Nothing lasts forever and after fourteen years of excellent service, our Neff dishwasher, like its owners, has finally started to show the signs of creaking old age. Time for a new one.
We like to buy electrical things from John Lewis who are "never knowingly undersold", give automatic two year guarantees and have reasonably priced disposal and installation services. However, they won't take out old dishwashers. Before taking them away, old appliances must be disconnected and pulled out of their kitchen spaces. Ours was jammed in tightly - like an elephant in a phonebox - and it was a miracle that yesterday afternoon I managed to pull the damned thing out.
Only then could we begin thinking about ordering a new dishwasher. So many to choose from but so many variables to keep in mind - precise dimensions, cost to buy, cost to run, noise level, integrated or not, range of programmes and length of the "quick wash" which is what we use 99% of the time. Shirley is always dilatory about such matters, reluctant to pick so in the end I'm usually obliged to take the bull or perhaps the elephant by the horns.
Because the online information is not fully comprehensive regarding adjustable height dimensions, I shall shortly need to get off my ass and venture into the city centre to quiz kitchen department staff at the John Lewis store in Barker's Pool - still known to most Sheffielders as "Cole Brothers".
How did we manage without dishwashers? My mother never had one and Shirley and I didn't get our first one till 1998 when we had the kitchen revamped. I have noticed that our friends - Tony and Fiona always rinse their crockery and pans in the sink before slotting into their dishwasher. To me this almost defeats the object of a dishwasher but we ourselves seem to spend an inordinate amount of time just carefully stacking dishwasher loads and removing clean items. Do we really "need" them?
In the middle of writing this post, Lady Pudding phoned from work instructing me to take one of our giant dinner plates with me so that I can check it "fits" into the lower dishwasher rack without catching on the spinning propeller thing under the top rack. Nothing's ever easy.
*SPECIAL BLOGGER AWARD - Most fascinating post of the day October 24th 2012
(Our thirty first wedding anniversary! And what better gift than a new dishwasher?)
Thought A: When you seriously consider a dishwasher as a wedding anniversary present, you just know the thrill is gone out of your marriage.
ReplyDeleteThought B: Be sure to get one that is insulated well. We had one without insulation once and we'll never do that again. The noise level was unbelievable. You get what you pay for.
Thought A: When you seriously consider a dishwasher as a wedding anniversary present, you just know the thrill is gone out of your marriage.
ReplyDeleteThought B: Be sure to get one that is insulated well. We had one without insulation once and we'll never do that again. The noise level was unbelievable. You get what you pay for.
All I can say after your comment that you take a plate to test fit in a dishwasher is....I'm sure glad you aren't shopping for toilets like our friend of the infamous Going Gently blog.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a dishwasher, it would be a waste of kitchen space. In this house we each wash our own. If you leave dirty dishes on my counter, I throw them out onto the back lawn, where you can retrieve them and THEN wash them. I don't mind washing my own, but refuse to clean up after anyone else, unless I invite you to dinner. Not having a dishwasher gives me a wonderful opportunity to express my bitchy side.
ReplyDeleteRHYMES WITH PLAGUE It's good that John Lewis actually list the expected decibels that different dishwashers emit. To recapture the "thrill" you speak of I shall just have to plonk Lady Pudding on top of the dishwasher!
ReplyDeleteKELLY Thanks for dropping by. If visiting a bathroom shop I don't think the shop assistants would be too happy about potential customers (Like Earl Gray) actually testing out the porcelain but I wonder if you'd need to take your own toilet paper?
JAN B. Jeez! If I ever come for dinner at your house I'm gonna bring paper plates and plastic cutlery! I never realised you had a bitchy side and previously thought you were as sweet as sugar candy!
a bog is cheaper than an dishwasher Kelly x
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid to say I just hate our dishwasher! It was a gift from my folks a couple of years ago, when they saw just how much washing-up Mediterrean cooking can create. However, I hate the bending and creaking (my back) of loading and unloading, and put the blame for my recurring lumbago firmly at the dishwasher's door - whilst reaffirming that it has nothing to do with hours spent lounging in front of a computer.
ReplyDeleteI have nothing against, and actually quite like, the time spent soaping up and rinsing everything (the mind boggles) by hand. So there, if you want a 2nd hand one, just give me a ring, i'll slip ours in my RyanAir hand luggage next time we come back to the UK.
Our dishwasher is that one kitchen appliance that me and Mrs P would never be without. (That isn't strictly true for Mrs P as I discovered when the washing machine conked out.)
ReplyDeleteWe've used one for many years although we inherited our current Zanussi machine when we moved to this house in 2001.
We had a neighbour who thought it somehow unhygienic and that hand washing was somehow more thorough, which is odd when you see the state of a washing-up bowl after a greasy pot or two.
I'm pleased to say she has since seen the light.
Hmmm. Dishwashers. I like to do my dishes myself. It gives me a little ruminating (lit and fig) time and/or time to talk one to one with friends or offspring. It's interesting what thoughts come out over the quiet chink and wipe of the dishes....
ReplyDeleteBut. Each to his or her own. Good luck!
Take a wine glass too!!
ReplyDeleteEARL GRAY What else did Confucius say?
ReplyDeleteBRIAN Drat! I wish I had known about your "spare" dishwasher! But the new one is now ordered. Besides, how would your Catalan lady have reacted if your dishwasher had disappeared? She had danced the fandango all over your lumbago!
SHOOTIE Your neighbour has "seen the light"? I guess you took her down to your Evangelist Church?
KATHERINE If you need money for a dishwasher just ditch the excuses and put in a written request!
HELSIE Not all of us spend our spare time guzzling Oz wine while quilting! You can probably get counselling.
When I said she had seen the light, I meant the little red one that tells her when her dishwasher is on.
ReplyDeleteWe had youthful dishwashers most of our family life and only bought a mechanical dishwasher when they had all left home and we realised how much time we spent after tea at night washing and drying dishes. Now we wouldn't be without one. Hope you found one that suits YP? - Dave
ReplyDeleteDAVE Yes got one. It's being delivered on Saturday morning so watch this space. It's never over till the fat dishwasher sings!
ReplyDelete