Author Topic: Replacing Kitchen Appliances?  (Read 7564 times)

LouLou

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Replacing Kitchen Appliances?
« on: April 11, 2015, 10:27:40 AM »
I have quick, boring question for you.

DH and I just bought a house that we plan to live in for decades. The previous owners lived here for decades, and all the appliances are decades old. Most work just fine - they look outdated but I don't care.

The dishwasher is completely useless though. After a couple of tries, it is now a glorified dish rack. Should we resign ourselves to handwashing? Buy a used dishwasher? Buy a new dishwasher (from a dent and scratch place)?

New dishwashers are more efficient, work better, and replacement parts will probably be easier to find as the years go on.  The downside is obviously the money. Handwashing is great money-wise, but DH and I have very busy careers (which we like) and I hate losing time to housework.

We could afford to pay cash for a dishwasher. I just want to make wise choices.

Thoughts?

RexualChocolate

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Re: Replacing Kitchen Appliances?
« Reply #1 on: April 11, 2015, 10:36:07 AM »
Depends on your goals and financial picture. No one can make that determination for you

A new dishwasher installed is going to be around a 1000. Do you value a working dishwasher more than $1000 of invested assets?

For me, dishwashers are pretty useless. Not really sure what they do that's any better than 10 seconds of hand washing or at the worst presoak if very dirty or cooked on, I think people just think they're cleaner. Blows my mind that people hand wash then put in a dishwasher....

geekette

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Re: Replacing Kitchen Appliances?
« Reply #2 on: April 11, 2015, 10:51:13 AM »
$1000?  Half that at most. Less than that if you're at all handy.

It's a time/value choice and you're the best one to make that decision.

Exflyboy

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Re: Replacing Kitchen Appliances?
« Reply #3 on: April 11, 2015, 11:18:36 AM »
Just bought a nice looking dishwasher for our rental from Home Depot for $270 or so (on sale.. Thanksgiving)... its been running fine, a $15 hook up kit and an hour wrenching and wiring.. voila..:)

Ohio Teacher

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Re: Replacing Kitchen Appliances?
« Reply #4 on: April 11, 2015, 01:39:38 PM »
The downside is obviously the money. Handwashing is great money-wise...
This is a common misconception.  The government agrees: https://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=dishwash.pr_handwash_dishwash

dcheesi

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Re: Replacing Kitchen Appliances?
« Reply #5 on: April 11, 2015, 04:06:46 PM »
I have to wonder if that analysis is assuming the use of hot water? I almost always hand-wash in cold water, whereas the dishwasher uses warm or hot water.

MsPeacock

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Re: Replacing Kitchen Appliances?
« Reply #6 on: April 11, 2015, 04:25:56 PM »
If your appliances are decades old there may be rebates from your local government or local utilities for replacing some of them.

I like a functioning dishwasher - and they can be had for far less than $1000. If you can hold out until November I would look for one one Black Friday at Lowes, Sears, Home Depot, etc. They usually have appliances that are "closing out' the model year at very steeply discounted prices. I got my fridge for something like 60% off.


La Bibliotecaria Feroz

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Re: Replacing Kitchen Appliances?
« Reply #7 on: April 11, 2015, 04:51:32 PM »
I can't live without a dishwasher. I mean, I could, but I would really hate it :-). You could try it for a couple of weeks to see how bad you hate it and go from there. I would buy one either secondhand or scratch and dent in your situation.

LouLou

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Re: Replacing Kitchen Appliances?
« Reply #8 on: April 11, 2015, 06:37:17 PM »
Thanks for the replies! I know that this was not as nearly as interesting as the other threads.
The downside is obviously the money. Handwashing is great money-wise...
This is a common misconception.  The government agrees: https://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=dishwash.pr_handwash_dishwash

The link was very useful - that pushed me over the edge to buying a dishwasher. I'm not doing more work AND spending more money.

Looking at the home depot website, I can see some good options for lower price points. Stainless steel dishwashers are pricey, but black ones are much less. We would pick up and install ourselves - no delivery or installation fees here.  I think we could get a dishwasher for less than $350 altogether. I'd say that is ultimately worth it, since we would use it until it fell apart.

TreeTired

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Re: Replacing Kitchen Appliances?
« Reply #9 on: April 11, 2015, 07:31:59 PM »
And a related topic,   in the old days I would never buy an extended warranty because appliances on average lasted forever without breaking and they weren't that expensive anyway.    Nowadays I wouldn't be without a service contract on a dishwasher and washing machine.   Have one but less necessary on the dryer, and don't think we have had a service call on the refridge in 8 years.   We briefly had a service contract on our gas stovetop, but figured that was pretty unbreakable.   Sadly, dishwashers seem to be made like crap and they contain circuit boards and other non-repairable expensive parts.  We would have replaced our dishwasher 3 times by now without the service contract/extended warranty.

louloulou

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Re: Replacing Kitchen Appliances?
« Reply #10 on: April 11, 2015, 07:44:14 PM »
We got a dishwasher last year. We bought the floor display model for 50% discount. So worth looking round and asking about discounts.

ShoulderThingThatGoesUp

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Re: Replacing Kitchen Appliances?
« Reply #11 on: April 11, 2015, 07:58:51 PM »
Roll up to your nearest Sears Outlet and haggle.

bogart

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Re: Replacing Kitchen Appliances?
« Reply #12 on: April 11, 2015, 08:47:01 PM »
Sadly, dishwashers seem to be made like crap and they contain circuit boards and other non-repairable expensive parts. 

I went to some effort last time we replaced our dishwasher -- having been through similar rodeos (fried circuit boards not worth replacing) -- to get a dishwasher that has only mechanical components.  Happily that made it one of the cheapest ones, though it did dramatically reduce our options.

As for --
Quote
This is a common misconception.  The government agrees: https://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=dishwash.pr_handwash_dishwash

I'm an inveterate user of a dishwasher, as captured above.  But I always wonder about this claim -- I'd totally buy it if it were possible to put genuinely dirty dishes in a dishwasher.  But in my experience (and with a wide range of dishwashers, ranging from expensive to cheap) -- no.  You've pretty much got to get at least the solid food off first, and that takes a fair amount of water ...

Though we do sometimes use the canine pre-wash cycle at our home, which is free (not in its own right, but for the prewash part), and happy to oblige.

FrugalKube

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Re: Replacing Kitchen Appliances?
« Reply #13 on: April 12, 2015, 01:54:08 AM »
The downside is obviously the money. Handwashing is great money-wise...
This is a common misconception.  The government agrees: https://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=dishwash.pr_handwash_dishwash

Wow now I didnt know that time to start using my dishwasher more and save a few $$

JLR

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Re: Replacing Kitchen Appliances?
« Reply #14 on: April 12, 2015, 06:32:30 AM »
Make sure it isn't a simple fix that is causing the problem for your old dishwasher. We had troubles once with ours not washing properly and it turned out the lower spray arm was worn out. It was a snap in part, so I was able to easily buy another one and replace it. This may not work for you, with the age of your machine, but could be worth looking in to.

pagoconcheques

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Re: Replacing Kitchen Appliances?
« Reply #15 on: April 13, 2015, 10:41:26 AM »
Nowadays I wouldn't be without a service contract on a dishwasher and washing machine.   

You may just have gotten unlucky.  It's easy to rationalize service contracts/extended warranties, but over the long-term spread across all the equipment you buy, you will lose money.  The trick with selling those things is the same proposition that casinos use: it just might work this time!  However, you will own lots of equipment over many decades and, just like the long-term gambler always loses to the house, buying service contracts / extended warranties means you will lose over the long run.

frugaliknowit

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Re: Replacing Kitchen Appliances?
« Reply #16 on: April 13, 2015, 10:51:49 AM »
Hate washing dishes versus dishwasher.  It's very time consuming, plus you have that ugly drying rack on the counter.  Well worth it to me!  Try "open box" items at Best Buy, Sears and the like.

Jeremy E.

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Re: Replacing Kitchen Appliances?
« Reply #17 on: April 13, 2015, 02:06:21 PM »
I would recommend washing the dishes by hand, but if that isn't an option for you, Craigslist and Estate Sale Auctions are great places to find cheap appliances.  You should also determine how efficient your fridge is, some older fridges use a lot more energy and are worth upgrading even if they work perfectly.  Other things to consider replacing are lights, heating and cooling appliances and your water heater. These articles might help you decide what the best plan of action is for you.  http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2015/03/25/cut-your-power-bill/
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/05/10/ill-show-you-my-electricity-bill-if-you-show-me-yours/
Good luck!

jeromedawg

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Re: Replacing Kitchen Appliances?
« Reply #18 on: April 13, 2015, 02:18:33 PM »
I always thought it was more water-efficient in the long-run to use the dishwasher (assuming you really fill and pack out the dishwasher rather than starting it when there are like 4 dishes in it lol). Of course, this also assumes you have enough dishes to fill up the dishwasher (and to some of you who are minimalists, this would never be the case haha).

http://www.treehugger.com/kitchen-design/built-in-dishwashers-vs-hand-washing-which-is-greener.html

Makes sense to me. Unless, while handwashing, you use a wash basin and are crazy strict letting the faucet flow. We have an energy efficient dishwasher that uses residual heat from the hot water to 'dry' the dishes. Of course, it also 'requires' Jet Dry rinse agent which is a total scam IMHO. The only reason I have Jet Dry is because I got it close to free years ago with some Home Depot $ off coupons. Otherwise, I hear a White Vinegar/Water works just as well.


BTW: it's a Bosch Ascenta dishwasher that apparently has terrible reviews on Amazon lol. All I know is that it works well for us, and we paid $300 for it on sale and shipped to our door.
« Last Edit: April 13, 2015, 02:23:01 PM by jplee3 »

dcheesi

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Re: Replacing Kitchen Appliances?
« Reply #19 on: April 13, 2015, 03:21:57 PM »
As for --
Quote
This is a common misconception.  The government agrees: https://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=dishwash.pr_handwash_dishwash

I'm an inveterate user of a dishwasher, as captured above.  But I always wonder about this claim -- I'd totally buy it if it were possible to put genuinely dirty dishes in a dishwasher.  But in my experience (and with a wide range of dishwashers, ranging from expensive to cheap) -- no.  You've pretty much got to get at least the solid food off first, and that takes a fair amount of water ...

Though we do sometimes use the canine pre-wash cycle at our home, which is free (not in its own right, but for the prewash part), and happy to oblige.
People always say this, but it hasn't generally been my experience. Yes, most of the time I'll do a quick rinse or at least brush the crumbs off, but other times I've had extremely gnarly* stuck-on food that I didn't even try to clean off since I was in a hurry. In nearly every case, the dishes come out spotless. Maybe once in a dozen washes I'll find a plate that didn't quite get clean, but a bit of hand-scrubbing or a second trip through the washer will finish the job easily.

The only time this wasn't the case was when I tried switching to a cheaper brand of dishwasher detergent. Night & day difference in cleaning ability, and the other stuff wasn't even the cheapest on the market. FWIW, I'm currently using the Finish tabs (previously Electrolux), bought in bulk from Sam's Club. No idea how that stacks up cost-wise against a cheaper brand + more rinsing, but it definitely saves on elbow grease!

(* and I'm a typical bachelor, so when I say gnarly, I mean gnarly ;)