I always call when I’m on my way home from work. I call it the “Protocall”, because it would be a serious breach of protocol should I not call (words are my playdoh).
Wednesday night was no exception.
But instead of a delighted spouse, I reached a frustrated wife. A wife who was on her last gram of patience, because once again, the dishwasher quit.
Alert readers will instantly recall that just last year, this same dishwasher quit working, requiring two service calls and a nearly two-week period of hand washing dishes. A period that ended with the aforementioned wife declaring that she was most assuredly not seeing the positive side of the dishwasher’s hiatus, and that she was definitely not cut out for washing dishes by hand on a daily basis.
Also note that this dishwasher was in fact purchased last year.
Fortunately for us, though, I sprung the extra bucks to buy the extended warranty. Which means the repair jobs will be free for the next three years.
Buying that extra protection marks the third truly good decision I’ve made throughout my entire life (for most of the others, the jury’s still out).
The service guy was able to come out yesterday, and he had the replacement part on his truck. A miracle? Yes, I think so.
“So, this dishwasher isn’t that old. And it had this same thing happen just last year,” I pointed out, as “Ed” was wrapping up the job.
“Hmmm.” He said, thoughtfully.
“Is this a common problem with this model?” I asked, leading him to give me the dirt on it.
“No,” he said. “It’s just that it shouldn’t get wet. The water drops over the edge of the counter and gets into the front panel. Or if you squirt cleaner on it, the liquid seeps behind it and messes up the contacts.”
“Oh,” I said. “So, in short, we shouldn’t get the dishwasher wet.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Maybe I’m not seeing the big picture here, but isn’t kind of a sure thing that an appliance that actually flings hot, soapy water around and sits next to the sink in the middle of a kitchen working with food and cleaning supplies, might get a little moist from time to time?”
“Well, it’s not built to take it,” he said.
Ah.
I’ve learned something. Don’t get the dishwasher wet.
Now we know.
So I’m wondering if this is true of all dishwashers? Or is this a design flaw in yours? It seems the controls should be sealed so moisture can’t get in to them!!! How frustrating!
I don’t think I will ever buy another Kenmore product. I wont ever buy a Maytag because I had one of their washers and had lots of problems. The next time we have to buy appliances we will have to ask if they can get wet. I wonder about the washing machine??? Is it safe to be around water????
I’m just glad you bought the extended warranty. More often than not, it’s a complete waste of money as I can attest to a real horror story along those lines.
Our dishwasher has a handle that somewhat hoods the panel, plus it’s recessed a bit from the edge of the counter so if anything were to spill off of it, it wouldn’t hit the dishwasher. Now I know why they installed it like that.
Soooo funny, I was just congratulating my Kenmore this morning for the excellent job it did on my nasty, greasy chicken-fat covered glass skillet. Of course, I do not have the quantity of dishes you folks do so next time I am up there I will examine that machine, okay?
Maybe mine is happy because it is not overworked.