Cheap,
Cheap!
I have always been a person who likes to save money. I am not an extreme
couponer by any means. I’m sure many of you know of more websites and apps than
I do for electronic coupons. I’ve put my smart phone to good use beyond Words
with Friends by downloading some apps of some the stores I frequently visit.
They often offer great coupons and I don’t have to worry about clipping or
forgetting anything at home.Another way I like to save is to see if a broken appliance can be fixed by replacing a part. Let’s face it, household appliances can be expensive and often times “they don’t make ‘em like they used to.” When we first moved into our house, the bake button on the stove wouldn’t work – making the oven pretty much useless. Instead of seizing the opportunity to replace the broken one with a sleek new stainless model, we used the one year home owner’s warranty that covered things like this. It was a faulty circuit board and was replaced in a matter of minutes.
A few years later, the hot water ran for a little bit and then would stop; offering only cold water. For me, that is worse than not having electricity. I’d much rather dine by candlelight than not shower for days on end. In addition to no hot water, small white bits were clogging the faucets and shower head. We thought they were hard water mineral deposits and that the hot water heater was having problems. The tank was a few years old which made me think a part was broken. Using the make and model, I discovered with a little research on the internet that a small part called the dip tube could be faulty which would cause the lack of hot water. Alan was skeptical but we ordered the part since it was under $20 and replacing the whole unit would be substantially more. When it came time to install the replacement part, we discovered the dip tube which was made of white plastic had completely disintegrated. Once it was replaced, long hot showers were much more appreciated.
Just recently the dishwasher started making funny noises and soon after it wasn’t cleaning the stuff in the top rack so well. I hadn’t been using any rinse agent so I thought that could have been the problem. I use a cleaning agent at least twice a year to help decalcify the mineral build up. Nothing worked and it got to the point where water wasn’t reaching the top rack and it looked like everything was covered in steam. I was disappointed that a product we purchased only 10 years ago was broken. Since we are planning to renovate our kitchen in the next year or two, Alan and I resolved to buy a new one along with matching stove/oven and refrigerator.
The kitchen is my girl cave so I was thrilled at the thought of this. But I had a tiny nagging thought – what if it only took a replacement part to fix the problem? I happened to mention the dishwasher plight to my friend Brent the Mechanical Magician Extraordinaire. (This is the guy who fixed a broken generator pushrod with the shaft from a long drill bit and saved my family from being displaced from our home after Hurricane Sandy ravaged the state. He’s the guy you want to have around when the Apocalypse happens.) Brent asked for the make and model and said he would look on internet forums to find posts of the same problem and how the people fixed it. Within five minutes, I got an email containing a link to The Handy Guys Podcast website featuring a blurb describing my exact dishwasher problem along with a how-to video to fix the problem.
I watched the video before beginning the actual work on the dishwasher. After taking Brent’s suggestion to turn off the circuit breaker before working on it, we began to take apart the dishwasher. As I took off the large filter cover, I uncovered the horrors of mineral build up on home appliances. Seriously, I was expecting bits of food as the fix-it guys encountered in their video but this was grody to the max. Fortunately, I used my handy dandy Pampered Chef scraper to loosen it and then swept it up with an old toothbrush.
I was unable to get the grinder cover off because it was glued on with crud. When Alan finally got it off, we saw the problem.
The mangled blade of the chopper assembly. The other washer was practically disintegrated.
This strainer goes behind the blade. Note the hurricane like pattern worn into it.
Fortunately, the replacement part wasn’t too expensive and after putting it in, my dishwasher runs like new.
I like new things but there’s a side of me that causes me to pause and think about where large appliances go after end-of-life; sitting in a landfill not breaking down until kingdom come. I hope they actually go to a metal scrap yard. If everyone took time to consider buying a $20 part instead replacing the whole thing, perhaps the landfills wouldn’t be so full. There is only so much earth left and more people are taking it up day by day. Call me cheap but I hope my mentality provides a true environmental benefit to the future generations of my family.