How you respond depends on the type of dishwasher you have. If you have a front-loading dishwasher, the pump may become clogged. This is due to a filter in the front-loading dishwasher that can become clogged with food and other debris. If this occurs, water will be unable to pass through the pump and into the dishwashing cycle. If you load your dishwasher from the top, the pump is less likely to become clogged. This is due to the lack of a filter in the top-loading dishwasher. But if something, like a piece of food, gets in the way of the water, it won't be able to flow through the pump and into the dishwashing cycle.