Do-it-yourself appliance repair

Posted by Jonathan on June 1st, 2007 filed in dishwashers

D-I-Y appliance repair is a journey into the unknown… usually accompanied by an unusual quantity of grime, bruises and bad language.  But the benefits speak for themselves – satisfaction of a job well done and a “thank you” from my spouse.  Somehow it’s all worthwhile when it spins back into life and I can stand back and listen to it whoosh, chug or whine (as appropriate).

The old way
I’d start pulling apart the dishwasher on a Sunday – all the parts stores in town are closed (not that they would have what I need anyway … “we’ll have to order that” … why did I bother driving to you).

Anyway, I’d have the dishwasher apart, finally find the fodgimaflip which is broken/busted/twised/leaking/burnt out and of course, now I want to find a replacement for it.

So I’d be hunting through these pathetic parts sites squinting at clip-art pictures which are supposed to represent real objects in the physical universe. Little did I know that I didn’t have to do this – this wasn’t how it was meant to be.

Broken again
So a few months ago I was working on our dishwasher again (funny how that happens) and I find there’s a float-chamber-mechanism-thingy which regulates the water level inside the dishwasher tub. The float has a regulator which prevents the float from jumping up and down to quickly as the water sloshes around – this prevents the water inlet valve and exit pump from flipping on and off continuously. Anyway, it’s shot – the regulator has become stiff and the float doesn’t move quickly enough. This meant that the dishwasher would fill too high when it was letting water in and then would keep trying to drain well past the point the tub was completely empty. At this point I could see a burnt out drain pump in my future.

Found it!

So I start searching the Internet for parts. The manufacturer’s web site is worse than useless. I find a few 3rd-party parts sites but can’t find the part I’m looking for. I finally come across Repair Clinic. It’s got all the parts for my dishwasher in stock (looking good) and it’s got pictures for my parts. Big pictures. Clear pictures. Some of the parts even have multiple pictures from different angles! And the pictures are even on a 1-inc grid so you can see whether the part is the right size. I’ve never seen anything like it before – it’s fantastic.

But there’s no catch?
So there must be a catch, right? Nope. I ordered the float-chamber-regulator mechanism and it arrived a few days later. I prepare to open the packet – bracing myself for the part being not the one I really wanted (tell me this hasn’t happened to you before) and having to find the right one and re-order, do an RMA on the old one (or just toss it in the trash). Go on, tell me this hasn’t happened to you! But no! It’s the right one. The picture was correct – I got the right part. It was even the same color (well color – this thing was blue, red, black and yellow)! It’s a miracle. I fitted it and the we were washing dishes again. Success. Easy. Quick. No wasted cash or effort.

I wish I’d found this site years ago. Their fridge magnet is now a permanent fixture on our fridge and it’s the only parts site I buy from.

Repair Clinic  – where to *find* and buy appliance parts