You know, I am starting to think that I might be one of the very rare people on the earth who are not necessarily saving time by owning appliances.
Last night, the dishwasher suffered a relapse. A few weeks ago it had stopped draining, and was filled with water that … well. Some of you might be eating. Let’s just say it was gross. (Use your imagination and know that you are probably falling short of the mark. ) Joe and I disconnected the hose from the pipe under the sink, cleaned it out and drained the thing into a bucket for about 9 loads, all of which were pretty much boiling water, baking soda and vinegar. Whatever was blocking the hose seemed to clear, and we were back in business, seemingly having fixed the thing with a minimum of money and upset, which was excellent, since we are usually so short on the former and long on the latter. (I’m glossing over the episode contained in that interval in which I emptied the bucket full of odious and fetid crap into the sink without thinking… and had the whole thing pour out of the hole in the pipe and into my cabinets. I don’t want to think of it, and besides, I’m not proud of how I behaved.)
That seemed to do enough penance for the thing, and life carried on with our dishwasher draining, which I really didn’t realize I was this emotionally attached to, but there you have it. (I’m a reasonably recent initiate to dishwashers. This is the first one I’ve ever had, and I constantly think of it as “the gift that keeps on giving”. Life changing piece of equipment.) It kept on working until last night, when Joe opened it and discovered it still full of steaming dish-slag, and we realized that it might take more than baking soda to lick this one. I got the screwdriver, thinking that maybe threatening it with tools might possibly get it to shape up, and then realized that really, I don’t know what I’m doing and I’d likely do more harm then good, and besides, Joe was going to fetch some sort of “enzyme stuff” that would likely fix it, and so I put down the screwdriver and backed away from the appliance.
This morning though, this morning I don’t know what came over me. I sat at my desk and I was so far away from fixing anything there, and the kids are so far away from being done either, and I looked at my inbox and my knitting and my writing and everything that needed doing and I snapped. I snapped and I thought “SOMETHING is going to come of today, damn it all” and I took up the screwdriver, and…
I disassembled the dishwasher. I didn’t take it all the way apart, thwarted by needing something a friend told me is called a “socket wrench”, and I can’t quite find the thingie that the repair website says has to come apart to be “cleared” but I did take a lot of screws out of that bastard, and I’m not taking no for an answer. I have a feeling I’m in over my head, and that I might not be fixing anything, and that a smarter woman would just look for another place to take repair money out of the budget, but I’m not a smarter woman. I’m me, and that’s all I’ve got.
There is a little good news though. While I’ve had it apart (and I’m not sure it will go properly back together) I did discover, down under that flying saucer part that won’t come out without the “socket wrench” a single, disgusting, bashed up PENNY, that may have been part of the problem, and certainly can’t have been doing the beast any favours. It was under the grate that is supposed to keep that sort of thing out, and I extracted it with a 4mm aluminum double pointed needle, and the aforementioned screwdriver.
I don’t know if that fixed it. I’d have to figure out how to properly reassemble the thing to know, and I was feeling a little down about it. Then I talked with Rachel H on the phone and I felt a lot better, ’cause as Rachel pointed out, so far today, I’ve turned a profit. I might not have solved my problem, but dudes I did make a penny!
I’m no appliance repair guy, but I’m totally in the black.
You took apart the dishwasher? Brava–you are braver than I…..
A penny? I feel like I should have some tale of a story to guess how a penny ended up in your dishwasher.
i feel your dishwasher pains – yours without draining, ours without hot water (water heater’s busted)…. between the two of us we have a functioning one 😉
I too have had the same plumbing revelation that you can’t pour water into a sink/tub/pipe that has been disconnected for repairs. It always hits us a split second too late.
Dude! There are so many of your posts that strike a familar cord with my life. Good luck getting Humpty Dumpty back together again!
We had an errant cherry pit once destroy a dishwasher. Better to take things apart at this stage, definitely.
Great! Celebrate your new found fortune by buying yarn! That is, unless you need it to replace the dishwasher. Fingers and DPNs crossed…
(We later found metal shavings on the floor from the motor where the pit was lodged, which explained the loud grinding noises before the thing gave up the ghost entirely.)
In response to your question from yesterday, I decided to see where this whole “Yarn Harlot” thing began. OK. So not the Harlot thing, but at least the blog. I went WAY back to January 2004. It was very interesting. One of the things I noticed was how the number of comments left have changed. There were some with six comments, or maybe 14, but yesterday when I popped in, there were 303 comments! What a difference five years can make, eh? It was also funny to read about your mother-in-law getting excited over you having something published in “an actual book”. If she could have seen into the future then…
Hm…must be something in the air. I woke up this morning and decided it would be a good day to remodel son’s bedroom (l-o-n-g overdue). But since we live in an old house, this involves tearing down of actual walls and ceiling, removing floor layers and insulation, redoing wiring, etc. All the sheetrock has gone to the dump today. Will tackle ceiling, floor, and insulation tomorrow. And then I suppose we should figure out how we want to put it back together. 🙂 Pics to come on my blog.
I’m sorry your dishwasher is so uncooperative. That’s just not cool of it. When I first moved in, my was set to drain through the air gap, instead of to the sink drain, so every time I ran it, it sprayed water all over the counter and floor. Fortunately, I test ran it empty, so it wasn’t dirty water. I probably could have fixed it myself, but plumbing isn’t my strength, so I made the guy who sold me the place get it taken care of.
But I do know of other cases where the threat of disassembly has made appliances behave, so best of luck with yours!
Congrats! You’ll only have a problem if you end up with spare parts. Go Steph!
Just in case being penniless doesn’t help the dishwasher, have you considered “Writing for dollars”? I sometimes do “Nursing for dollars” and take an extra shift at the hospital when in need. You could totally submit the story of the Sir Washie transition to ‘This Old House’ magazine! You write so well, perhaps it’s time to try other venues? You might have to have it proof read extra to make sure the word yarn didn’t sneak in somewhere.
I shouldn’t really be commenting, because ALL my friends say that I have bad karma when it comes to appliances — all my brand new appliances, dishwashers, washing machines, dryers, you get the idea — all of them breakdown within the first year and keep breaking down every year thereafter. I’m one of those rare people that pay for extended warranties, and actually use them and save money for buying the warranties.
So, I admire you for taking apart your dishwasher — it sure beats the heck out of waiting for 6 hours for the repair man to come, take a look, say he needs to order a part, and will be back in 2 weeks with said part. . . .
I’m knocking on wood and thinking happy thoughts that the penny was the culprit and that reassembly of Mr Dishwasher will go smoothly. These thoughts will keep me from the terror associated with the major rehab my own home is about to undergo. Nothing brings it home like the delivery of a 30-yard dumpster and a storage pod. Any money that I imagine having is about to disappear into the great void known as home improvement. At least I’m helping a segment of the economy.
I completely understand the desire to get SOMETHING done. I’ve turned to baking, though, since it’s something I can (usually) do with the baby in the sling, it involves the older two kids, and plus you get to eat something yummy at the end of it. But then there are all those dishes to wash…
We moved here five years ago, and that’s when we finally got a dishwasher (seeing as how there was a big spot in the kitchen where one was supposed to go). I don’t use it much though since we tend to run out of bowls before we have a full load. I know, we should just buy more bowls, right? I’ll add it to the list of things that never get done.
I know I haven’t said it recently but.. did you know I think you are amazing?
I hope you unplugged ‘er before getting in there with a screwdriver!
I really think that your readers should contribute to the purchase of a new dishwasher for you! If we all chipped in a few matching pennies….
Further proof that dpns are an optimal tool for household repairs
As the owner of no dishwasher whatsoever, and the mother of 3 children (most of whom are not old enough to be dishwashers either), I have no sympathy to spare for you.
we had the same problem a while back; the machine wouldn’t work right, there was such a nasty smell coming from it too. We finally broke down and had the plumber in. He fixed it, sort of, and we now just use it to store chips & whatnot when company comes over. at least we keep the counters clean ! lol
Ah, the beauty of renting! Call the super – fixed and no charge! (luckily mine has not broken yet – let’s hope this doesn’t jinx it)
How did that penny get in there??
Good luck with the dishwasher and all the rest… thanks for keeping me laughing.
My appliance repair guy says people most often screw up their dishwashers with hard objects caught in the mechanism at the bottom of the machine: silverware usually, but a penny qualifies. He also recommends running a cycle (empty) with white vinegar every 6 months or so to clear out the mineral deposits and general gunk that builds up. Hope the penny was the end of your problem.
Perhaps you should branch out into “appliance humor”. “The Tales of Mr Washie and Friends” or something along that line. My husband (the electrical engineer) kept repairing an old washer that we had (which was only supposed to be a temp appliance that we bought used when our previous washer started discharging water into the downstairs apt, as it was cheaper than renting a washer for the 6 wks before we moved cross country and also cheaper than the laundromat for 6wks for a family of 7 including a baby in cloth diapers and a not-quite potty trained toddler). For repair parts, he had to visit the dusty back room of the appliance store with the clerk b/c the washer was so old the parts didn’t come up on the computer. While I appreciate having a handy husband, I finally put my foot down after 6 #@*&^! yrs and 3 moves with the beast and a perpetually sore right knee since the only way to restart the beast when it went off balance was to either start the load over from the beginning (a huge waste of water since it usually went off balance in the final rinse) or put my back to the washer and deliver 3 or 4 hard “mule kicks”. Sears was having a huge appliance sale and I had a coupon for extra $$ off….12 years and still working (knock wood).
did you check to make sure the machine is level? If, in all of it’s shaking and whirring, it has released from its moorings under your counterspace, the water may be zigging when it needs to zag to get to the drain. This happened to me once, and that nasty water drained thru the subfloor and into the basement. Talk about gross.
I’ve done that to our dishwasher before. Nah, it didn’t fix it, but it sure did make me feel better to get in there a go at it with the screwdriver. (Better than a hammer, which is really what I felt like using. lol)
Since you have it open, you should just feel around in there to make sure there are no other blockages like bits of jar labels, etc. Undrained water sitting in the bottom probably means a blockage, and you just keep of taking off the layers of the bottom thingie until you find it. Not putting anything with labels in the dishwasher has helped us a lot!
Ahhh…the small successes in life!
I think perhaps my favorite aspect of your tales is the fact that needle size is always thoughtfully included. NOT a 3.5mm needle, nor a 4.5mm needle, but a 4mm needle. Only this will do the job. 🙂
Well…this is just not your year with appliances…
Good for you for working on it on your own. Hopefully getting the penny out it clears up.
Congratulations. You deserve some happy thoughts. How about a school based on knitting: http://postgazette.com/pg/09065/953555-298.stm
Something is wrong with our dishwasher (for at least 6-8 months now) and I vowed we will not replace it (or any thing electronic or furniturish) until our 2 adult biys move out (hopefully by start of summer), because they are the ones who take everything for granted and are usually responsible for something breaking or otherwise being diminished.
Perhaps you would feel better if you hilite the knitting content of this post.
Bon chance on the reassembly.
I hate it when appliances decide to act up. Mine is a portable, and I have to fill it manually, as the connector hose to the faucet is too corroded with our hard water to let enough water in. Luckily it does still drain. Must be the gross filthy water helps keep that hose clear.
Here’s hoping the penny clears the problem And that you (or someone free) can re-assemble Mr Dishy.
You are very brave.
Now go out and enjoy the warm temps – I saw a crocus this morning!!
I just have to know whether it was a Canadian penny or whether one of the American ones that so often turn up in change conspired with the dishwasher to bring down a Canadian household.
Way to McGiver that penny out! Having a very hands-on toddler at home has taught me how to fish many small objects out of immovable objects. Brava!
While you’ve got the tools out and are in the fixing mood, can you come over here and fix our oven? Oh,yeah,and our furnace is now making a funny “I want to start running but not so much” noise right now.*sigh* I guess I need to go call the furnace guy. Can you loan me your penny to help pay for the repair?!?
We had the non-draining problem with our Dishy and the repairperson showed me the white “stick-up-thingee” in the front, lower right corner of the washer. If that is not free to easily move up and down (signaling Dishy that it has enough water in filling and then draining), it will not drain. Now I periodically pull that off and clean it to be certain that Dishy will keep going. It is old, but knowing all the places to keep clean has kept it going.
I’m so glad you’ve got your energy back and doing something not only productive, but financially advantageous! A penny saved is a penny earned they say. Hope it did the trick and goes back together with all parts accounted for.
Uh-Oh. It’s not the dishwsher – it’s jealousy. Remember the water leak? Some part of the kitchen got a new wall and door framing. Now the other components of the kitchen has been possessed with jealousy and will not rest until they too have been upgraded. AND, they witnessed the removal of Mr. Washie. I’d personally blame the cabinets. They want new drawer pulls and perhaps a new countertop. They will sabotage until they get their way. They do not care if the dishwasher’s feelings are hurt if/when it is removed and (gasp) thrown away. Counter (pardon the pun) the insurgence and buff up the finish on the cabinets and maybe reline the drawers with new paper. Good luck.
I have a love hate relationship with my dishwasher as well. I love how I don’t have to wash things in the sink but I hate how not all my dishes get clean in the dishwasher. Everyonce in a while when it gets so bad, we take ours part as well. I doze it with vinegar on a regular basis. I have well water that is not so “soft”.
Maybe the penny is your lucky penny.
I referred to the little screen screw in thingy as a “domaflickus” because I still don’t know what the hell they are called and asked my superintendent for one . Also asked for a “whatchamacallit” for the toilet tank. He figured out what it was I needed and all was well, and no I am not a blonde .Taking a piece of machinery APART and fixing it is like asking me to knit a wedding shawl in two days. foget it altogether –machines that don’t work the way they should are TOTALLY out of bounds for me. I REALLY applaud you for doing it though and hope you figure out how to reasemmble it. You never cease to amaze me . Good Luck
Oh,by the way,our dishwasher is the ONLY appliance in the house that hasn’t behaved like a tantrumming two year old in during the past six months.Yeah,furnace guy.Must go call him.Want heat tonite.
What a coincidence, I fixed my garbage disposal last night with threats and a wooden spoon. The screwdriver was my last resort…
You’ll have to stop scouring fleece in it you know.
Ha, I love that you used a DPN to fish out the penny!
Good for you! I love how you used a knitting needle as a plumbing tool. Intrepid.
I took apart the vacuum this week. Spring is in the air…
I unthinkingly poured a nasty bucket of water like that back into the sink…straight on to my dad’s face! The fury I faced from him was worse than the horrendous clean-up job. Go buy a socket wrench set. They are useful and you will still have it later if you need it again.
The bread knife is my favourite tool. Waving it around makes me feel invincible and it gets my dearly beloved’s attention! Enough for one day, settle down with a beverage of your choice and that fantastic shawl you’re working on. Good Luck!
I am so with you on this one. You’re my hero……
Back again to say that I just posted a pic on my blog of this knitter’s household destruction for today. After a satisfying day of mighty big mess-making, I’m off for a well-deserved evening of knitting now. You too, I hope. Enjoy!
What size socket wrench do you need? I have metric and standard.
I stuff it in the post for you. 🙂
I’ve tucked a 4mm dpn into the junk drawer in the kitchen just in case the dishwasher mutinies. 🙂 I hope you’ve fixed yours! I like mine because the cups glasses etc. used during the day are in there, and not in the sink. We call her Martha, as in Martha in the Bible story, because she stays in the kitchen and works. 🙂
Well, our dishwasher has been broken since my mom tried to fix it last…spring? Maybe longer? She ended up taking some twirly thing out and then finding a washer that was out of place and the thing underneath it…which was in many pieces.
It has been broken since then, with some dishes in it we just don’t have the heart to take out. We keep hoping it will get fixed and we won’t have to wash them along with all the others we already have to worry about.
I wish you better luck with your endeavors.
Simply put: You are my hero!
Dude! You really CAN do anything, can’t you? And I bet your butt crack didn’t even show!
I enjoy your stories so much. I’m sorry you’re fighting with appliances (again) but you’ve got a wonderful way of finding the funny. Have a great weekend.
But what’s wrong with doing dishes by hand? In all honesty, I don’t think that I’ve ever used a dishwasher to do my dishes. The dishwasher in my apartment is more of a place for me to let my dishes dry. XD
The yin and the yang of life (and dishwashers) … one penny curled up against a dishwasher which will take humungous amounts of pennies to fix. One dishwasher against a super hero super woman … yang and yin … you place your penny as a bet on whom you think will win. My (unbent, unwashed) penny is on SPMP.
And ps hope the UTI will know who is boss too and disappear off into the Pzone layer (that’s like the Ozone ……)
ROFL– saved by a knitting needle! That penny may have been most of the problem. A partially blocked drain is almost as good as a fully blocked one… Hope it decided to work again. I know how they change lives. I’m back to handwashing now that I”m alone, but I remember the good days of dishes on autopilot! 🙂
From the Sock-Shaped State, Marjorie (in the heel)!
OK, now can you get rid of the odor that comes out of my dishwasher after it has cleaned my dishes? Darned if I can get rid of it. Any suggestions? Don’t you just hate wasting good knitting (or baking or reading or shopping) time on these activities? Thanks for letting us know we’re all in this together.
You just made my day. 🙂
Hooray for you! I’m certain the penny contributed (heh) to the problems there. And hopefully, it’s really and truly fixed. I totally freaked out some people when I mentioned that I routinely take the back off my dryer and clean it out. Lots of lint and stuff totally escapes that wire thingy and then just hangs out in the escape part. One even told me that the lint needed to stay there so the dryer wouldn’t squeak. Weird. I’ve found socks, a grocery list and part of a catnip mouse in there too. I’m not sure how the mouse got in there..I really don’t wash them.
All together now, people. How DID the penny get in the dishwasher?
I think the answer is to lower our standards of cleanliness.
Sounds like life has caught up with you as it does to all of us every once in a while. Hope the dishwasher and the essays all work themselves out.
wow, I only get money back from the couch and the dryer, never from the dishwasher! way to go!
I had the same problem with my dishwasher a few years ago. It was a pump that needed to be replace. He bought the part on-line and put it in himself. And it cost less than $50.
Thanks for the heads up on the socket wrench. Our usually quiet dishwasher started growling like a baby sasquatch a few days ago…
Going to let Husband do the screwdriver part with this one. My skill is Hoover repair.
Good thing that a 4mm needle did the trick. I’m guessing you would have been out of luck if you had to find a 4.5! I hope you can get him back together again!
Forgive me for finding laughter in your adversity. Actually, it was just giggling until the part when you got the penny out with the 4mm needle. Then I laughed.
Watch out for the rest of your appliances. In my experience, there’s a kind of peer pressure exhibited amongst things that plug in. You might want to baby your microwave for a little while.
Steph, I’m sorry I cast a curse unwittingly yesterday. I was predicting whether MY washer or dishwasher would go out to keep the dryer and the furnace company, not yours!
Unfortunately, the word this morning is that the dryer’s motor is moribund, and that although it started working again on its own, it will stop at any moment. So for now, I guess I will do laundry only during the day when I could hang clothes outside if it’s above freezing, or get to the laundromat or my parents’ house during reasonable hours. And then we will buy a new dryer soon, because it’s just about the same price as replacing the motor….Nice repair guy, he didn’t charge us, because he didn’t find the problem the first time.
Way to go with the DPN. Hope it all goes back together (and I have a socket wrench, doesn’t Joe somewhere? They’re very handy, especially for bicycles).
I was wondering what all those angry Twitters were about. I was sitting there, staring at my phone, trying to piece it all together.
I hereby officially warn all of you to NEVER put paper in your dishwasher (I know you’re not putting sheets of it in there, but things like labels and price stickers can sneak in). It eats up the works and causes no end of problems. Here ends the PSA.
I have been there with that questionable “water” in the bottom. Not a pretty site. Remember, “see a penny pick it up, all the day you’ll have good luck.” Hope all is well with your repairs.
Oh yes! Have been there done that. My brother in-law went hunting, my sister and I decided to “fix” the dishwasher that he had left until hunting season was over. Round here that can be upwards of 6 weeks.
Yep, screw driver, butter knife a jug of Rossi Burgandy and we were in business. We found a Barbie shoe, one small hoop earring and a piece of a cup handle. Revenge I suppose for making the 10 year olds responsible for loading and unloading the dish washer.
Our revenge….We left the trashed dishwasher on his side of the garage and went and bought a new one at Sears. LOL
Going to disassemble machinery now, esp the plumbing kind….seems the only way to get a positive cash flow….
Back when we had a dishwasher, it ended up being the drain gap that was clogged. Who looks to the edge of the sink to fix a dishwasher problem? Anyway, it’s all hand-washing for us now. We don’t have to use extra dishes to fill the machine, and running warm water over one’s hands is quite soothing.
Yet another beautiful example of why metal double-points are the way to go! Nice going Madam MacGuyver!
VICTORY!
That picture was actually a familiar and nostalgic sight, as my mother had very warm feelings for our dishwasher, and used to disembowel it regularly for health check ups. By the time she sold the house, it was so old, we all had to wash the dishes before we put them in there, anyway.
Okay, I don’t have much experience with dishwashers, but I can tell you from years of experience with computers – as long as you don’t lose any parts, if you take it apart you can eventually put it all back together. I have faith in your plumbing mojo. Anyone who can make beautiful lace out of what is essentially toothpicks and dental floss can totally kick a dishwasher’s ass.
Steph, I admire you so much.I did the same thing to my 15 year old maytag dishwasher two years ago, then had to call the repair guy to diagnose the trouble.I paid him, but he didn’t really fix it. The ex husband came over and solved it,there was something not right about the bend in the hose under the floorboard – which was accessible in the basement.I spent 3 weeks handwashing dishes.Aarrgh! Every dish, glass, piece of silverware.Life is too short to hand wash dishes.There’s knitting (and spinning)to be done.
I hope you didn’t harm your knitting needles. I don’t allow mine to be used as tools in the war against household appliances. I just tell my husband something is broken, then I stand back and let him go at it. I find it’s best to stay as far away as possible till he signals the all clear. Occasionally he will send me to find some tool — like a socket wrench — which of course I can never find (for gods sakes HE can’t find anything in HIS garage, why does he think for minute I can??) even if I knew what it was he wanted. anyway, not the most efficient method, but it works for us, and we’re still married. (btw, I pocket ALL money found in the washer and Dryer — my mother always called that the Washer Woman’s Pay)
You’re a far, far braver woman than I. For some minor plumbing, and extremely simple carpentry projects, I will tackle things myself, especially if I get to use power tools, but for appliances I just call the man. However, I LOVE that you got the penny out with a 4mm needle. Shows that it’s money well spent on our tools and stashes, don’t you think?
YOU GO GIRL!!!! I have fixed the oven (twice!), the dryer (once), the pouring on the floor plumbing under the sink….YOU CAN DO IT!!! I am so proud of you! Now, I must concede that each of those repairs took many hours in the day, the first time they were fixed, but I came out of each with new tools (I have my OWN set of tools, separate from the man person) and a supreme satisfaction….that I did it and that I didn’t spend $180 for each repair! You’ll figure out how to put it back together..or someone else will hee hee
And a second You Go Girl! I admire anyone that tackles the mysteries of appliances. I’m still in a bit of glow from installing an undercounter light. Not in the dishwasher league but made me happy.
I really do suggest getting your own tool chest {though I don’t recommend trying to knit one unless you like working with steel wool. Maybe Debbie New…? }
In college I was in need of a VCR, and found one in an alley next to a dumpster. I plugged it in and tried it and it didn’t work, so I took it apart and looked around. Not knowing quite what else to do, I picked it up and shook it rather forcefully, and wouldn’t you know it– a bright shiny penny flew out. After clearing out some of the dust, I put the top back on, plugged it in, and it worked! I kept the thing for the next 4 years.
With having to scrape all the plates and rinse everything clean before loading it into the dishwasher, it always seemed like it wasn’t really saving me that much effort. I have to admit, I don’t really mind not having a dishwasher. (I do miss the way it stores dishes in the in-between stage, though.)
Just remember not to keep your new found penny and its many other penny friends in a jar by the sink with a garbage disposal. That was an ugly day.
I just love the way you write about day-to-day stuff and make it hysterically funny, although I’m sure the experiences themselves aren’t always so 😉
I have friends here in Australia who refer to their dishwasher as the ‘magic cupboard’ which I think is a good description.
Here’s hoping the penny was the problem. I can’t wait to read about your adventures in putting the thing back together ………….
Way to look on the bright side!!!!!!!! The shiny copper bright side! BTW TOTALLY identify with you re ordering the pizza in your head… I still think we may be mind-twins. Here’s hoping you have machine cleansed dishes very soon!
My grandmother – -who lived a long, rather isolated life on a farm — would advise that you label the parts as you take them out…thereby facilitating getting them back in the correct order. (Numbering is good.)
Good luck!
Ok, so I’m really inept in the kitchen. For years I’ve been saying the only thing I can do in the kitchen is eat take-out over the sink. Just how do you get enough white vinegar in the dish washer to clean it? I mean, where do you put it? That little cup for the soap wont’ hold much vinegar.
Thanks for the info on the labels. Silly me. I’ve been thinking the dish washer is an easy way to get the labels off the jars!
Obviously I need help with more than just knitting.
That aluminum needle you used? Was it…flinch…a Signature needle? One of those expensive ones?
I hope not!
Perhaps this is a problem that could be cured with a little respect. Perhaps you shouldn’t curse at me all over Twitter. Perhaps you should knight me and hereafter speak to me with a wee bit of reverence. Perhaps I might be more willing to serve you for years to come. Hmmm?
You fixed something with a knitting needle! Rock on! (or at least alleviated a symptom…)
If you reassemble your dishwasher in the same week you mastered the lace shawl, I will be forever in awe of you! Looking forward to future posts…
You probably saved the dishwasher AND you used a knitting needle to do it! I’ll bet the plumber would have needed a $75 tool to extract the copper blockage;)
What I love most about your dis-assembly is that you appear to have removed the dish rack with all the dishes still in place! And why not? They’re obviously not clean yet.
A woman after my own heart.
ah, dishwashers. keep heart! 2008 was my year of living petulantly until I managed to install a working dishwasher from craigslist – and I installed and uninstalled three of them, finally re-installing the second one after I’d found a neat little green sheet of paper with wiring diagrams and instructions to RESET the machine! it wasn’t draining and none of the internet research pages helped, but this little sheet had a 12-step button pushing program to re-orient the little computer brain. happiness! we love the swishing and sloshing of the cleaning, and gurgling of the water draining 🙂 my hands are not aching from detergent or smelling of waterproof gloves. I wish you much luck with your d-i-y dishwasher repair. (remember, there is always some part left over!)
Google. Someone out there has a repair manual for your dishwasher, and I’ll bet Google knows where it is.
Make, model number, serial number (might not need that, but you never know), and Google.
I’ve been taking apart my laptop and old CD player lately. The laptop still works . . . the player doesn’t. 1 for 2, but the more expensive one isn’t any worse! lol
Hooray for turning a profit! :o)
I never thought I needed a dishwasher, until I got one. OMG – how the heck did I bring up three kids without one? I hope to goodness the pennies stay out of mine, as I really wouldn’t know what to do if it gave up on me. Shudder!
Just another step towards your own DIY network! Keep it up hon, you’re doing great! I have two, well three dishwashers in my house. They are me, and my two daughters..lol Ah, the luxury!
Fiona Ellis and I are going to get aquainted in Inspired Faire Isle Knits tonight, with a whiskey. Have a great weekend!
It’s a little late now, but that’s when it’s most fun to give advice, isn’t it? A digital camera is wonderful for documenting a taking apart so that you have lovely pictures to help you put back together.
You go girl!! Love your tool kit – who else but a woman could fix a dishwasher with a DPN? That – along with a hammer and a blowdryer is probably all that is needed to solve most of a household’s dilemmas.
I got a new dishwasher for Valentine’s day, and I’m SO PSYCHED. My old one sounded like a dying puppy every time it ran. My new one sounds like…well, not much at all, really. You may want to look into that.
Harlot, you had me all bummed reading through this post, till I cursored down to see the washer in pieces – – and I frankly lost it. Fell out laughing and then you summed it up after the discussion with Rachel H. I am sitting at the airport and had tears running down my face. I do hope this beast gets fixed, but thank you for the lop sided humor.
Our dishwasher plugged up while I was away visiting my parents for a week. My husbands solution was to pour heavy duty drain cleaner down the sink which promptly shot back up inside the dishwasher damaging several pieces of cutlery and dishes. When he realized what had happened, he opened the dishwasher and sent a deluge of toxic water out across the kitchen floor. (fortunately old ceramic tile) My son (16) immediately left the house, refusing to return until the smell was gone, my husband grabbed the closest things available to mop up, unfortunately my beautiful linen tea towels, now sadly expired. Needless to say I was glad I was away at the time. The problem ended up being electrical but we did manage to get it fixed for less than buying a new dishwasher.
I hope you get things back together again with good results.
I agree with whoever said that you are a brave woman–I could never have garnered the moxie that it must have took to tear that dishwasher (almost) all the way apart.
And, can I just say, I love that you removed the offending penny with a double pointed needle. Just further proof that knitting solves everything.
A few years ago, I had a huge success when I single handedly installed our new dishwasher while my hubby was at work. It had been sitting there in the middle of the kitchen, mocking me… and I decided that I was not going to wash one more dish by hand.
I, too have the same talent for forgetting that you can’t pour water into a sink that is not actually connected to the drain. The same way I never remember that you cannot turn on lights or use the microwave when the electricity is out.
Dude. A penny? How did you manage to get a PENNY in your DISHWASHER??? In the washing machine I could understand, but… the dishwasher?
Many a washing machine has been felled by the mighty power of small change, but this may be the first case of a dishwasher.
As a chemist I feel obliged to point out that combining baking soda and vinegar in an attempt to clean something (or vinegar and ammonia) is counter productive. One is an acid, the other a base and together they make less cleaning power, rather than more. One after the other might be ok. I’d start with vinegar, which is good for the crusty stuff from hard water.
Impressive take apart job! A friend of mine did an equally thorough job taking apart a toilet in an attempt to stop it from randomly running, last I saw it was still in pieces on the bathroom floor…
Hmmmm!!! When my dishwasher wouldn’t drain, it needed a new “foot valve”. Don’t ask me what that is, but once it was replaced, the dishwasher went on and on and on until it finally expired at the age of 31 years. Near its end, it was so loud that you couldn’t talk on the phone in the kitchen when it was running. I wonder if my new, stainless steel interior, absolutely silent model will last as long?? Glad to see that someone else takes apart things about which they know nothing.
You seem to have much good advice, but I’m going to add my 2 cents (see, now you have THREE!). When ours quit draining, or drained badly, it was because the pipe (drain? vent?) that leads to the sink was plugged. If you snake that little drain (I pulled off the metal housing, and unscrewed the plastic top–utterly gross–then snaked that pipe), your washer may drain again. I have no idea why those two things are related, but I suppose that’s why I’m not a plumber.
Good luck! (and see you next Saturday in Madison)
The power of positive tinkering!
Stephanie,
I didn’t read all of the comments, so this may have already been asked, but “Was the penny on heads?” If so, good luck to you, if not, well we’ll just leave that to fate…
P.S. The shawl looks like a dream.
Rebecca
Used to keep catfood in mine (rodent-free zone). You *can* get it back together, too–(if you can think 3D enough to create a garment, machines are a snap! Just count the screws…) Rock ON!!
The first time our dishwasher had a similar problem we paid a repair person to come to our house and show us the 1 1/2″ diameter, 2″ tall cylindrical stainless steel thing next to the spout on the sink. He removed the stainless steel cover, cleaned the thing (filter?) under the cover, put the cover back on, and the dishwasher worked perfectly. Took about 5 minutes. We had the same problem a few months ago, cleaned the thing ourselves and it has worked fine since.
That sounds like something I’d do. I’ve got a largely absentee landlord. You’d be surprised what tricks that forces one to learn.
I hope you unplug the dishwasher prior to “fixing” it.
Poor punkin. There, there now. Some nice chamomile tea and a crocus bloom for you.
I am hoping it will work now for the next few years with no problems.
Dude, I’m totally feeling your frustration. I’ve given up on my dishwasher after too many Saturdays with DH kneeling next to it trying to get pieces of food out of small holes that they shouldn’t have been in. The thing is dead to me now. Just taking up space in the kitchen. An overqualified drying rack. Good thing I have several small dishwashers that only require food, water, and fresh air once in a while. They’ll thank me someday, I’m sure of it.
Dishwashers really do change lives but also really get their knickers in a twist when their filtering systems no longer do. I’ve had my first load in a house we just bought not drain due to a tiny filter that likely never had been cleaned and should have. I’ve also put a hole in another such tiny filter when doing ‘preventative maintenance’ and then found it had to be ordered and they ordered the wrong one so it had to be reordered – after I took the broken one back out and took it in to them.
And you are not the first person I know of who poured the water down the sink after disconnecting the pipe. Unfortunately, I have experience of just how gross that water becomes. But also of what wonderful and ingenious things socket wrenches are.
You will win in the end. Those things have a greater-than-twenty-year life span usually and yours looks pretty new.
love (1)
You probably did fix it by clearing the penny — that is, as long as the pump was not burned up by trying to grind up a penny.
The important question is, was it an American penny or Canadian? Just kidding…
In our dishwasher, we had one of the plastic bread wrapper closers under the grate keeping the thing from draining properly. Who knows how these things get in the dishwasher!
When I told my husband, “Guess what the Yarn Harlot pulled out of her dishwasher pump!” he guessed, “Something she tried to felt?”
It reminds me of the time we paid the repair guy to fix the fridge–water was all over the kitchen floor. The problem? A partially wrapped popsicle had fallen behind the shelves in the freezer, melted and then re-frozen into some critical drain at the bottom. You feel pretty stupid paying big money to watch some guy pull an old popsicle out of the freezer. But, at least I knew how to fix it myself the next time!
Good Luck. Since you’ve managed to rebuild a back section on your house, repaint and rejigger and rewire a bedroom ( ask me what I was doing while you were spottily blogging) I have no doubt that you can fix this.
You have my sympathy. My dishwasher quit working about six months ago. Two days ago we had the house re- levelled, and it started working again. As I’ve got three smallies, and a very low tolerance for housework of any sort at all, I am so glad you are able to fix it in short order. (Four hours, I ask you- at least four hours, to wash dishes for the family.) And I chipped all the plates. And varicose veins throbbing. Yech.
I used your vinegar post. I ran vinegar twice, and baking soda once, and it cleared up everything. I know the levelling did something- all the doors lock again, for instance.
I feel like Homer Simpson when he hugged the TV; “Let’s never fight again.”
On the good side, I did find the ball- band dishcloth pattern featured on Canadian Living, and treated myself to four new dishcloths. I had been using the cast on four, knit four rows, then k2, yo, k to end, type for years. It was the one I learned for physical therapy.
Umm, considering how drained you are, physically speaking, would you consider taking a magnesium tablet before going to bed? It sort of helps restore mental and physical balance. Well, not sort of, it does restore physical and mental health. It’s a nerve insulator- good for pain- and a muscle insulator- an actual, natural “Calcium- channel blocker.” You might feel better, and bouncier, just a bit. it’s what makes plants green- it’s the actual mineral smacked in the middle of the chlorophyll. I would like you up and around and your usual chipper and positive self.
Sincerely,
Ari, who feels more like your friend after reading so much more of your blog.
OMG– how do we do that? “My house is crap, my obligations are over my head, and all I can find time to do is the ONE THING THAT WILL MAKE IT WORSE! What am I waiting for? Where’s the screwdriver!”
And we proceed to disembowel something we do not understand.
Dude–I totally do that!
The penny would definitely do it – I had a 20p piece which stopped my washing machine once (note to self – do not open drainer outlet without something to mop up resulting torrent of gallons of dirty water…); also a peach-stone on another occasion (no idea how a peach-stone gets through one of those tiny holes in the drum… or into the washing machine in the first place but I’ve stopped wondering about that sort of thing…)
Sounds like you fixed it! Good luck with the reassembly…
Never underestimate the power of a well armed knitter. Knitting needles have gotten my family out of a few jams. We’ve used orphan dpns as an antenna on our stereo, and just a couple of days ago I used knitting needles stashed in my purse to restart my camera after I dropped it (and broke the little power button)while I was waiting for my son’s turn at the rodeo.
So, was the penny heads or tails? According to my son if it was heads then it’s good luck, if it was tails then you should get rid of it. I have a dishwasher that works sporadically too, my son! Most of the time the dishes get done, then sometimes like your current predicament, my dishwasher breaks down and I’m back to wishing they were done. I’ve never had the mechanical type dishwasher but I do have fantasies about owning one…….and a hot tub, and a house cleaning service. I guess that’s why they call them fantasies. Unlike your dishwasher mine is mobile, and will someday move out and wash his own dishes. Hopefully by then I’ll be able to get a mechanical dishwasher.
I love how you used your DPN to get the penny out. What a riot! I am always using various household objects as tools and using tools for something that they weren’t intended for. It drives my husband to distraction. Good luck on your mission. I have every faith that you will get your dishwasher back together in good working order!
Our old dishwasher never gave up the ghost but it made such a terrible racket during every load that if the phone rang, one had to stop the dishwasher by opening the door in order to hear the person on the other end of the phone. Sears had a sale, so now we have a nice quiet one. It’s a few years old now, though, and now if you open the door during any part of the cycle, when you shut it, it empties all the water and starts filling again. So in order not to waste water, you can’t retrieve that nice sharp knife, or pancake flipper that you really need. Dishwasher with dementia is making me less lazy. Now I just wash up the small utensils I use all the time in the sink, and save the dishwasher for the stuff I hate washing–dishes and saucepans.
It must be dishwasher season. My first one was 20 years old a third hand one from my sister. Worked great. But no we put on an addition and wanted a quieter dishwasher. Three years to the day, it doesnt work. Now it is even quieter!I waited from 12-2 yesterday for the repair guy to tell me he doesn’t fix this brand. So today I’ll be at home waiting from 8am to 5pm for someone from another company who can fix it. The bottom spinny doesn’t spin and the ground fault goes off. Shouldn’t it last longer than three years?
I’m that way about change all the time. There are always a few days each month (though to be more accurate it is more like a week or so) that I operate on a change existence at the cafeteria. So, the rest of the time I look at my change and go, “I’m rich.” Makes me feel a little better about it all.
Good luck with the washer. We had a problem vaguely like that, but ours was much more like we were adding too much soap to the dispenser so removing the water and cleaning around the mechanisms was enough.
Oh, dishwasher problems – I’ve been there! I think you may have just fixed your problem with the penny. My lovely husband thought to wash a plastic fork one time. Well, that resulted in a bill for someone to come and discover half melted fork tines jamming something up and preventing it to work. Why wash a plastic fork?? At least he loaded the dishwasher – right?
Only you, Stephanie. Only you.
I completely love Rachel H.
I hope your penny not only took you into the black, but made your dishwasher happy enough to work properly again.
If my dishwasher kicks the bucket, the Mr. is under standing orders to immediately dispatch himself to the appliance store and procure another that minute. I refuse to live without a dishwasher ever again.
Good for you, there may be more detailed schematics for your dishwasher on the makers website that will let you put it back together. I use my digital camera in these situations & take pictures as I take apart, to put back together easier.
I understand your pain, Mark & I finally gave into the fact that our first dishwasher (5yrs old) was a dud & bought a new one.
Doesn’t seem fair that I didn’t have one when the kids were little & now I have a hard time coping without one.
Completely off dishwasher topic – but – any update on the COWL pattern? I have some to-die-for yarn I’m saving just for this venture.
Girlfriend,
Tools are your FRIENDS. Fear not the socket wrench or even yet the cordless drill. Remember, if someone put an electric drum carder in front of you, you would feel no fear.
TOOL = GOODNESS
So spaketh me, the single mom, small time sheep farmer, person putting off cleaning out the fridge.
How many people can say they used a knitting needle to fix their dishwashers?
As a fellow so-what-if-I’m-not-professional-I-can-fix-the-dishwasher-myself-er, I say more power to us!
Hey, when my dishwasher sounded like a 747 was landing in my kitchen, I did the same thing and found a little piece of plastic in there which turned out to be the tab from the bucket of dw soap. I had to get a special screwdriver bit from crappy tire but it was so worth it!
(The point being that pennies are noisy but probably aren’t blocking the works up – take the rest of it apart, but flip the breaker first)
Joe should be proud.
In the summer, my husband, Rob, painted the upstairs bathroom. After checking faithfully for a day, he declared that the toilet was no longer leaking. The next day, he heard dripping in the basement, and sure enough, the toilet upstairs had leaked, down through the laundry room (one of the few rooms that he had actually finished) and into the basement. He had to do some wall work to the laundry room once it dried out. One Sat. I started a load of laundry to soak. He went in to work. I came back a little while later to drain the machine. Apparently our spin cycle adds fresh water. There was no longer a drain pipe. How was I supposed to know he had removed it? Apparently, I am supposed to check every time I do laundry that everything (including things I can’t see) is still attached.
So…I just want to let you know I can TOTALLY understand the dumping water into the sink after you took out the drain (although, to be honest…it was YOU that did take it out, LOL. Blame it on the meds).
If I chuckle while on line, all I have to do is tell my husband that I am reading the yarnharlot blog and he laughs, before I even tell him what I am laughing about!
As we begin a kitchen remodel, I’ll need this chuckle. Good luck!
Well, on the plus side, a dishwasher is one of the less expensive appliances so if it comes to replacement, hopefully it wouldn’t be too bad.
When we bought our house, we replaced an ancient dishwasher with a brand-new, expensive stainless steel dishwasher. And immediately began having problems just like you are describing. The dishwasher wouldn’t drain and left foul-smelling water in the bottom. After the requisite shrieking and cursing, we called the repair man (yay warrenty). It turns out the problem was that the drain hose was shoved too far down into the drain pipe. So when the water was draining out, the pipe would fill up. However, when the cycle stopped, the hose was still submerged into some of the drain water that remained in the pipe (p-traps and all), and it created some kind of syphon and sucked all the water back into the dishwasher. Does that make sense? Anyway, perhaps your problem could be fixed easily by making sure the drain hose is not shoved too far down into the drain pipe. Our guy ended up securing it with tape or a zip tie or something because he said they can work their way back down into the pipe.
Anwyay. Yesterday UTI’s, today plumbing. Is there no end to the range of topics The Blog can address? I think not. Hope you are feeling better. Good Luck, Dude.
Way to go! Lesson: keep spare needles around. Keep looking in there, maybe there’s a loonie. And, really? You scour fleeces in your dishwasher (from another commentator)? Maybe I should get one. I just use my double sink.
You are my hero. I tackled the clogged toilet last night (ds knocked a jar of expensive face cream in just at it was flushing, causing a block). Not having a snake, I tried to use a size 13 bamboo circ to dislodge it. Sadly, it didn’t work, but the hose for the shower head did. I still needed to hit the hardware store for a new wax gasket and some silicone sealant, though. Couldn’t think of a knitter’s substitute there. . .
Dishwasher stories are the best. And, you have added a good one to the top! My story goes back to husband #1, who was in charge of dishes one night. He loaded the dishwasher and found that we were out of dishwasher detergent. Instead, he used regular dish liquid for hand washing. About 15 minutes later we heard a groaning from the kitchen. From every pore of the dishwasher suds and foam were oozing. It looked like a cartoon or an I Love Lucy episode. We spent hours scooping out all the foam and rinsing and re-rinsing the dishwasher with clear water.
I know how you feel about the dishwasher…mine totally saved my marriage.
See, I have really bad eczema on my hands, which flares up into painful sore if I spend any amount of time with my hands in water. So washing dishes by hand is totally out (one round of washing = 3 months min of medicated creams). Using gloves compounds the issue. Therefore, washing dishes is my husband’s job.
Problem is, my husband has a loose relationship with time (I think you can relate) and wasn’t getting that dishes had to be done every day or we’d be eating with our hands out of the pots…until we run out of pots and then I can’t prepare meals. This caused daily arguments.
Finally, last year with our tax return, we bought the dishwasher. And, lo the marriage was harmonius again.
I do hope your dishwasher is up and running soon. I think even the knitting wouldn’t be able to bring me back if mine went down.
Is there another book in your future –weaving yarn stories and appliance woes together?
How do those with no dpns ever fix anything? Maybe the hardware store should start stocking single & double points alongside the screwdrivers.
Here’s another dishwasher story to add to the growing list. Years ago in our first home, our dishwasher went on the fritz. Now this should not have been a problem because I married a plumber. Said the plumber to his wife: “I just install them, I don’t fix them.” This seemed reasonable so I called in the appliance repair guy. With the dishwasher in pieces and several minutes of the repair guy grunting and contorting on my kitchen floor (thank the gods there was no butt-crack involved!!) he sat up with the water-pump in hand and proudly told me: “Madam, you are very lucky, a couple of more minutes and you’d of had to call a plumber” …… We’re still married. Good luck, and may you have no need to call a plumber.
Good luck to you. When you turn it on the first time, hang around while it’s running. I had one catch on fire once after I futzed with it.
Give up now and cough up the money. We never had a problem in 20 years in our house. We replaced all of the appliances and all but one broke within the first year. I’m an engineer and am completely disgusted with the quality of manufacturing. Our dishwasher broke within two months. The pump was covered, but not labor and they required us to use their techs. Two months later, the pump broke again. If it breaks again, we will buy a new dishwasher. Makes no sense. Good luck on yours!
Now see – there are times when “low-tech” seems a blessing. (I had a really fine dishwasher once – she moved out after high school.) But I admire your solution and have absolute confidence in you. Also – I’m cadging my way in to hear you – didn’t sign up for classes which would probably be lost on my toque-knitting self, but if all else fails I’ll lie on the roof of the building in the snow and listen to you like Hillel. I’ll bring my knitting. (PS I’m on a frightening addiction making preemie caps….35 and counting, there are TWO on the needles as we speak!)
A day late and a penny short. Couldn’t post yesterday as computer died. House (in Atlantic Canada) v.v.v.v. cccold 2nd group of men in basement trying to fix the furnace. No knitting needle involved, as far as I know anyway. I once broke into my car using a knitting needle though. Rescued dog and cat at risk of heat stroke. I was parked outside a yarn shop in Mahone Bay N.S. making a much need coffee/yarn acquisition break on my way home. A bit distracted because I had just found out that our house had been broken into. Only able to break into the car with the knitting needle ( metal single point 4 mm 12 in.) because I had accidently knocked my wing mirror off the week before reversing out of my fils driveway, and there was a hole in the car. So NEW CATEGORY-What have you used your knitting needles for. lots of love
What Ann commented about, the steel cylinder up by the sink, is the vent. When it’s clogged, the dishwasher cannot drain (air lock). Depending how your dishwasher is installed, in most cases if you have the plug in your sink drain, the vent won’t let in enough air, so the dishwasher will drain OUT the vent onto your counter and, if installed correctly, into your sink. Very decorative… If the dishwasher drain pipe empties into the side of your disposal unit, this also happens if your sink drain is clogged, or if you need to run the disposal to increase flow.
Caveat. When re-installing the big circle whirly thing in the bottom of the dishwasher, do NOT over-tighten the screw. Just slightly tighter than finger tight. It’s easy to strip the screw.
My old dishwasher was 25 years old and sounded like Ghengis and his Horde on the rampage. Now I have a relatively quiet one. My parents have a Miele that whispers it’s so quiet.
Good luck, and definitely get a set of socket wrenches — they are wondrous tools.
I fixed our dryer with a size 8 DPN. Actually, it wasn’t broken. But the cat, although i love him dearly, was trying desperately to let me know that he was suffering from a UTI, and since his English isn’t so good he thought I’d get the message if he peed in the dryer. I’m not altogether fond of our dryer to begin with, but i AM fond of our hard earned cash, so I thought perhaps I could find a way to get the cat pee smell out. Apparently our dryer has these very strange holes in the back of the drum that, for all I can tell, act like one big lint trap…but there is no way to clean it. Other than poking a size 8 DPN through the holes, loosening up the lint, some of which was remarkably odiferous, and using strange looking adaptors on my vacuum. After that operation, which took no less than 3 hours, and several loads of heavy towels soaked with cat-pee-smell remover, my dryer was usable again! I don’t recommend having to go through this experience, however, if you see your cat heading for the dryer, you may want to look around for your size 8’s.
Oh my word — I have had absolutely the worst week ever — and this just made me scream with laughter. Thank you so much.
Huh, a working dishwasher? Ours stores paper goods.
I believe that every household should have a set of metal dps and straight needles in their tool boxes. They are so useful. Also when I disassemble something I like to take photos of the progress with the digital camera so I know how it all goes back together. Good luck.
You used a KNITTING NEEDLE! Sorry, lady, if you lived in my house you would be sorry for even suggesting my precious needles are tools.
There are more than enough pokey things in the toolbox that seem to use no purpose that could have been used.
You sound like a desperate woman indeed. Go knit!
Did you try cranberry juice on it?
There must be some weird dishwasher disease going on. We’ve been having trouble with our dishwasher too, not draining all the water. Our problem is at the end of the cycle so at least it’s clean water standing in the bottom. Couple weeks ago I had the repair guy in to look at our fridge (which is also dying, after only 7 yrs– terrible imo) and he took apart the dishwasher and cleaned it all out for me. All I have to say is, you’re a braver woman than I am! I was so glad it was the repair guy dealing with the gunk and not me. Unfortunately it did nothing and the stupid thing still does not drain all the water at the end of the cycle. Oh well.
I still remember fixing our dishwasher in 1986, reassembling it with some electricity cord touching the casing and short circuiting the whole block of flats we lived in. When the electrician came I lied shamelessly about not knowing how the dishwasher caused such trouble. He couldn’t make any sense of how the problem with the cord thing had moved but there was no way I was going to enlighten him. This is the only time I ever told anyone. Is it safe to confess all these years later?
Good luck with the dishwasher. I have said many times that my marriage would not survive without one.
Wow…Can we see a picture of the penny? I want to see how bashed up it is, lol.
Dishwashers can be tetchy things. Mine occasionally decides to go on vacation with no warning, and I have to bash the crap out of it to get it to agitate (it will fill and drain, but nothing else except heat up and fill the house with the scent of hot dish soap otherwise). So far, I’ve been able to show it who is boss, but I know there will come a day, probably when my very handy husband is out of town and I have a completely full load, when it will not run no matter how much I kick it and swear. I’ll probably break my hand trying to get it to start, and then have to wash every dish I own by hand, and then suck it up and buy a new one. But until that day arrives, I will continue to take out my frustrations on the dishwasher every time it acts up and pretend I have the power in the relationship!
I have had that same problem…it was two lemon seeds! Luckly I had a friend that was a plumber. Lately It would seem that my upper level spin arm isn’t spinning. I keep running it with the hope that the problem will pass. I am terrified to even start to tinker.
I’m sitting here cracking up.. Stephanie.. I adore you and your life escapades!! i don’t know how many times i’ve told your stories about old Washie.. and now i’ve got another story to tell.. well the best of luck to you, I hope you have accomplished the restructuring/reconstructing.. as a fellow knitter I know you can do it!! hugs Karola
This side of the Canadian/US border, it is kind of a joke how often we get Canadian pennies in our change. I would say at least once a month I get one of ya’ll’s pennies in my change. So imagine the good laugh I had when I was in Ukraine last October and got a Canadian penny in my change at the bakery in the bizarre in Kiev!
My question is: Do we have any theories as to how the penny got in there?
Hmm. Thank you for a reason why I shouldn’t bother getting a dishwasher.
And Kristy, I live in PA, not only do we get Canadian pennies, we get nickels and dimes as well. I’ve only seen quarters when I was actually in Canada; I guess they’re not close enough to “pass” accidentally.
You mean to say that your dishwasher and you had a UTI at the same time??
You mean to say that you and your dishwasher had a UTI at the same time??
It’s not quite on the level of finding £1000 down the back of the telly like the guy in “A Grand don’t come for Free”* but then $1000 in notes would probably be pretty soggy by the time you fished it out of the dishwasher.
* really great narrative album by British group “The Streets”.
Big safety tip: If you need to go any deeper in that dishwasher…do be sure to turn off your electricity first!
And on a side note, my husband once destroyed our dishwasher by putting in plates that had olive pits on them. Just like running a load of gravel.
“I extracted it with a 4mm aluminum double pointed needle”
Way to be a knitter. Use what you’re stash (tool stash) gave you!
Way to go. As the plumber said when he disassembled our broken DisposAll and found a penny inside, “I keep telling my clients, these things are not coin operated!”
Now that the penny’s out, your troubles should be over. Snort.
Wow. 4mm needles are so versatile, aren’t they?
🙂
You are truly Steph McGyver!
I’m betting the entire problem was the penny. Wonderful to imagine you using a knitting needle as a tool!
Ummmm…how did a penny get in your DISH washer? I can understand the washing machine…in fact, my personal savings account comes from the coins I retrieve from the laundry but the dish washer? Did a fork forget to empty its pockets before hopping in? All the same…you’re totally in the black!
I am one who hangs around when repairmen show up because I want to know how everything comes apart and goes back together!
As to dishwashers…we had to have a garbage disposal replaced and were lucky to have a friend take on the job for free. He left, I started the dishwasher and it DID NOT DRAIN! Call the friend…he forgot the ‘knockout’ in the disposal. It’s a little plastic thingie that stays in if you don’t connect to a dishwasher. Said friend talked me through it over the phone and I successfully knocked out the knockout. Yea! All was operational again! Good luck with the DW!!
Stephanie~ ~
When you said you found a penny I thought I just have to tell you that a few months ago my dishwasher was giving us problems. Water was standing in the bottom, dishes were not clean what a mess. Come to find out that there was a small shard of glass in the thingy in the bottom and prevented it from doing it’s job.
When we called the repair guy, why could he not just said, Hey, look in the bottom for a piece of glass OR a penny and pull it out. NO No, instead he comes over pulled the glass out and wrote a bill for $90. So I am telling all of you, Look for a piece of glass in the bottom of the dishwasher BEFORE you call for repair.
Stephanie, You are a genius. Taking that thing apart. Actually we did take ours apart but did not see the clear glass shard. Look carefully because you can buy some really nice yarn for $90.
~ ~Ahrisha~ ~
I too have taken apart appliances. My word of advice: http://www.partselect.com. My favorite for home appliance repair. I bought new wheels for my dishwasher racks – with great instructions (a chart!) on how to install them. I also bought a new timer for my dryer at half the price it would take to buy from a repair person. It also came with great do-it-yourself instructions. Saved about 150 US on the dryer.
http://www.repairclinic.com is awesome.
If your screwdriver is one of the pull apart thingies, the part you pull out of will sometimes substitute for a 1/4″ socket.
My rule is, if I can fix it with a screwdriver or at least without getting my hands messy (and no need to measure with calipers or instruments), I fix it. Most of the time that means I fix my car.
I’ve fixed more things than I ever wanted to, due to funds (or the lack thereof). I even fixed rust with “bondo” on my last car.
But a few weeks ago my passenger window would go down but not up. And it stayed down. Plastic on the window in winter is not a long-term solution!
I have tools (including socket wrenches) and I have a car manual… but I have one of the first few New Beetles ever made, and that means my car neither matches the pictures in the manual nor the pics I found on the Internet.
I found out that the door of my car has three layers… the pretty colored/fabric one inside, the metal/safety one outside, and another one like the cream in the Oreo. That middle one I could not remove, given the instructions, logic and good set of tools I had. Of course, the repair required me to remove that layer.
I put it back together. Thanks to a “helpful” neighbor, one screw wouldn’t go back right and I duct taped it near its intended location. Then I took it to a body shop that had been recommended to me highly, by a young lady I know.
The dealer would charge $850. I paid $240 and nearly hugged the guys at that shop (even though $240 normally would sound expensive).
But I started with my own screwdriver, just like you. I say go get a set of socket wrenches! You just won’t believe how often you can use them.
LynnH
” Remember, if someone put an electric drum carder in front of you, you would feel no fear.”
But you could put the fiber in sidewise…
I don’t have a dishwasher but my Mum does. The first time my daughter saw it she thought it was a dish dryer since the dishes were rinsed/washed before going in and when she opened it, they were dry.
Maybe she is on to something since she’s had it for years without any problems.
Uh oh – did my black karma cloud of appliance breakage move north and stop over your home in Toronto?
My thoughts are with you.
Our dishwasher bit the dust on Saturday… immediatly following a conversation my husband had with the neighbor about a local appliance store and how “we would likely be back there before the end of the year to replace the dishwasher”. He came home, threw soap into it and let it run… that was until it started to smoke. :o( The new one will be delivered on Thursday. And installed on Saturday when my dad comes to visit. Happy birthday/5 year anniversary to us.
Only you could find a way to use a knitting needle to fix an appliance!
our dishwasher died 3 months after warranty. our beautiful firgidare gallery $1000 dishwasher. the cost to replace the motherboard and circuitry with labour is around $1200. can you believe it?!?!?! that’s alot of wool. we now do dishes by hand and use our dishwasher as a big drying rack. it’s also made it easier for the kids to help with things like setting the table. i though i’d die wihtout my dishwasher….but it actually hasn’t been that bad. i cursed the first few months as i still had a 9 month old i was weaning and bottles and nipples were aplenty, and my dishwasher had a nice ‘sani cycle,’ and roayl chinet did not make sippy cups for my other son.
This reminds me of my clothes dryer episode last year. The drum was making a noise. I took apart the back of the dryer and found a piece of plastic stuck and also discovered that the metal had darkened due to the heat of the drum rubbing on the back of the dryer.
Unfortunately, I had to air dry my clothes with fans for a week before I saved up enough cash to get a repair man over to put the thing back together again.
Good luck! I hope you figure out how to put it back together without the repair man! :o)
What a brave girl you are!
And I admire your relationship with Joe, because I definitely would have been divorced (or broken up with my husband before the wedding) if we did not have a dishwasher.
My mom’s old dishwasher started smoking when I was in high school. The repair guy came and pulled it out from under the counter and – lo and behold – we found a little mouse nest in the insulation, with bits of old dog kibble saved up.
Mom’s irate comment to the unhappy dishwasher was “it’s too young to smoke!”
hi! Hope your dishwasher has read all the comments and gotten itself back together.
Your post reminded me of the “strange things in strange places” I have found over the years ; coins in the car’s tape player, coins and toy parts in the VCR (returned in a little baggy taped onto it by the tech who cleaned it), the computer disc drive (slot loaded) that had three discs in it (it was still working when there were two…) and my all time favorite, a whole dish’s worth of glass in the disposal. Whoever managed to get the glass in there failed to mention it; fortunately I had lots of Playdough handy to squish into it and pull out the glass that stuck to it.
I liked the idea of writing an article for “This Old House”…
Don’t feel bad about the bucket down the unconnected sink. Although I’m sure many people have done it before and since, I love best my mother in law’s story about when she and her husband were first married, in the 1950’s. They were in their teens and poor as churchmice. Dad is under the sink trying to fix the clogged drain, with the trap(funny U shaped piece, always trouble) disconnected. He hands her a bucket of muck and says “Dump this.” So, of course she does. That they stayed married until his untimely early death in the mid 90’s says a lot about both of them.
Yea! Good for you. I like a woman who takes charge and gets things done. Although, it’s a good thing I wasn’t drinking anything when I read that bit about you pouring the sludge into the sink and through the open pipe! The penny find is excellent, as well, although I hate to think what that works out to in wages per hour. Probably way less than what a plumber would get. But, hey, it’s better than nothing. Hope you get the beast back together and working again. Dishwashers are essential, in my opinion.
um…penny? in a sir washie or relative, i get. in a dishwasher….not so much. i’m sure there’s an interesting backstory somewhere…
Good Job on the disassembly! I am willing to bet another penny you will get it back together. Ahh I’ll even go two pennies.
I recently was at a friend’s as she was having a new ishwasher installed. The gentleman installing told her that most of the problems he sees with dishwashers could be avoided if we would all run the garbage disposal with cold water running for 20 seconds before we turned on the dishwahser.
…my other two cents worth 😀
Appliance repairs. One of two good reasons to keep a man around……. 😉
I love my dishwasher. My idea of roughing it is being someplace that doesn’t have a dishwasher and/or a microwave.
I also love my husband.
I love the fact that my husband has assumed that even though I am an incredibly bright woman, I cannot figure out how to properly load the dishwasher.
I love the fact that my husband loads the dishwasher and since he is the one that bought it AND read the manual cover to cover, he insists that (a) everything be in its proper place with the correct access to the hot water; (b)rinsed clean before being placed in the dishwasher; and (c) that our garbage disposal is run before the dishwasher is (something to do with how the plumbing thingee works). Bless his heart.
I love my husband and my dishwasher.
I’d like to know who is laundering money and penny-pinching in your household. Has anyone confessed? Do we need to get out the sharp pointy devices to make them talk? Hopefully, all is better now, without need of overpaid repair tech or purchase of new time-saving, dish-washing box. Still chuckling knowingly over the gross water that pours freely from your sink….wasn’t long ago that I had a similar experience, so I can relate, and laugh…now. And also that discovered soon after (when the beloved Dishwasher broke) that the installer was so lazy & stupid he spliced the wires with some cheap tape!!!! It shorted out. Thankfully it soon properly discovered and repaired.
Oh, good LORD! You have the same dishwasher that I do. I call mine the love of my life and it’s recently become a bit fussy about things too. You can read my dishwasher adventure here:
http://stampspaperscissors.typepad.com/stamps_paper_scissors/2008/02/victory-i-think.html
So…you really need to pry that vent cover off on the inside and have a look…just don’t eat first.
WOW http://www.partselect.com!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The person who suggested this is fantastic!!!!!!!!
I need a clothes dryer timer and a lower arm for my dishwasher.
**GEEK ALERT***
So, this post reminds me of a book I just read called “More work for Mother” (Ruth Schwartz Cowan) that basically says just what you did: Industrialization of the household actually caused more dependency on a number of many levels, and “labor-saving devices” such as dishwashers and washing machines actually created more work for their operators. It’s all well and good until it breaks, and then you’re pretty much helpless to fix it and have to depend on the expertise of others.
Anyway, I know you probably don’t care, but I have to justify being in grad school by occasionally sharing interesting tidbits with others 🙂
Good luck with the dishwasher!
**GEEK ALERT***
So, this post reminds me of a book I just read called “More work for Mother” (Ruth Schwartz Cowan) that basically says just what you did: Industrialization of the household actually caused more dependency on a number of many levels, and “labor-saving devices” such as dishwashers and washing machines actually created more work for their operators. It’s all well and good until it breaks, and then you’re pretty much helpless to fix it and have to depend on the expertise of others.
Anyway, I know you probably don’t care, but I have to justify being in grad school by occasionally sharing interesting tidbits with others 🙂
Good luck with the dishwasher; I wish I had something more helpful to offer than historical theory!
My mom did something similar several years ago with the bathtub faucet. It was totally busted and she was sick of it not working. Cash flow was low, so she decided to take matters into her own hands. At her house, the only way to shut the water off to the house is to have the city come and shut it off at the valve under the sidewalk. I guess she figured she wouldn’t need to shut off the water to fix the bathroom faucet. Wrong. She got the faucet off, which was similar to opening a fire hydrant! Water came shooting out of the wall in a thick, fast stream! We spent the next hour bailing water out of the tub into the toilet while we waited for the city to come shut the water off at the main. Lesson: know thy limitations.
I hope you solve your dishwasher issues. 🙂
So apparently a million people comment on your blogs, so I don’t know if you’ll get around to reading this but I wanted to tell you how much I’m enjoying your book of knitters Meditations . My mom gave it to me to my delight, and my boyfriend and I have been laughing together. It helped he was totally looking at me like a freak as I obsessed over myJade Sapphire cashmere with every stitch. (thank you Alexis!)
Reminds me of the Great Potato Incident of 2007 at my house.
My Dad wanted to save thirty seconds by shoving old potatoes down the disposal, rather than take them out to the trash can. It did not end pretty.
He managed to make a plug of potato peelings that wedged itself into the line for the sink. That particular sink was about 25 feet away from the main line out of the house…so we had 25 feet of pipe to search for the plug and blast it out with a garden hose.
My Dad still hasn’t lived that one down.
Just think of that craptastic waste with well water…. Yep – dishwasher banished to the basement and dishes are now washed by hand. Albeit – there is only two of us. Hope it works out for you Steph!
OMG I LOVE KINNEARING
mention this on the show:)
Was the penny face up or tails down?