Bosch [E22] fault codewhat it means and how to fix it

Bosch could not be more concise about E22. The meaning is that the filters are soiled or blocked; the remedy is to clean the filters. That is the entire official entry, and it is one of the few codes on any appliance where the manufacturer’s instruction really is complete. What is worth adding is why the machine bothers to stop rather than carrying on. The filter assembly sits in the bottom of the tub and everything the wash pump circulates passes through it. When it clogs, the pump cannot draw properly, so the water pressure reaching the spray arms collapses. The machine is not merely dirty at that point — it has lost the ability to clean anything, because cleaning is done by force of water rather than by detergent alone. Stopping is more useful than running a cycle that would achieve nothing. This is also the code that tells you something about your habits rather than your machine.

E22 on a dishwasher that has run happily for years usually means the filter has not been cleaned in a long time, and monthly is a reasonable rhythm for most households. E22 is also the one code in this range where every BSH source agrees exactly. The Bosch and Neff manuals use the same sentence, and Siemens put it on their website as the filter system being soiled or clogged with the instruction to check the filter system. When a manufacturer, its two sibling badges and their manuals all say the same short thing, you can take the short thing at face value.

Two warnings belong on a page that has you putting your hands into the bottom of a dishwasher, and BSH publish both. They warn that opening the door while a programme is running can splash hot water out of the appliance, so a machine that has just stopped mid-cycle needs leaving alone for a while first. And they warn that detergent and rinse aid can cause chemical burns to the mouth, throat and eyes — the water standing over a blocked filter is not clean water, it is a strongly alkaline solution of whatever did not dissolve, which is worth a pair of gloves and a reason to keep children out of the kitchen while the door is open. Left long enough, this code turns into a different one. The filter is upstream of the drain pump, so a blockage that starts by starving the spray arms ends by stopping the machine draining at all, which is E24. If you have had poor washing results for a while and now cannot get the water out, you are looking at one problem at two stages rather than two problems.

1. 1

   Switch off at the socket and take out the bottom basket so you can reach the tub floor properly.

2. 2

   Twist the filter assembly anticlockwise and lift it out, then separate it — the coarse cup and the fine mesh cylinder come apart, and cleaning only the outer one is the commonest mistake here.

3. 3

   Scrub both parts under a hot tap with a washing-up brush until the mesh is clear when you hold it up to the light. A rinse will not shift congealed grease.

4. 4

   While it is out, check the spray arm jets are clear and both arms turn freely by hand. Blocked jets cause the same poor results the filter does.

5. 5

   Refit the assembly and turn it clockwise until it locks, then run a hot programme with the machine empty to clear what has washed through.