Ariston AS100 dishwasher leaking

Hi,

I’m having a problem with my Ariston AS100 Advantage dishwasher, serial number 201287848 (I think). It’s a compact (if that’s the right word – ie not a fullsize washer), was bought in August 2002 and has worked fine until now. The salt & rinse aid are regularly topped up.

But it has suddenly started leaking from the hinges on both sides. In other words when looking at it straight on, foam emerges from the bottom left and bottom right hand corners of the door. It happens quite early in the cycle, approximately 15 minutes in (though I’m not totally sure of the timing). The first time I wasn’t there and came back to find the patches on the floor. It wasn’t loads, they were both about the size of a person’s foot. The next time it happened I saw the leaking as soon as it started and switched the washer off.

There are no obvious faults like broken seals, but I’m a definite layman. There’s a bit of gunk, which I’ve now cleaned away, but could a proper washout of the whole thing, filters etc possibly clear this problem up? Or does it sound more serious, possibly requiring an engineer… or new appliance? I’d very much like to avoid the latter, at least.

Any help much appreciated!