Friday, May 27, 2016

Accidental Theme

     It seems that once in awhile I have several posts in a row on the same theme. Sometimes it's planned and sometimes completely unplanned. Today's post is an accident.

     My last post was on a house being moved and saved from the wrecking block. It seems many readers feel the same about wa
sting resources and energy by throwing material away that is still in good condition.

     So this morning when I filled the dishwasher the top rack wouldn't come out. When I did get it to come out it wiped out the dishes on the lower rack so something had come off so that the top rack was hanging down.

     Now it took quite a few looks before I saw what the problem was. A small roller that runs in the slide that is part of the mechanism to pull out the top rack had broken. More to the point this little roller had almost disintegrated. 

      I phoned the best appliance parts place. No, these rollers are not made anymore. I tried a used appliance place. They didn't have a roller. They gave me the bad news that appliances only last 3-5 years before they need repairs.

    I went to Habitat for Humanity and dug around in the mountains of used dishwashers and parts. I couldn't find anything.

     Now for the wise use of resources and energy. I bought my dishwasher in 1987! That's right. My dishwasher is 29 years old and I'm not going to part with it yet if I can help it.

    I've done repairs on this appliance but have never taken it to a repair shop. I've changed a little control valve twice as they get corroded and then seize up and won't work. There are a couple of zip ties holding things together, I've painted racks to cover the rust. For most of the time only two of us have been using the dishwasher. I don't wash pots and pans in it. Sometimes I run vinegar in it and other times some margarine. I also clean out the screen for the water outlet.

     I wish that more quality was put into today's appliances. I hate to see things thrown away. However, if everybody used their dishwasher for 29 years the making of dishwashers wouldn't be very lucrative and the fat cats wouldn't make their millions of easy money. 

    I will not throw my whole dishwasher out just for one small roller that is missing!

This is my central vac motor that needs a talking to once in a while.