Two-Decade Dishwasher Wisdom

We moved into our current home in 2016. Although built in 1969, the house had undergone a major renovation in 2000, so when we arrived, the kitchen appliances were old enough to drive in all fifty states.

Despite their age everything worked, and I have always lived by the adage of the United States Navy, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

That said, from day one we hated the dishwasher. It was a German-made Bosch, and back in 2000 it was probably uber expensive. It was noisy, it took a very long time to complete, but it did do the one thing a dishwasher should... it cleaned the dishes.

So, for the next five years we just put up with it.

A few months ago, it started to feel like the dishwasher was taking longer, and longer to complete its task. One night I turned it on before heading to bed at 10:00pm. When I came down the next morning at 6:30... it was still running. Something had to be done.

I looked into what could cause this long-running condition, and all the data I found pointed towards more than $300 in parts, with no guarantee of success. I was not going to invest $300 in a machine old enough to buy me tequila shots.

I investigated the cost of a new dishwasher, and began to read reviews. Unfortunately, every time I found a model that looked like it would meet our requirements, it wasn't available... anywhere. The pandemic-induced supply chain issues had come home to roost in my kitchen. My only two options seemed to be to settle for a lesser (available) dishwasher, or pay way more than I was willing.

After stewing on the problem for a few days, it occurred to me that I live in a town (Charlotte, NC) where people remodel as as hobby, so there must be a steady supply of lightly-used appliances out there. With this idea, I began my search.

After a week of scouring Craigslist, Nextdoor and Facebook Marketplace, I saw what I was after. A 2-year old, Kitchenaid dishwasher the owner was selling because of a tiny leak they couldn't seem to solve. They were asking $175.

I'm pretty handy, so a "tiny leak" didn't scare me.

I went to the home of the seller, asked a few questions and quickly determined the leak was likely due to a misaligned gasket in a $4 part from Home Depot. I paid the asking price and quickly headed home.

Dishwashers are pretty easy as installations go. One hot water supply line, one drain pipe and one 120v wire. When you're swapping out on old one, all the bits are already there. So, after a little tweaking and adjusting, I got the new unit installed, including the realignment of the suspect gasket. I didn't even have to replace the $4 part.

While it was running its first load (and not leaking) I decided to look the model up. It turns out, it is one of the most highly rated models, and they still make it, but like many others it is backordered for months. I had dismissed it since it was over the $1,000 budget I had imposed on my search... if you can find one, the retail price is $1,200.

The lesson here is simple. The best, and most cost-effective, solution to your problem may not be the first thing you think of, and may in fact be in a different direction altogether. I don't have a "new" dishwasher, but I upgraded more than 20 years, with a unit I would have have otherwise not been able to afford... and I did it for 85% off.

When faced with a business challenge, take a breath, take a little time, get creative and don't be afraid to "PIVOT!"