Confused Whirlpool Dishwasher DU1148XTPQ6 - Leaked when Off for Days, Now No Leak(?!)

[takingcareofmomandanoldhouse]

Hello, my mom has a 2005 Dishwasher that's worked like a champ all these years, only needing 1 repair so far (new control board in 2015).

Recently, it started leaking Clean Water into the Tub when it was Off. No Water on the Floor or outside the Dishwasher.

Under Sink Valves are stuck open, so I sponged out water 2x/day:
- Water was always cold, except 1 time it was lukewarm. Since incoming water is hot only, I'm assuming the water just cooled down as it slowly leaked in?
- After ~5 days (& me trying to get the Under Sink Valves unstuck, incl. by tapping on them repeatedly w/ a wrench), I noticed a Rusty Water Trail coming out of the Water Inlet PORT in the Left Side Wall of the Tub. Is this just rust from the Stuck Valves flowing into the Dishwasher?

A few days ago, I realized I could use the Dishwasher's "Cancel" button/Drain feature to drain it, so started doing that 1x/day.

Last night, I found the house's Main Water Inlet Valve & shut it off briefly (just a few min) to confirm it was working. I also turned power off to the Dishwasher after draining it.

This morning, there was NO water leaked into the Dishwasher Tub (huh??). Did turning the House's water off &/or the Dishwasher's power off somehow reset the Water Inlet Valve, which was probably stuck open causing the leak??

I turned the Dishwasher power back on this afternoon to see if that would cause the leak to restart; it did not.

I'm thinking the Water Inlet Valve somehow reset itself & started working again, but I should probably still replace the Water Inlet Valve because it's just a matter of time till it fails again. Any advice?

Any thoughts on whether the Rusty Water is a sign of a bigger issue? Or if it may have damaged the Dishwasher? It's been 2 weeks since the leak started.

THANK YOU for your help!!

 

 

[takingcareofmomandanoldhouse]

Forgot to mention:

Today, after noticing the leak had mysteriously stopped, I confirmed the Dishwasher DOES still fill w/ water if you start a Normal Wash cycle. I stopped that cycle after seeing water come in & drained the water via the "Cancel" button. No more water has leaked into the Tub afaik; that was 2.5 hrs ago.

I do not have an Ohmmeter to test it with.

[DADoESTX]

A bit of debris presumably obstructed the valve from fully closing and coincidentally shifted when you shut off the main.  Seeping may recur, watch for it.  Best to change the valve, depending on your concern for the risk.  Some valve designs can be disassembled to check for / clear debris but that can be iffy.

Flush the feed line at full flow for a couple mins into a suitable container before connecting it to the new valve.

Get those under-sink shutoffs fixed either way.

[takingcareofmomandanoldhouse]

Thanks so much, Legacy Tech, and will do!

Is there anything else I should do other than flush the feed line to get any additional/new debris out? Am hoping whatever the recent obstruction was will be removed with the old inlet valve and has not traveled to the inlet port or other parts of the machine!