Doomed

Photo by BobbaLew.

I guess our allegedly fantabulous Kenmore dishwasher, pictured at left, is doomed.
It’s only four-five years old.
It committed the unpardonable sin of leaving a thin patina of soap-scum on its interior fixtures.
I don’t know how true that is, but I leave such observations to my wife, our guardian of cleanliness.
“I don’t know if it’s rinsing properly,” she said. “If it’s leaving soap-scum behind, it’s probably on our dishes too, although I haven’t noticed it.”
My contact with this dishwasher is basic.
I empty it every morning, and occasionally I put things in it, put dishwashing detergent into it, or start it.
It replaced our original dishwasher, a Maytag.
I don’t remember what was wrong with that one, other than it was old and noisy.
Our Kenmore has had other issues.
Some of the rack-ends weren’t sealed, so now rust is exuding out of those rack-ends.
“I suppose we could replace those racks,” my wife said.
“I could get tips that seal those rack-ends.”
My guess is $200-$300.
A new dishwasher might cost twice that.
Our Kenmore has a plastic tub.
Also available is a stainless-steel tub, for a considerable increase in price.
“The stainless should be the racks,” my wife said. “Plastic is fine for the tub.
And why is it the manufacturers feel they gotta keep the price of such appliances the same as years ago?” my wife asked.
“Years ago the average new car cost maybe $5,000. Now figure on $21,000 or more.
Yet dishwasher prices are the same as eons ago, and they’ve cheapened the engineering.”
I remember a Sony TV dealer similarly complaining.
“The TV ya buy nowadays is a throwaway. Ya can’t repair it. And years ago they were tanks! They might last 20-30 years.
What’s available now might last seven years; after which ya trash it and go to Best Buy and buy another.
Putting shops like us out of business. Oh, the infamy!”
So back to washing dishes by hand — as it was for many years.
I suggested maybe we should look into a new dishwasher, but was told to not bother.
The Kenmore just sits unused, retired, I guess.
Maybe we can ripen tomatoes in it!

• My wife of 43 years is “Linda.”
• RE: “Maybe we can ripen tomatoes in it......” —My father-in-law, long deceased, suggested he was ripening tomatoes in their dishwasher, so we asked the salesman if their dishwashers, e.g. our Maytag, had “tomato-ripening cycles.”