Research

We have now lived in our home for well over ten years, in fact it will be eleven on Rachel's birthday next month. Several years ago we started getting mildew in our dishwasher. It isn't smelly, it's just orange-ish, in a few areas. I have been spraying it with mildew remover, and cleaning it well, and that has helped. However, the pesky stuff just keeps on returning!

Two years ago I contacted our home warranty company and they kind of argued with me about it being something that we were or weren't doing. They had no idea why we would have mildew in our dishwasher! So, they finally sent a guy out - who knew nothing about dishwashers. In fact he was also there to look at our microwave that continues to run after being turned off, periodically. That guy laughed at me. (Grrrr.)

Pat and I have been pondering the idea of replacing our refrigerator, it's somewhere around 15 years old, so we figured it was about time. (plus I detest side-by-side fridges) Then we got to discussing the dishwasher and figured we'd have them come out and service it once again. I have an appointment for Monday afternoon - which I will be cancelling.

Why? (and here is where the title of my post comes in)

I got to thinking about how last time they didn't actually fix the problem when they came out. (they called another service company, the guy said it'd work, but it didn't, not really; and I never had to pay the first guy) So, I had a chat with Whirlpool online. The girl I was chatting with said, a) she was sorry about the odor (there is none, and I tried to explain that), b) that we should use some cleaner on it, and c) the detergents have changed in the past 3 years so that is probably the problem. I thanked her and went on my way.

Hmmm. I got the idea that perhaps it isn't actually something they could fix. Could I ask them to replace the dishwasher? Sure, I could. But I can already tell you that they won't!

Then I contacted a local appliance store and asked their service department about it all - was it unusual to have mildew? should I pay for a service guy to come when it isn't deemed 'fix able'?

They said a dishwasher lasts only 10 - 12 years, that my having them come out would be a waste of my money and that I should probably put it toward a new dishwasher. Which confirmed what I was thinking!

I sure am grateful that I did some research and figured out that it isn't worth my time or money to have a technician come out. Now to shop for a dishwasher!