn't drop the way it's supposed to within that window.

You open the door at the end of a cycle expecting dry, wiped-clean dishes and instead find an inch or two of cloudy water sitting in the bottom of the tub, with E24 lit on the display. Sometimes the machine pauses mid-cycle rather than running all the way through.

Applies to: Bosch 300, 500, 800 series dishwashers with electronic displays (most models sold in the US since roughly 2008).

What it means

The control board ran the drain pump for its allotted time but did not sense the water level dropping the way it should, meaning the tub is draining too slowly or not at all.

In practice this is a downstream symptom more often than a pump failure by itself — something is physically slowing water on its way out, and the control board is really just the messenger reporting it.

Common causes

Bosch's own troubleshooting guidance and independent repair techs point to the same handful of culprits, roughly in the order worth checking:

Clogged filter assembly at the bottom of the tub full of food debris
Kinked, crushed, or improperly looped drain hose
Garbage disposal knockout plug never removed when the dishwasher was installed
Clogged air gap fitting on the sink or countertop
Failing drain pump, drain solenoid, or a stuck check valve

What you can check yourself

None of these need special tools beyond a bucket and an old towel, and most people clear E24 without calling anyone:

Pull the bottom rack and remove the cylindrical filter assembly, then rinse it thoroughly under a running tap
Check the drain hose for kinks and confirm any required high loop or air gap is not blocked
If the dishwasher drains through a garbage disposal, confirm the knockout plug was removed at install and run the disposal to clear its inlet
Wipe out standing water in the tub sump area by hand once the filter is out
Run a short rinse cycle to see whether the code clears once debris is cleared

Call a professional when

If the filter, hose, air gap, and disposal are all confirmed clear and E24 still appears, the drain pump or drain solenoid is likely failing and needs a technician to test and replace it.

Bosch dishwasher codes hub
Bosch E22 — dirty water from a clogged filter
Bosch E25 — drain pump physically blocked
Dishwasher Not Draining

Sources

Bosch Dishwasher Error Code E24 — Bosch U.S. owner support

This site is an independent reference, not a substitute for a licensed appliance technician or electrician, and is not affiliated with Bosch, Samsung, LG, Whirlpool, KitchenAid, or any other manufacturer named here. Dishwashers combine mains-voltage electrical parts with water. Always shut off both power and the water supply before opening the tub, pump, or heating element housing, and if a repair goes beyond checking filters, hoses, detergent, and visible debris, call a licensed technician.