Wednesday, January 2, 2013

When It Rains . . .





So we're on our third major appliance purchase in six months; my hubby resuscitated a fourth one from the brink last year. I'm starting to lose faith that any appliance we own will last more than ten years.

We had a twelve year+ washing machine finally kick the bucket last spring. We bought a used one cheap through some shady repo people. It lasted about four months, so we ventured into RC Willey for our first big appliance purchase as a married couple. (Five years last month!) I love the washer we bought, but not the price. :o/

The dryer soon followed, but was replaced by one my sister-in-law gave us. It was fairly new and from Costco. We were grateful and it worked well for about eight months, then went cold on us. We considered having my hubby fix it, but he is already so busy with work and school that we decided to buy a new one. It matches the washer we bought several months prior. (Why are matching appliances important? I don't understand that.)

Anyway, about two weeks ago the dishwasher died. The original dishwasher that came with the house was actually excellent. I loved it, but it hit the ten year mark about six months ago (at the same time as the washer died) and croaked. Sigh. We bought one from a guy on Craigslist. It started leaking in the fall. After spending $30 on parts and about twenty hours working on it, Steve fixed it. We counted our lucky stars and prayed it would continue to work. It didn't. It died the week before Winter Break and Christmas. It couldn't have happened at a worse time.

Luckily, we have RC Willey nearby. I've been a customer of RC Willey for about eighteen years, but honestly, I haven't used them this much (with the exception of the original washer/dryer I bought with my ex-husband in 1995, a couch in 1997, and a fridge in 2003) until last year. They've been more than happy to see me walk in and spend money though.

Thus begins the dishwasher saga.

We bought a great dishwasher, but they didn't have the color we wanted. It had to be shipped from Salt Lake, so we came back the following day for it. We got it home, rolled it up to the house, and it was leaking water ALL over the place! There was no sign it had sat in snow/rain and it was wet inside. With our luck it was broken.

We called RC Willey. They said to bring it back. It was too late for us to get there, so we arranged to bring it back the next day when the NEW dishwasher they were replacing it with would show up on yet another truck from Salt Lake. When we exchanged the dishwashers, the warehouse worker told us that the original dishwasher had probably been tested at the factory and that's why it leaked. Really?!?! No one else had mentioned that. Thanks for telling us!!!

We picked up the new, new dishwasher the night before our trip to Utah. It was too late to make a run to Home Depot or Lowe's, so it sat on our kitchen floor while we were gone. (Did I mention we ripped out the tile in the hallway, dining room, and kitchen? It's cement until we're ready to re-tile. That's why there's an ugly floor in the picture above.) My sweet hubby ran to Home Depot tonight after getting back from our trip to buy the part we need to hook it up. (He's that kind of a good hubby.) After two weeks I'm ready to use my new, steam-option dishwasher!

We've decided that when it rains, it pours. Our fridge is next. It's over ten years old now. It makes weird noises sometimes. I'm sure that it is waiting until the very worst moment in 2013 to give up the ghost. Yeah. I can't wait. 

P.S. As soon as I posted this, my hubby informed me that RC Willey had sold us the wrong dishwasher! This one had no electrical plug to plug it in. There are 2 models of this one. We were sold/given the wrong one. See what I mean? Appliances hate me.  ;o)

P.S.P.S. 1/3/13: Steve called RC Willey this morning and they informed him that most dishwashers do not come with electric cords anymore. They are purchased separately!!! Would've been nice for our salesman to inform us of this. Steve bought the cord at Home Depot, attached it, plugged everything in, and it works beautifully!!! Finally!!!

Copyright 2013 Corrina L. Terry
Photo credit: Joshua Rhodes

2 comments:

  1. We still have the first clothes washer we bought, back in Charleston. The dryer, though...

    Sometimes our dryer wouldn't work. Just wouldn't turn on. It was from Sears, so we called them for a repair. My husband happened to be home when the guy came. The repair guy would not speak to me at all, and suggested to my husband that I'd caused the problem by not cleaning the lint screen regularly. Which was not true. Obnoxious, huh?

    A few weeks later the dryer quit again. So I called again. This time a more sensible person answered, who said the thing was obviously defective, and sent a replacement around right away. The second dryer still serves us well.

    I expect our microwave/oven combo is newer than the washer and dryer. It works fine, except that a spring broke in the latch. They don't make that kind of spring any more. I'd hate to lose the whole unit because of one spring, so we keep picking up the latch after it falls on the floor, over and over...

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  2. T---So you understand where I've been with this! I can't believe a repairman talked to your husband about you like that! WEIRD!

    Hang onto the micro/oven. Trust me. If it works otherwise, keep it until it dies. It's not worth replacing it all. Appliance purchasing is such a hassle!!!

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