Guess I'll be hand-washing dishes....

I went to bed last night while Rick was getting the last of his packing done to leave early this morning. Around midnight or so, I awakened to use the bathroom. And as I walked out the hallway, I could smell "hot". I didn't know what it was, but it smelled like something electrical. Got Dear Richard out of bed and we walked around the house, but couldn't find anything. We always turn the dishwasher on right before we go to bed and it was running. Rick had said that earlier last evening, it smelled like somebody was burning outside, so I went outside, but didn't smell anything. Went down into the basement....nothing. So we went back to bed.

Rick went right back to sleep, but it really bothered me. And the smell wasn't going away. I got back out of bed and started going through the house again. Got Rick back out of bed (he was not amused) and we checked everything again. Still nothing. Then I looked over at the dishwasher again and the red light that says START or RESUME was blinking; that meant that something happened in the cycle. I pressed the START button, but the light still blinked. I think the control panel in the dishwasher was melting, but I'm not sure. The dishwasher was running merrily along, but the light was blinking and it shouldn't have been.

Right after we got that dishwasher, quite a few years ago, I was on the treadmill in the basement one afternoon and I had started the dishwasher before I went downstairs. When I finished on the treadmill, I opened the basement door and started up the steps. And the electrical smell was terrible. But the dishwasher was still running. I immediately turned it off and took all the dishes out. Called the repair-weenie and the control panel had melted that time. I'm really thinking that's what happened last night. That red blinking light didn't change, even though I tried to continue the cycle. Something is wrong. Rick still isn't quite sure about it, but I don't know what else it could be. After we turned the dishwasher off last night, the smell did start to dissipate. But it took a while. And it took a while for me to finally drop off to sleep, too.

I'll call the repair-weenie today, but he won't be able to come in until Monday or Tuesday as I'm taking a couple vacation days then (we don't let anybody in the house if we're not home). So meanwhile, it looks like I'll be washing dishes by hand. (I hate washing dishes. I really hate washing dishes. And we go through a ton of cat food dishes in a day.)

It's a Whirlpool Elite and I've heard of that happening to Whirlpool dishwashers. We've had it now for quite a few years, so maybe we should get rid of it and get a new one. I don't know. I always said that if we bought a new dishwasher, I'd like to put that one in the basement....we've been slowly working on finishing the basement and it would be nice to have a small kitchen down there.

I don't know if it would have started a fire or not. I've read in Consumer Reports about dishwasher fires, so I'm glad I awakened when I did.

So glad that you noticed it and caught it in time.

I love washing dishes. I find it relaxing. I think it's the warm soapy water.  I do have a dishwasher and I do use it, but not daily. Maybe once a week, or every 2, depending on how much cooking, or how often I've done my dishes.  Typically I only put in a load if I haven't done my dishes for a few days and feel lazy. I live alone so I usually just wash them by hand and when I cook, I wash and clean up as I go along so I never really have a lot of dishes to do.

I would vote to get rid of that dishwasher. Two times is enough. Buy some gloves and enjoy playing in the soap suds. :nod:

Dishwashers just aren't made like they were years ago - nothing is.  And Whirlpool has a history of breaking down.  I have a KitchenAid, which is actually a glorified Whirlpool as it turns out.  I've had it for about 4 years and I've had to call service twice already on it.  

I'd probably bite the bullet if you've had it a good many years and have had so many problems.  I hate dishwashing by hand also. I don't even like loading a dishwasher (might be my least favorite home chore).  You might want to chat with the folks over at GardenWeb, which is now owned by Houzz.  They have forums on every imaginable home and garden topic you can think of.  They were a great resource for me when I was planning my kitchen.  Nice community too.  

I really haven't had that many problems; this is the second time. I don't remember how old the dishwasher is. The first time it happened, Banshee was still with us, because I remember her sprawled out on the kitchen floor beside the repair guy and nosing in his toolbox.  So it's been longer than 6 years since it melted the first time. Just talked to the repair guy. A service call is $80 plus time spent in-home. Then whatever parts may be needed. The price of parts had skyrocketed in recent years. Do I really want to invest $350+ into a dishwasher that is older? I don't think so. I texted Rick to see what he thinks and he'll get back to me when he can.

I agree about appliances; they simply aren't built to last anymore. Everything is so disposable these days.

I think we'll be washing dishes by hand for a while, while we do some research on dishwashers. As Rick has often said, "The couple who washes dishes together......"

Yea, the last time we had it fixed, it was only for a broken detergent holder cover.  Was well over $100 with the service call.  The part itself, stupid piece of plastic was like $25 alone.  Robbery.  If we could have fixed it ourselves we would have but...the entire door had to be removed to replace that one little piece!!!  Insane.

I don't like washing dishes by hand but now that it is usually just me I usually do them by hand.  If I were to use the dishwasher I would either have some dishes sit in it for several days before I ran it or run partial loads.  If the dishes are going to sit in it for several days I would have to rinse them really well first so I might as well go ahead and wash them.

It's funny how every once in a while you have an appliance that runs and runs.  I have a 19 year old Whirlpool clothes dryer that still runs fine.  It doesn't have all the extra sensors on it which I think may be why it still runs.  I replaced the washing machine that I got with it 8 years ago.  It still ran but it had started leaking.  I got tired of moving it to mop up after doing laundry.  I am beginning to wonder if this dryer will outlast a second washing machine.  Even if it does I will probably buy a pair the next time unless money is an issue.

Winchester said:

 
I think we'll be washing dishes by hand for a while, while we do some research on dishwashers. As Rick has often said, "The couple who washes dishes together......"

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I don't have a dishwasher in the house I have now but my BF and I wash dishes together every night except when one of us works late or is sick. It gives us time spend together even if it is for a few minutes. We both stay so busy lately that it's the only time we can just relax.

Is the repair person someone from whirlpool? If so, you could think about hiring a non-Whirlpool repair person who will do it for a fraction of the price. They might not be well-versed with the machine but, in my opinion, the machine is old and I assume most dishwashers are the same anyways. For example, at the Apple store, a screen replacement costs $200 but I went to a phone repair shop and they did it for $80. I'm assuming the material they used is not Apple-grade but it works! And looks fine. Plus I saved a lot of money!

In my culture, we hardly use the dishwasher. There's a joke that in Asian households, the dishwasher is just used to dry dishes - which is what we use it for. 

I have never, ever left anything electrical running after going to bed.  Even during the day if I'm doing laundry or using the dishwasher, I never leave the house for a long period of time.  If I'm only going to throw out the trash or check the mail, then I will leave it running but no longer then that.

Try to get your dishes done while you're still awake while watching TV or reading so you know when they are done and everything is ok.  Just adding my 2 cents, I think it's a good idea doing this.

Denice said:

It's funny how every once in a while you have an appliance that runs and runs.  I have a 19 year old Whirlpool clothes dryer that still runs fine.  It doesn't have all the extra sensors on it which I think may be why it still runs.  I replaced the washing machine that I got with it 8 years ago.  It still ran but it had started leaking.  I got tired of moving it to mop up after doing laundry.  I am beginning to wonder if this dryer will outlast a second washing machine.  Even if it does I will probably buy a pair the next time unless money is an issue.

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DH was 20 when he bought what became our first place (a trailer).  I think he had to buy all the appliances because the house had been repossessed and needed TLC.  He bought all used ones.  The stove was harvest gold (we painted it eventually  ) and still working when we moved out 6 years ago.  The dryer he bought turned out to be the same GE one my Grandparents had when I was a kid.  That did eventually die; but it was probably about 20 years old at that point!  Only the refrigerator was newer.  

I briefly chatted with a lady in Lowes last weekend about refrigerators and how some of these new nice looking ones are just not efficient for actually storing and accessing your food.  When we bought our house 6 years ago it was brand new; so all of our appliances are the same age.  That makes me cringe a bit.  Sure they looked great; but I worry they will all start having issues at the same time.  DH isn't impressed with our front loader washer (because you can't soak anything in it) and our dishwasher seems to be doing a poorer job of cleaning things lately.  I keep having to hand wash bowls and plates because they aren't coming out clean.  We are going to try doing a deep cleaning and pray that fixes it.  

I HATE hand washing dishes.  When all my step-siblings were around; we were a family of 7 and my Mom and Step-dad refused to use the dishwasher.  (And the air conditioner.  It's hot here; but I'm tougher for it.  )  I feel like I've already washed enough dishes for a lifetime.    DH and I used a good tax return to buy a dishwasher for that trailer.  We gave up our limited cabinet space and it was completely worth it!  Speaking of; I need to go unload and re-load. 

Natalie_ca said:

 
So glad that you noticed it and caught it in time.

I love washing dishes. I find it relaxing. I think it's the warm soapy water.  I do have a dishwasher and I do use it, but not daily. Maybe once a week, or every 2, depending on how much cooking, or how often I've done my dishes.  Typically I only put in a load if I haven't done my dishes for a few days and feel lazy. I live alone so I usually just wash them by hand and when I cook, I wash and clean up as I go along so I never really have a lot of dishes to do.

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I also live alone but my SO is here quite often.  I don't use my dishwasher very often either.  I do when Russ is here and I have more dishes but sometimes even then I wash by hand.  I wouldn't say I love washing dishes but I don't hate it either.

Oh yeah the one time I had to have a dishwasher service guy come is because it just wouldn't turn on.  Come to find out it was because I wasn't using it enough, he said to turn it on at least every two weeks but I don't turn it on even that often.

LaRussa said:

I have never, ever left anything electrical running after going to bed.  Even during the day if I'm doing laundry or using the dishwasher, I never leave the house for a long period of time.  If I'm only going to throw out the trash or check the mail, then I will leave it running but no longer then that.

Try to get your dishes done while you're still awake while watching TV or reading so you know when they are done and everything is ok.  Just adding my 2 cents, I think it's a good idea doing this.

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I totally agree. We never leave anything electrical running. If I have clothing in the dryer and it is running when we are ready to leave the house I shut it off and restart it when we come home. We're both paranoid about making sure the toaster is unplugged, coffeepot unplugged, etc.

Pam - guess it;'s time for a new dishwasher, but in the meantime --- paper plates!!

Let us know what happens.

Thank goodness you realised when you did. I vote for a new dishwasher too For what it's worth, we've had Bosch dishwashers for years. We replaced our old one a few months ago (it was still working fine, but the dials and surrounding plastic were gradually falling off. It was eventually held together with parcel tape and we had to guess at changing the setting. It still worked fine though!) I think that one was about 12-15 years old though, and it got daily use. Our rule of thumb is go for the simplest models - the fewer functions it has, the less there is go go wrong.

No, the repair person is not from Whirlpool; he is just an appliance repair person and I will say that he's pretty good. We've had him in before, not just for the dishwasher before, but also for our washer in the basement. And perhaps the dryer, too, but I don't remember. His standard fee is $80, plus in-house time.

I won't leave the house and have anything running. Before I go to work, the Keurig is unplugged, the microwave is unplugged, and the dishwasher door is left open just a little, so it won't start during an electrical power surge. We have been running the dishwasher before we go to bed for years, literally years. It saves on our electrical bill to choose a different time than most people; that way, we're not running our dishwasher during what's considered peak hours. Plus, the dishwasher is a little loud, so it's hard for Rick to hear the tv in the living room when the dishwasher is running and when he turns the volume up, I can hear it in the bedroom. It's never been a problem....until last night.

Several years ago, our dryer caught on fire while we were eating dinner one night. And earlier we did go out to vote while it was running. Since it was "just for a few minutes", I didn't bother to turn the dryer off. Thank goodness, it didn't catch fire while we're were out voting.

It's not our dinner plates so much as it is the cats' stuff. Between their meals and then their snacks and such, well, it's nothing for us to use 24 small plates in one day for the six cats. Sometimes more, depending on how often they want a snack.

I texted with Rick after he landed in Portland this afternoon. He told me to start reviewing dishwasher models. So I guess that will be on our need-to-buy list. We still have to buy that microwave, too; we're still using that really old one.

So, washing it is. Lana, I won't use a lot of paper plates. We never really have. I'll probably buy some, though.

I have a Maytag that will be 13 years old this fall. Still works like a charm, no repairs.

The dishwasher is NOT Whirlpool. It is a Kenmore Elite.

Rick and I had a bit of a talk last night and I have started to research what I want. He said it's up to me, since I'm the kitchen guru....he'll go with whatever I want. We run one load of dishes every day; on days when I'm baking or cooking for a big dinner, I'll run two loads....and that's even with me hand-washing items as I go. There's no way I can go without a dishwasher; well, I could, I suppose, but I wouldn't be happy about it.

Last night, I washed up the dinner stuff for the cats and for me. Then later on after their snack, I washed up again. And then I washed their breakfast stuff up this morning. I am not amused.   I don't like dishes sitting in the sink. And I don't want to put dirty dishes in the dishwasher since it's not working. There's an ick factor there....it would stink up the dishwasher, esp the cat food dishes. So I wash as needed.

No Kenmore or Whirlpool

No Kitchen Aid - Rick's mom has one and I hate it. It's a bugger to load.

When we three kids were still living at home, we begged Dad to put in a dishwasher. He always said, "I have three dishwashers!" I hated doing dishes even back then.

I don't know if it's still true but aren't Kenmore appliances actually made by several companies including Whirlpool?  I know there used to be a way to tell which company actually made the appliance by the serial number but I never really knew what the system was.

I found the list of 3 digit numbers that will tell you which company actually made a Kenmore appliance.  At the bottom of the list is where to find the number on each appliance..  It's a 3 digit prefix to the serial number.  http://www.ehow.com/how_5242413_tell-made-kenmore-appliance-sears.html

That's interesting, Denice, thank you! I need to check our number.

I'm so glad your both alright. That could have been a disaster.