Dishwasher deals

[MrsCobraBubbles]

My dishwasher caught on fire today. So...I need a new one. As cheap as possible because it's going to have to go on credit; I don't have several hundred dollars in reserve right now.

Has anyone here recently replaced a dishwasher? Do you have any suggestions about where to find the best deal? I've found some nice sale dishwashers at Sears and Kmart, and I checked out the online inventory for my local Sears Outlet and didn't like anything that they currently had. I looked at Best Buy too and found a couple that will work. Thing is, i'm doing all this looking online but I have questions about delivery and installation.

My husband and I just separated less than 2 weeks ago, I've never had to replace a major appliance by myself. Also, I've never had to have one installed, my husband always installed, serviced, and maintained all the appliances. I'm a little bit lost in this process and kicking myself for never paying attention to this before. I know I'm a grown woman and I'm capable of taking care of this on my own, but I'd appreciate some guidance if anyone has any wisdom they'd like to share : )

The policies about installation aren't very clear, at least not what I've found online, and none of the places I've looked so far even mention how much installation will cost, just that it costs extra.

Also, the dishwasher is hard-wired into the fuse box in the basement, but I have no idea which fuse it's on because the fuses aren't labeled. I had to switch off all the fuses (because I was panicking and the smoke alarm was going off and my kitchen was filling with black smoke) so now there's no electricity in my laundry area and half the kitchen. Luckily the refrigerator isn't connected to that fuse box, it's connected to the main fuse box. But anyway, I'd like to be able to do laundry--can anyone offer any advice on how to figure out which fuse goes to what without blindly turning them on? I'm afraid to restore electricity to the dishwasher because I'm worried the wires will catch fire again, is there some trick to figuring out which fuse goes to the dishwasher? I can see where the wire connects in the box (it's the only bright orange wire going into the box). Is there a way to tell whether the electronics on the dishwasher fried or whether the problem was with my wire? Am I going to have to call an electrician to look at things or can I just trust the appliance installers to tell me if there's a problem?

Sorry about the long post, but thanks for reading.

 

[DisneyHardin]

We bought our dishwasher at Lowe's. They do 0% interest on their credit card for 12 months if your purchase is over $299. No advice about the installation.

If you think the fire was caused by the electrical and not the actual appliance, you need to get an electrician out there before you even worry about a new dishwasher. The installer is most likely not going to be able to tell you what is going on and you sure would hate for him to hook up a brand new dishwasher, turn it on for a test and fry it too because you had faulty wiring.

 

[Princess Minnie321]

Check frigidaire. I bought a basic one for about $250 and it lasted 10 years. It recently broke and I bought another frigidaire since the last one worked so well. So far I am happy with this one. I think it was around the same price. I got my first one at Sears and the second one at lowes. Sorry no advice on the install. My DH did ours.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

I am searching for a new dishwasher too. Our 13 year old Kitchenaid died in November. I absolutely refused to get a new one on credit because we are trying really hard to pay down some credit card debt. The tax refund money came today, so now I'm getting one.

I want another Kitchenaid or a Bosch because those two brands are the highest rated. It has to be stainless. I looked at the Sears Outlet today. They only had a black Bosch. They had a stainless Kitchenaid for $579 reg $949, but part of the start button strip was broken off and the handle was missing. They had two other Kitchenaids but they were top of the line - $944 reg &1349. Then I'd have to add installation. I couldn't find a salesperson to help me so I left. I looked at Lowes online. They have a Kitchenaid on sale til 5/17 for $719 reg $899. I couldn't find any info about installation cost, so I'm going to head to the actual store tomorrow.

Good luck with your dishwasher purchase!

 

[SplashMo]

Correction: It is normal to hard wire a dish washer. Therefore it should be included in the price of the washing machine install.


For a dishwasher you will likely need it installed. Call Home Depot and ask them how much to install and take out the old one.

Do you have fuses or a circuit breaker? Fuses look like round glass objects and circuit breakers are switches.

If you belong to a church or other group ask if someone could come out and evaluate / asses the situation.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

For a dishwasher you will likely need it installed. Call Home Depot and ask them how much to install and take out the old one. Mention it is hard wired as they will likely not help you in that case. I imagine it is not hard wired and that there is a plug in the wall.

Do you have fuses or a circuit breaker? Fuses look like round glass objects and circuit breakers are switches. If the dishwasher is hard wired then an electrician would need to wire in an electrical outlet for you. You could have the dishwasher delivered and the electrician should be able to connect it for you.

If you belong to a church or other group ask if someone could come out and evaluate / asses the situation. Adding a wall plug is not hard. However fixing a fuse box can be dangerous.

Oops, I did say "fuses", didn't I? I meant to say breakers. The way my husband has it set up, there are two breaker boxes. There is one large main box at the front of the basement, but there is a smaller box at the back of the basement, under the kitchen/laundry area. I switched off all the breakers in the smaller box and that cut the power to the dishwasher. The scary thing is, in spite of my fun little electrical fire, none of the breakers were tripped when I rushed down there. I looked first for tripped breakers before just shutting off everything.

Unfortunately I'm 100% sure about the hard-wiring. I remember my husband doing it 14 years ago when we bought this house. There had never been a dishwasher in the kitchen (it's a very old farm house) so he built an enclosure for it and then hard wired it, since there wasn't an electrical outlet near the sink.

That's good advice about the church thing. I don't like asking for favors or charity (too much pride I guess) but I guess I'll have to get over that, given my current circumstances. I don't want my IRL friends feeling sorry for me or thinking that I'm not capable of doing things on my own--I'm 34 years old and I should be able to do this stuff, but I was stupid and never bothered to learn any of it. I may decide not to replace the dishwasher until I have some savings, but I do need someone to look at that wire, it's making me nervous. Maybe once I pull the dishwasher out it will be obvious where the failure was.

Thanks for the link to the article by the way, I'm about to go read it.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

I am searching for a new dishwasher too. Our 13 year old Kitchenaid died in November. I absolutely refused to get a new one on credit because we are trying really hard to pay down some credit card debt. The tax refund money came today, so now I'm getting one.

I want another Kitchenaid or a Bosch because those two brands are the highest rated. It has to be stainless. I looked at the Sears Outlet today. They only had a black Bosch. They had a stainless Kitchenaid for $579 reg $949, but part of the start button strip was broken off and the handle was missing. They had two other Kitchenaids but they were top of the line - $944 reg &1349. Then I'd have to add installation. I couldn't find a salesperson to help me so I left. I looked at Lowes online. They have a Kitchenaid on sale til 5/17 for $719 reg $899. I couldn't find any info about installation cost, so I'm going to head to the actual store tomorrow.

Good luck with your dishwasher purchase!

Thanks! I'll probably have to go to the stores to ask questions about installation, I just can't believe no one quotes prices for that online. That must mean it's expensive.

 

[DisneyHardin]

Thanks! I'll probably have to go to the stores to ask questions about installation, I just can't believe no one quotes prices for that online. That must mean it's expensive.

Most likely each store sub-contracts out that sort of stuff, so there isn't a universal price. It will be based on how much the sub-contractor charges.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

Most likely each store sub-contracts out that sort of stuff, so there isn't a universal price. It will be based on how much the sub-contractor charges.

That makes sense : )

 

[SplashMo]

The direct wire technique is normal. It should be included in the price of the install.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

I've been looking around for dishwasher installation costs. I think you need to budget for $120 to $150. that's what I'm consistently seeing. I'll let you know exactly what I'm quoted when I make my purchase.

 

[SplashMo]

So it is completly normal to wire the dishwasher they way you have it done: Here is a video.

There is no need to place a box in the wall...

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

I've been looking around for dishwasher installation costs. I think you need to budget for $120 to $150. that's what I'm consistently seeing. I'll let you know exactly what I'm quoted when I make my purchase.

Ouch! That's a lot of money. Thanks for the guess-timate. And thank goodness for the line of credit on the house. Given how much it's going to cost to replace the dishwasher--the cost of the new appliance and delivery and installation and the electrician--I'm probably going to put it on hold until I get a second job. I can't justify putting that much money on credit with no plan to pay it back, and summer is coming and both kids have activities that they would like to do, and those activities cost money.

 

[princess barbara]

Not to be rude and I feel for your situation but what if you held off on buying one. Not sure how many are in your household or if you can draw up a chores list for washing, drying and putting away but it sounds like you have a lot on your plate. Then you can plan and save for it and not use credit. Just a thought and good luck with whatever you decide. I wish you well and keep your chin up.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

Not to be rude and I feel for your situation but what if you held off on buying one. Not sure how many are in your household or if you can draw up a chores list for washing, drying and putting away but it sounds like you have a lot on your plate. Then you can plan and save for it and not use credit. Just a thought and good luck with whatever you decide. I wish you well and keep your chin up.

It's not rude. That's kind of where I'm at with it. I'm still used to the days when buying an appliance meant that I only needed to budget for the cost of the appliance and not figure those other costs into the price. So in my head I was thinking I could get away with buying a cheap $300-400 dishwasher, but with all the other stuff factored in that cheap dishwasher suddenly doubles in price (or more than doubles).

I've got some helpful info for when I am ready to buy though. As much as I hate doing dishes, I get an icky feeling when I think about buying something on credit when I know it might take me months to pay it off.

I bought a bunch of paper and plastic plates, bowls, and utensils and told the kids that they needed to make an effort to use them because if the dishes ever pile up in the sink I will be expecting them to help me wash them. It's wasteful and expensive, but I'm really busy right now with work and some other commitments and I don't want to make the time to wash a sink full of dishes 3 times a day. Please wish me luck with finding that second job, I'm having a hard time finding anything that will work with my kids' schedules and my first job. My son is on the spectrum and he has therapies every week, and my daughter is still in preschool, so whatever I find has to have flex time so I can be available to take my son to his appointments and has to pay enough to make it worthwhile after paying for full time daycare for my daughter for a few more months until she starts kindergarten. So far nothing has fit the bill. I know there's a job out there for me, but it's not going to be easy to find.

 

[SplashMo]

Were you able to turn the one circuit breaker off so you can use the rest of your house electronics?

When it comes time for a new washer you should only need the following:

1) Purchase a washer
2) Pay to have it delivered/installed and have the old one taken away.

There should not be a need for an electrician etc...

One thing we do to keep down on the dishes is that everyone has their own glass. They are all different (in our case different color). That way we never have more glasses out then we have people living in the house. And everyone is responsible for washing their own glass. And if they forget they need to wash it again before they use it. Guest can grab a glass out of the cupboard of course...

 

[Judique]

Whenever I've had a new dishwasher installed I've needed a plumber.

I'm concerned for you that you dealt with a fire and black smoke in your kitchen. Did the fire department come, or did you handle it strictly by switching off your breakers?

You may need a plumber and a certified electrician to make your kitchen safe. I would not wait on this. Water and electricity do not mix.

Good luck to you!

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

Whenever I've had a new dishwasher installed I've needed a plumber.

I'm concerned for you that you dealt with a fire and black smoke in your kitchen. Did the fire department come, or did you handle it strictly by switching off your breakers?

You may need a plumber and a certified electrician to make your kitchen safe. I would not wait on this. Water and electricity do not mix.

Good luck to you!

I was alone in the house (thank God my kids weren't home, the whole ordeal would have been more chaotic and scary). I had just started the dishwasher, then walked into the living room to work on my laptop (I work from home). I heard popping noises, then when I went to check on what had caused the noise I smelled the smoke and that distinctive burned electronics smell, walked into the kitchen to see black smoke pouring from around the sides and top of the dishwasher. I panicked and grabbed my cell and ran out the kitchen door to call the fire department, but then realized that I should shut off the electricity so i went down to the basement to shut off the main, thought better of it and shut off the secondary breaker box. That stopped the popping noises but there was still smoke filling the kitchen so I opened both doors (kitchen door and the outside door in the laundry area) to get a cross breeze to blow the smoke out and stood there ready to use the fire extinguisher if it was needed, but I never saw any flames. We're not far from the fire department, but I believe there is a charge for calling them out so I was trying to avoid that. The last time we needed an ambulance it cost $500. Of course I'm a cheapskate and even in a crisis I think about money. Switching off the electricity seems to have stopped the problem, which is something I sort of remember learning during fire safety week in elementary school--yay for our American education system!!! Luckily the fire seems to have been just in the wires underneath the dishwasher and our floor is tile so that's not likely to catch fire.

My husband is a plumber and is friends with (or at least friendly with) all the local plumbers. Actually, he knows all the local tradesmen. I'm going to have to talk with him about the dishwasher I guess.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

Were you able to turn the one circuit breaker off so you can use the rest of your house electronics?

When it comes time for a new washer you should only need the following:

1) Purchase a washer
2) Pay to have it delivered/installed and have the old one taken away.

There should not be a need for an electrician etc...

One thing we do to keep down on the dishes is that everyone has their own glass. They are all different (in our case different color). That way we never have more glasses out then we have people living in the house. And everyone is responsible for washing their own glass. And if they forget they need to wash it again before they use it. Guest can grab a glass out of the cupboard of course...

I haven't gotten to fussing with the breakers yet; I got busy with church stuff yesterday, then made dinner, then more church stuff. My son promised to help me today after school, I'll let you know how it works out. We have to get to it today or I'll have to find a laundromat because all of us have run out of necessary clothing items.

 

[DisneyMandC]

So sorry about everything you're going through! We recently purchased a dishwasher through Lowe's. If you can wait a few, they seem to have appliance sales fairly regularly. We got a $700 Maytag for $550. I can't remember the exact price on the install, but the $125-$150 someone said sounds about right. Free delivery and they removed our old dishwasher. I don't remember there being anything necessary in terms of electrician needed, and our house is a little wonky since it's essentially one room log cabin with wiring and pipes in odd places.