A week ago Thursday my heart broke. It was the bad luck streak I was hoping to break, but it was my heart instead. That was the night I went into the kitchen and stepped in a puddle on my wood floor. The dishwasher, another appliance in a long line lately, had turned on me, decided to go rogue.
If you follow my blog or my FB page, you know that I've had a very long streak of bad luck. It started last summer and has not let up at all. We've replaced items big and small. As big as the heating and air conditioning unit and as small as the coffee maker. In between was my car, Hubs' cell phone, our washing machine, the blender, Hubs' car tires, PurDude's car battery . . . yes a long list of bad, bad, bad, bad (did I mention bad) luck.
But this dishwasher. This broke me. Not only was the wood floor in the kitchen prep area swollen with water, but when I walked into the kitchen eating area much later, I found another puddle. The water had ruined the cabinetry behind the dishwasher and the floor back there was buckling.
I was told by my FB friends that I should contact my insurance company about the floor, which we're doing, but I was not happy about the hit to my checkbook fixing the dishwasher was going to take. Silly me, had I even known . . .
The next morning I called a serviceman who was a member of the business association my husband belongs to, they tend to give us a break. He warned me that if it's the pump and motor it won't be worth fixing. I was sure that wasn't it, this thing isn't even 3 years old.
I was so confident I'd have a dishwasher that night that I put on a pot of Crockpot Beef Chili and I even baked Creme de Menthe White Brownies. I piled all of the dirty pots and pans and utensils in the sink to stick in the dishwasher once it was fixed.
Creme de Menthe White BrowniesIf you follow my blog or my FB page, you know that I've had a very long streak of bad luck. It started last summer and has not let up at all. We've replaced items big and small. As big as the heating and air conditioning unit and as small as the coffee maker. In between was my car, Hubs' cell phone, our washing machine, the blender, Hubs' car tires, PurDude's car battery . . . yes a long list of bad, bad, bad, bad (did I mention bad) luck.
But this dishwasher. This broke me. Not only was the wood floor in the kitchen prep area swollen with water, but when I walked into the kitchen eating area much later, I found another puddle. The water had ruined the cabinetry behind the dishwasher and the floor back there was buckling.
I was told by my FB friends that I should contact my insurance company about the floor, which we're doing, but I was not happy about the hit to my checkbook fixing the dishwasher was going to take. Silly me, had I even known . . .
The next morning I called a serviceman who was a member of the business association my husband belongs to, they tend to give us a break. He warned me that if it's the pump and motor it won't be worth fixing. I was sure that wasn't it, this thing isn't even 3 years old.
I was so confident I'd have a dishwasher that night that I put on a pot of Crockpot Beef Chili and I even baked Creme de Menthe White Brownies. I piled all of the dirty pots and pans and utensils in the sink to stick in the dishwasher once it was fixed.
Thirty seconds after the repairman arrived he left with $100 of my money. I'm not even sure why he came in, I could have thrown the check at him as he drove by. But he did stick a flashlight under the dishwasher, declared the pump and motor corroded, and even took an extra two seconds to tell me that it's extremely common. Dishwashers are now made disposable, three to five years is the average.
So day one found me debating washing and drying pretty much every dish and pan and utensil I own (and possibly a few I don't) by hand, or just throwing them all out and starting over. With all the unexpected bills we've had lately, looks like I'd be washing and washing and washing. I'm not sure that what I was doing registered though, all that kept going through my head was "that dishwasher's not even three years old. How can that be, it's not even three years old?"
Hubs keying in immediately to my frustration and panic, leaving work immediately on a mission to buy a new dishwasher. He made the mistake of trying to discuss what I wanted but when I screamed into my cell phone (which now only works on "speaker" and drops calls on a whim) "who gives a damn what features it has, we'll be throwing it in the trash in a few years" he decided he'd just pick one himself and pay what it takes to have it delivered the next morning.
Day two: still angry and upset, I piled the breakfast and coffee dishes in the sink, planning to have them in my new dishwasher within a few hours. Delivery was between 10 am and noon. Bless you Hubs, you're a miracle worker.
After pulling out the old dishwasher, the installers gave me the bad news, it was soaking wet in there. The wood flooring, the cabinetry, everything. I needed to set up a fan and dry it out. They left my new dishwasher by the pantry and promised to be back on Monday. Monday? That's like 3 days from now. . .
By the end of day two my hands had two settings; wrinkly prune and dry and cracked. Not a pretty look. We did have small paper plates but that's it. We used them for breakfast and lunch but they weren't big enough for dinner and I certainly couldn't use them to cook in. Take out and buying larger paper plates was out, it was snowing and sleeting, expected to do so all weekend. Of course.
Day three found me looking longingly at the dishwasher sitting by the pantry. I wrapped my arms around its bulky middle and whispered in its ear "I love you, I want you, I need you."
I tried to convince my Husband that it was Yom Kippur, but dammit he knows the day of fasting is in September.
By evening I was sitting on the now bumpy kitchen floor, blowing into that empty hole in the cabinetry with every last ounce of breath I had, just in case the fan needed some help. Because, come hell (which I'd been going through) or high water (been there, done that too), that dishwasher was going to be operational the next morning.
On day four I kissed the installers.
Fortunately they hooked that sucker up anyway.
Creme de Menthe White Brownies
©www.BakingInATornado.com
Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
1 stick butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1 cup flour
3/4 cup creme de menthe baking chips
OPT: 1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 TBSP Creme de Menthe liqueur
Directions:
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 X 13 baking pan.
*Melt together the white chocolate chips and butter in the microwave.
*Whisk in the vanilla followed by the sugar, then the eggs, and then the flour. Once incorporated, fold in the baking chips. Spread evenly into the baking pan.
*Bake for about 25 minutes or until they are browned and completely set. Remove from oven and cool completely before slicing.
*For the Creme de Menthe Whipped Cream: beat the heavy cream and powdered sugar until soft peaks form. Add the Creme de Menthe liqueur and beat until stiff peaks hold. Spoon or pipe over the brownies when serving.
I feel your pain! We've been in the house 14 years, are on our 3rd dishwasher and this one is going!! This one and the last one, we bought the extended 5 year warranty, which we used A LOT, but it never seemed to be the same part that went out! According to the warranty, they will replace the unit if it has the same repair issue 3 times in a row. Nope, didn't get lucky with either one! Meanwhile, my parents have the same dishwasher in their house when they built it, in 1974!!!
ReplyDeleteYes, before this last one ours had always lasted pretty much forever. It's sickening that companies seem to have implemented this change to how they're made to deliberately force us to buy them frequently.
DeleteAppliances are so cheaply made - we haven't had a terrible streak like you, but for a time we actually bought used appliances to get something decent. I haven't had a dishwasher now in 32 years but if I did your amount of baking, I probably would have. I have some circulatory problems in my hands and feet and the warm water of hand washing makes my hands feel good - and the steam helps my sinuses (sometimes) like now, when I'm trying to get a cold. Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteYou sure put me to shame, 32 years? I couldn't last 4 days!
DeleteI know of which you speak haha! Remember my two weeks without a fridge and our dishwasher took a week, luckily it was months apart. I'm waiting on the stove to go out it's the last holdout.
ReplyDeleteI sure hope you're knocking on wood when you say that.
DeleteHmm . . . I've heard that some babies resemble the Maytag man (or Kenmore or Braun, etc.) I expect that's when the homeowner has been waiting a week or more . . .
ReplyDeleteYou just may be onto something there . . .
DeleteAnd by the way, I'm so sorry about your troubles! All over now. You can breathe easy. For at least 3 to 5 years! ;)
ReplyDeleteWe bought the 3 year extended warranty so I'm guessing 3 years and 2 days should be about it.
DeleteBwahahaha! True!
DeleteI think while we sleep there is a wicked appliance fairy who convinces all our appliances to die together or in a matter of weeks from each other.Never again will I be suckered into buying new appliances at the same time!
ReplyDeleteMe neither, what a nightmare.
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