Sunday, October 8

a rather theatrical death

Our dishwasher died last night. It created a pond in the kitchen so it could pull an Ophelia. *sigh* It's not worth repairing, as we'd been limping it along for a while (we didn't buy this one, we inherited it).

On the up side, though, when we installed the cabinets, we put them on rails so that -a- the floor would be level and -b- we could install the wood floor under the front edge of the cabinets and not have to use quarter round trim. Bonus: when the dishwasher floods the kitchen, the cabinets don't get wet! YAY!

We're out of cash for a dishwasher just now, so it looks like we'll be handwashing for a while. In the meantime, anybody have a recommendation for relatively low-end dishwasher they love? (We're not in the market for a Miele or Bosch - this is going to be a Lowe's, Home Depot or Sears type purchase.)

Dy

13 comments:

Emily (Laundry and Lullabies) said...

We're happy so far with our Kenmore QuietGuard 4. It came from Sears. I don't know how much it cost, because it was actually a replacement through a home warrenty policy. And we've only had it for about a year or less, so I can't vouch for how long it will work...but it does clean our dishes very nicely. :)

ang said...

Sorry to hear your dishwasher died :( Mine hasnt died yet but it never seems to clean anything 100 percent so my 13 year old really wants a new one! maybe she will ask santa for one for christmas :)

Patty in WA or Rover said...

I have two--one at the house and one at the cabin. The one at the house was a lot more money, and the one at the cabin is better. It's a KitchenAid...so is there an "off" label of a KitchenAid? If so, I'd go for that one.

It's quiet, and it works better. Our kitchen is in the middle of our living space, so it's important to have quiet. I'm deaf enough as it is.

Plus, my son is already busy singing Bach's B-minor Mass at the top of his fake but loud soprano. HELP MEEEEEE! I don't need racket from a dishwasher, too!

Ernest said...

An easier method will be to search the web auctions and used-appliance stores for a used one that's in good shape. Find a model at a decent price, then do your Google research and make sure it's a good purchase. You can probably get one of those luxury ones that some suburban housewife had carted off because it no longer matched her decor.

Dee Paolina said...

I just went through this search a couple weeks ago. Drop me a line if you want specific recs. BTW, we ended up buying a Bosch-- $710 including installation.

Daryl at cobranchi dot com

Melora said...

First Smidge and James, then the dishwasher? You are having a week! (I hope this is the end of your drama for a while!). I was popping back to post a sympathetic comment about poor little Smidge (I'm assuming the x-ray showed everything as it should be?), only to see that your appliances have decided to make a bid for sympathy as well.
Good planning on the floor/cabinet thing! Everything in this house is crooked too, but we seem to be going with the "caulk the cracks or slap on some trim" approach. Your way, though, is clever! I like Ernest's idea on the dishwasher, but otherwise have no suggestions. I've done fine with Kenmore before, and this house came with some sort of ancient KitchenAid/Hobart thing that is actually metal inside rather than plastic -- I'm hoping it will be good for years.

melissa said...

Well, when our dishwasher died, we had to wash by hand, and I almost broke every dish that we own. Accidently. We got a GE Nautilus. It is definitly on the lower end, but it has done really well so far. we have had it for about 1 1/2 years. Perhaps we could all send you a pack of paper products to help get you through!

Anonymous said...

Dy,

No recommendations here, but if you get it at Lowes, be sure to go to their website and request the 10% off most any purchase coupon. They'll email it to you.

Signed,
Dishwasherless in Appalachia

Amy said...

Well, I would love for my dishwasher to die so I could buy a new Kitchenaid. I didn't just say that.

I like Kitchenaid. We had an older one when we lived in D.C. and it blew away the GE's we've had in both houses here in TX.

We have an appliance outlet here that sells last year's models and scratch and dent jobs for a discount. Look around for something similar. We got our Kitchenaid fridge for $500 less than the exact same model at Lowe's - it has a small ding at the bottom of one of the doors. Brand new, full warranty and all that. Also got last year's w/d model for about $200 less than the current model - also brand new, full warranty.

I will always buy my appliances like this if I can.

So sorry about your dw. Hope your floors are okay.

Dy said...

Thanks for all the tips, guys.

Amy, the floors are okay... because we still don't have floors. The deck paint on the subfloor seems to have really paid off, though, and thank heaven for a wet/dry vac! WOOHOO!

Andie, thanks for the coupon tip!

Melissa, Zorak cracked up when he read the paper products suggestion. Thanks for the laugh.

Melora, Smidge is okay. Evidently he has good calcification on the cranial region (aka - a hard head *grin*) The appliances get no sympathy! None! I used it all on the kids. :-)

Darryl, thank you, I will email you.

Ernie, that is a great idea, but - auctions? bids? That's way too much work for me right now. But we will hit up the scratch and dent aisles, definitely. Good thinkin'.

Patty, I can just picture the little soprano. That's precious! Loud, but precious.

Thanks, all!
Dy

Laura said...

Well, I'm very late with my advice, but I'll chime in anyway!

When we moved here in Dec. our kitchen had a new KitchenAid dw. It was quiet, sturdy, and held lots of dishes. We loved it. After four months it died. We called in an appliance repairman. The diagnoses: an electronic part had fused. To order a new panel would cost about $350. The repairman let me know that the new appliance standards now required only a one-year warranty. They are considered consumable machines.

So I walked over to the local hardware store, eye-balled their cheapest GE model (no computerized parts, please - easier and cheaper for a repairman to repair if needed) and asked what kind of deal they could give me. I bought the $350 no-frills model for $315, delivery and haul away my old one at no extra charge. The repairmen came back to install it for me since Steve was out of town, and they gave me a good tip: even though the dw material may say that you don't need to rinse the dishes well to remove bits of food, you really do. They said that they've seen so many dw's broken because of the wear on the lines/drain caused by food particles.

So we use it for about half our dishes, and wash the rest by hand. It's okay, because I actually like to wash dishes by hand. (I just don't enjoy drying and putting away, but it's a way to serve my family with joy, right?)

Anonymous said...

Okay, popping in a little late here on the d/w ideas, sorry. My idea for a low-end (ie-cheap) dishwasher...
Hmmmm...I have a 12 yr old I'll rent out to you real cheap! She's pretty good too. :-)
Anyway...enough smart alec remarks from this yahoo.
Thanks so much for your comments, and especially for you prayers for our situation. I really appreciate them!

-dawn (aka-randi) ha! just messing with ya!

Anonymous said...

Hey Dy, I'm in agreement with a lot of your posters here ... you do have four (4) one, two, three, yup four dishwashers running around at your feet. This would be the best opportunity to teach them domestic science. Soap & Water chemical reaction time versus grease and syrup adheisiveness. Or they could play name that random floating veggie, whatever.

My two bits.
J-