1500 Days to Freedom

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Not Dead, but Defeated by the Dishwasher (for now)

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I plan waaaaay to much. It has been worse than usual lately. We’re behind on our home remodeling permit, so need to get it wrapped up. We really are close now. Check out some of the cool stuff we’ve been finishing up:

collworkage

I like to be busy, but the issue is that when something goes wrong, it really throws a wrench into the gears.

We’ve owned this house for less than 3 years, but there has been no shortage of stuff breaking:

  • The original furnace blew out a fan
  • The new furnace quit (less than a year old)
  • The new air conditioner quit (just over a year old and out of warranty)
  • Hose came loose on the dishwasher, causing a minor flood
  • Faucet in new bath sprung a leak (less than a year old)
  • Sump pump crapped out
  • Main sewer line clogged (not fun at all unless you enjoyed being covered with… oh never mind…)

 

*&%^ing Dishwasher

Anyway, we already had a packed week planned when the dishwasher stopped draining. We manually emptied the water before pulling the damn thing out again. I put it up on stools to work on it:

IMG_20160307_195629997_HDR

I took all of the plumbing apart, but could find no clogs. Finally, we discovered a penny in the drain line. From the look of it, it had been there for years. It must have shifted positions to clog the hose. I cursed at it with great enthusiasm before tossing it aside. That was the easy part.

The first problem was finding replacement clamps. I had to cut some of the original clamps off and finding replacements took me on a wild goose chase to four stores. Note that this kind of clamp doesn’t work because they are all 1/2″ wide (I need 3/8″ or less):

Screen Shot 2016-03-13 at 9.36.48 PM

 

I put it all back together, but when I fired it up, I noticed a leak from below. Water was dripping from one of the connections:

leak

I unleashed more profanity and stomped around for a bit. After I calmed down, I replaced the clamp. Surely, I just put it on wrong somehow. Nope. The new clamp leaked too.

I dug deep for more bad words. I called the dishwasher’s mother a filthy, dirty whore. I threatened to send it to the scrap heap. The dishwasher mocked me the whole time by continuing to drip.

I called a plumber friend who had no idea what to do. I then called a random appliance repairman that I found on the Internet who advised me to try a different kind of clamp. I had already tried to acquire the one he was talking about, but no one stocks it locally. He is going to see if he can get it from his plumbing supply shop. He also mentioned some type of sealant. Hopefully, he gets back to me tomorrow.

 

Back later

So that is my story, I’ll be back after I defeat the dishwasher. Or throw it into the creek. Or load it with gunpowder and… well never mind that either…

In the scope of events on the planet, this is nothing. People go hungry and children get tumors. Life is good. Hell, life is great, just busy.

In the meantime, let me know if you have any ideas on how to fix this dirty old bastard.

 

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Comments

  1. We are going out on a limb here, but did you know you can actually do the dished in the sink? Might save you from some profanity that is not suitable for the kids in the 1500 household 😉

    Like the gunpowder option by the way, please make sure you have a camera rolling!
    Team CF recently posted…Dutch Taxes – Part 5: BenefitsMy Profile

    • I second both of these suggestions.

      But I’m sorry to hear your behind on your permit. I hope there aren’t any more fees associated with that. But if there are you could write an article
      Something along the lines of
      “Beware a permit expiring” …. But I’m not very good with titles but you get my point
      The Roamer recently posted…No employer match, Who cares?My Profile

        • Ha ha! I actually don’t mind hand-washing, but I’ve read it uses way less water to do it with a washer. By the way, we open the dishwasher door and let everything dry naturally instead of wasting the electricity to generate heat to dry them.

          Oh, and the dishwasher saves time. Time is my most valuable asset right now. And will continue to be for the rest of my years.

  2. I hate it when DIY projects get snags. I was unclogging the ptrap in a sink a few years ago and got the clog out and everything back together but then it started leaking. Ugh. I was so po’d because I didn’t have any putty and had to go all the way back to the hardware store (walking b/c I didn’t have a car). I finally got it fixed in the end but it took longer than I wanted.

    Hang in there with the dishwasher!!

    • Thanks! Miraculously, I think it is all OK now. Explanation soon.

      And yes, even when you have a car, going to Home Depot 5x in a day wears you thin. 5 is my personal record. Damn plumbing parts!

  4. That sounds like our house… It’s amazing the amount of things that have broken and needed fixing/replacing.

    As far as the dishwasher, have you tried any type of sealant or even something like Vaseline on the pipe before putting the hose and then clamp on? Could it be the hose has a worn spot in it, similar to a washer on a sink. When those get worn out no matter how you “turn off the water it still runs. Maybe something like that could be the issue, and not necessarily the clamp at all. Just trying to put out different reasons for the leak that might not be clamp related.

    Good luck! 🙂
    Mr. SSC recently posted…Feb 2016: Our money went where?My Profile

    • If the new clamp doesn’t work, it might indeed just be the hose is worn out on that end and not fitting snuggly anymore. I would order a new hose while you are waiting for the clamp, just in case. That way if the clamp doesn’t fix it, you at least have another option to try. You can always return the hose if that isn’t the problem. Is the drain outlet the hose goes on a barb fitting or smooth?

      • It is all fixed. I think! It is the craziest story because the damn thing fixed itself when I was shopping for a new one. I’ll explain next week.

  5. Look on RepairClinic.com
    They have videos for common problems and ship parts really fast. They had the part I needed that I was unable to find locally. That is how I figured out how to fix my own washing machine. They may have a solution for you, too. Good luck!

    • Thanks Connie! I had never heard of that site and appreciate the recommendation.

      Miraculously, the dishwasher fixed itself. I can’t make this stuff up. I’ll explain next week…

  6. When I recently did the supply lines in my kitchen after the freezing incident, I had a similar conundrum. Disconnecting the faucet seemed so simple, but when I went to re-connect one of the compression fittings has a slow leak.

    “Well” I thought to myself, “this is easy, I’ll just pull a compression ring out of the basement” (because these are the things I never throw away).

    Taking the compression fitting off, I noticed there /wasn’t/ an existing compression ring. Not letting the facts get in the way of a good plan, I jammed the new brass compression ring on the fitting and tightened it back up. Turned the water on, and what used to be a slow leak is now a sprightly, vigorous leak. Damn.

    Looked up my model of faucet online and discovered that this particular line of Delta faucets use a nylon compression ring (not brass like the rest of the goddamn universe) to bond the pex supply line (attached to the faucet) to the ball valve fitting.

    Everyone online said “be sure to keep the extras (nylon compression ring) in a safe place because if you ever have to disconnect and reconnect they are impossible to find and only work once. Thanks Delta!

    Called 2 plumbing supply houses, they don’t have the it. One wasn’t even sure they existed. The third supply house knew what I was talking about, cursed the designer, and told me he thought they could “dig some up out of a closet”.

    Long story shorter, they did in fact have a couple of nylon compression rings and in a spate of humanity decided not to charge me the $0.05 / piece for 4 of them. 2 to use, and 2 to tape to the back of the sink cabinet for the next poor sap to discover the shitty design.

    Anyway, you have my sympathies for the “simple” projects that turn out to take much longer than expected. I feel your pain.

    I assume you’ve carefully cleaned both ends of your leaky connection? Even a little bit of scale or sediment on the inside of the pipe or outside of the nipple could cause a small leak.

    If it were me, I’d probably smear pipe dope all over the connection and try again. Certainly not the “right” way to fix it… but it might work? I also might try a new hose. It /shouldn’t/ make a difference but who knows?

    Good luck!

  7. Good luck! That is a remarkable string of household breakdowns. Things always take longer than expected, but this is ridiculous. Let us know if you end up re plumbing the whole dishwasher!

  8. Sounds like a big list of odd issues, you didn’t buy a Goodman furnace and A/C did you? I’ve heard very mixed, a decent amount of bad things about that company. Three years at my house so far, I think the only major issue I ran into was a drain clog that caused a small flood. I went to my dad’s house yesterday to say happy birthday, ended up helping him fix a toilet that was leaking at the water inlet lol. ended up having to modify several parts we bought and an hour or two longer than expected.

    I would assume that’s the line that goes to the drain, I would check for cracks in the plastic, maybe get a new hose that may be more pliable and seals better, or try a little bit of sealant around the plastic, like a tiny bit of silicone(assuming it’s a super slow dribble).
    Kyle recently posted…Theory of Savers and Spenders: Why Your Financial Advice is IgnoredMy Profile

    • Not Goodman, but I have heard similar bad things. However, I also talked to a furnace repairman who I greatly respect and he said that the bad press isn’t warranted. I don’t know what to believe.

      The damn thing is fixed now too. Full story soon.

      • What I mostly heard was towards Goodman’s A/C units, and I’ve heard they may have fixed the gremlin issues they had that made it unreliable, but still makes me weary. I’m not even sure I’d replace my A/C if it broke. I only turn it on about 5 times a year. I’m sure it’ll die and we’ll get a month of 100+ degree temps and I’ll be rocking out in my Iron Man boxers, sweating with 3 fans blowing on me 24/7.
        Kyle recently posted…Theory of Savers and Spenders: Why Your Financial Advice is IgnoredMy Profile

  9. Wow, it sounds the same as when I fix something. There’s always some custom part or random water line that never seems to stop leaking.

    I really hate working on stuff with custom connection parts. It helps to have a good hardware store around, but inevitably there ends up being some custom part that I can only find on Amazon to fix the thing.
    Mr. Tako @ Mr. Tako Escapes recently posted…One Big Company: Why We Like The 3% RuleMy Profile

    • “I really hate working on stuff with custom connection parts.”

      Yes, the people who design stuff like that should be forced to watch “Full House” reruns (a truly horrible show) for a month straight with their eyeballs pried open (Clockwork Orange style).

  10. Something breaks every month. Our kitchen faucet is leaking. It’s pretty old and grungy so we decided to replace for a sleeker faucet. We get ready to install it and we can’t because the hot water key underneath the sink won’t close completely. We will either have to hire a plumber ($$$) to come fix it, or I thought we could just borrow a key to shut off the main water!
    SavvyFinancialLatina recently posted…New Couch PurchaseMy Profile

    • Bummer. I hate calling plumbers. “Yeaah, it’s gonna be $200 just to take a look.” Bugger off.

      I’m sure there are good ones, but I’m not finding them.

  12. Bummer. Hopefully the new clamp works. I had a dishwasher that started dripping. It was not a loose connection, it was just starting to wear out. I was able to extend its life by just sticking a cookie sheet underneath it. It would catch all the drips and would dry out. Obviously this isn’t a good solution in the long term but it might at least make it usable in the interim until you can find the impossible-to-find clamp.
    Money Beagle recently posted…Why I Visited 1,132 Personal Finance Blogs (And What I Learned)My Profile

    • Love the cookie sheet! Frugal power for the win!

      The thing is fixed now. Crazy story that I’ll save for next week…

  13. I was with you until this:

    “Finally, we discovered a penny in the drain line. From the look of it, it had been there for years. It must have shifted positions to clog the hose. I cursed at it with great enthusiasm before tossing it aside.”

    YOU TOSSED THE PENNY ASIDE?!?!?!?!?!

    • Ha ha!! No, I’m too cheap for that! Although, from years of living in the drain pipe, it is barely recognizable as a penny. I’ll post a picture next week…

    • Yeah, good observation. In all these cases, I’ve fixed the stuff myself. I’ll continue to do so too when I become a landlord again someday…

  16. Ah, it is time, my friend. Now that I know you are not perfect and completely efficient, I will share my theme song with you:

    https://mariancall.bandcamp.com/track/i-hope-my-discipline-improves-in-time

    Hopefully, links work in your comments.

    Yep, this is the song that comes to mind whenever the poopsicles thaw out and make themselves evident in the otherwise snowy clean landscape of my plans.

    (PS – Not in any way impugning your discipline. Or mine, really. Just maybe my … uh, “optimistic” estimates for how long projects will take.)

    • LOL! That song is great! If the dishwasher breaks again, I’m going to blast this song while I beat the dishwasher with a baseball bat. Don’t worry, I’ll YouTube it.

      PS: Nice guitar-work in that song. Wish I could play like that!

  17. I fixed the broken hinge springs on my dishwasher when they broke, with the help of Dr Google of course. It even told me what parts to purchase and where to buy them from. Maybe you can search for your model number to find out where you should buy the clamps from?
    InsiderAccountant recently posted…Can we renovate with less waste? I sure hope so!My Profile

    • Man, half of my life success is due to Google!

      In any case, it’s all fixed now. Tune in next week for a riveting update…

  18. I love that you verbally attacked your dishwasher’s mom. I’m surprised that didn’t do the trick though.