The invention relates to a method for operating a household appliance (1) for the care of laundry items (6), in which liquid is filled into a tub (3) of the household appliance, in particular during a washing phase (22) of an operating program, and the liquid and/or detergent solution is pumped out of the tub (3) via a drain line (11) during a subsequent pumping out phase (24), wherein a pump (12) is operated in a main direction (18) for pumping out the liquid and/or detergent solution, and during the pumping out a check valve (16) is moved out of a closed position, in which the drain line (11) is sealed with respect to the tub (3), into an open position in which the drain line (11) is fluidly connected to the tub (3), wherein at least during a predefined time interval (25), in particular during the washing phase (22), the pump (12) is operated in a direction (20) counter to the main direction (18), and by this means, a pump pressure (2) is established at the check valve (16) by means of which the check valve (16) is pushed into the closed position.