Buy dumb!
The used “dumb” machine we
paid $285 for that actually
cleans our clothes.
The “smart” machine that we
paid $923 for and sold for $40.
Two years ago our old Kenmore Series 80 washing machine broke down. The repair guy said it would be so expensive to fix that he recommended it was time to buy something new.
So off we went to Sears, where we ended up buying one of today’s modern “smart” machines for a mere $923. As the LG website proudly exclaims,
A Smarter Way to Wash: 6Motion™ Technology uses up to 6 different wash motions to provide a smart cleaning experience that is gentle on clothes and maximizes washing performance.
The problem was the machine never got any of our clothes clean. It also refused to provide enough water. The way it worked was to sense the weight of the clothes you put inside, and determine the needed amount based on this. Routinely, it wasn’t enough, so Diane did web searches to discover numerous owners faking out the machine’s brains by pouring several buckets of water on top of the clothes before turning on the machine, making them weigh more.
The machine also did not have an agitator, the new in-thing among washing machine manufacturers two years ago, probably forced on them by new federal regulations. And though the tub itself did shake, it did it so gently that the clothes hardly moved.
There were also other issues with the machine’s smart technology that frustrated Diane. The machine was boss, and would not allow for any flexibility to its predetermined wash and rinse cycles, even when they made no sense.
Last week Diane had had enough. She did some research, found a local used appliance store in Tucson, Rosano’s & Sons Appliances. Not only did they have a comparable washing machine to our old Kenmore, they gave their workmanship a six month warranty, and would buy our “smart” machine for $40. They wouldn’t pay more, because they explained that no one really wanted these new “smart” machines. The demand was for the older ones, the ones that while “dumb” worked.
And yes, they were right. Since getting the “new” used machine installed it’s like the good ol’ days, when washing machines were washing machines, and the dirty clothes you put in came out clean. Wonder of wonders!
The moral to this story is this: Buy dumb! The modern obsession with adding computer technology to what should be a very simple machine is not necessarily a good thing. Moreover, the regulations imposed by the federal government in the past decade to make many of our appliances “more efficient” and “environmentally friendly” has only served to make them useless.
So, if any of your old appliances break, and there is any possibility of fixing them, do it. It is worth the cost. The used Kenmore Series 70 we just bought cost less than a third of the LG “smart” machine, and does a better job. We would have saved money and had clean clothes for the past two years had we simply fixed the old machine. And if you can’t get the old machine fixed, find a used appliance place and buy used. It will also save you money, and you will also get an appliance that will do the job.
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I knew where you were going with this, so I didn’t even read the whole thing. You are so right, if you want CLEAN clothes you have to use water. Lots of water if your clothes are very dirty.
I still have my 35 year old Maytag washer, and have only replaced two parts since it was new. One was the door trigger (which keeps the machine from agitating, after diagnosing, the replacement was not difficult and the part was available on repair clinic or some such). The other thing was the hot water solenoid. Easily replaced. I may be jinxing myself, but I want to keep this machine forever. At some point parts will no longer be available, so I may have to set up a ‘wash tub’ over a fire outside.
We get dirty. We have animals and tend to work hard. Mincy little city-droids can probably get by with shaking their clothes out, as sweat is something they have never experienced (I mean, yuuuck, right?). Sigh…
I HATE our government telling us what we must do in our bathrooms, kitchens and… laundry.
Showers: I’ll even take Navy showers to save water, but when I turn that water on, I want flow and lots of it! Those ‘high pressure’ nozzles are useless, IMHO. I don’t want to be spit on, I want to be rinsed off.
Toilets: Low-flow toilets are generally a nightmare, although TOTO makes a great, but expensive, one. Oh and dishwashers! Don’t get me STARTED.
Dishwashers: The only decent dishwasher on the market is the Kitchenaid – but make sure you get the one with the ‘grinder’ and the fan driven dryer. Absolutely do NOT buy a Bosch.
You have to clean the filter (they say you only have to clean it once in a while. Oh yeah? Do you want that petrie dish bio-experiment sloshing around your dishes? So you have to change the dishwasher’s diapers. Oh yeah! And you have to ‘set the was cycle’ every time you use it! Or it chooses for you. Lovely. (Oh, did I mention you have to select every ‘energy wasting feature’ on the machine if you want your dishes to approximate clean??)
I took a sample of the water left in the sump after cycle completion (Oh, that too – it is a ‘feature’), and left it in a jar for 3 days. Oh brother, the water turned foetid within 1 day, after 3 you didn’t want to get near it (I had it covered, except for drawing samples). Trust me: You do NOT want this mess on your dishes. I could go on, the thing is a disaster, but we will sell the house and the new owners will probably be ‘thrilled’ to have a Euro dishwasher…
Euro-Trash-Dishwasher, anyway.
And what will you do when someone like a “Beto” comes for it because it is “wasting” water? (It along with your full flush toilet.)
I know, when you get the notice from the government being a law abiding citizen you will relinquish it, you know, for the good of everyone, for the good of the planet.
But there will be those who will not relinquish them and they will have to be made an example of. And then only those outlaw black market washing machines will exist and they will skyrocket in value. And those who own them will live in constant fear of being discovered and raided by the jack booted feds who will be required to execute the duly passed laws.
You might want to invest in an AR since you seem to be on such a dark road that will certainly bring only trouble. Good luck.
(I know, it sounds stupid and ridiculous, but this is exactly how the Democrat presidential candidates sound. As stupid and ridiculous as it sounds.)
Another significant advantage of buying old — you are buying an American made product….
Yes, when they outlaw washing machines, only outlaws will have washing machines!
Wholeheartedly agree on the LG machines- we’ve had one for a few years and it’s been no end of grief. Always having to override its cycles with extra rinse, add water etc. Very annoying!
As a software engineer, I always go for mechanical solutions when they work. Software is not always the answer and certainly “using less” is not always the answer.
On the other hand, if you want to go to the moon or Mars, you definitely need software and lots of it.
Andi: Interestingly, we had a different experience with our dish washer. About four years ago we purchased a high-end well-reviewed dishwasher (I don’t remember the brand unfortunately). The thing was a lemon, breaking down twice in the first two years. With the third failure, the repairman said it is pointless fixing it.
We bought a new low-end LG machine for a third what we paid for the high-end machine, and have been much happier with it. This was not a smart vs dumb story, but merely the difference between a lemon and something that appears to work.
Let’s call them what they truly are: Obama-Washers.
Incompetence cast and stamped into plastic and metal and installed in your house.
Democrats are t merely evil, they are stupid-evil, the worst kind of evil.
These new laundry pairs want you to connect them to Wi-Fi as well. Why? After a while these so called high efficiency washing machines begin to literally stink so you have to use washing machine cleaner wasting a full load of water just to clean the washer. And about every week or so once they start stinking. If you’ve ever pulled one of these modern dandies apart you will see a greatly simplified design and much lighter construction. So I suspect this has more to do with the bottom line then anything else. About all I can say is if you’re stuck with one of these things is to use about half the detergent and use Fabuloso as a booster. Fabuloso reduces the viscosity of the detergent/dirt muck so your clothes rinse cleaner and the washer stays cleaner. Don’t use it with bleach.
In the 1980s Sears started putting microprocessors and LCD displays on everything whether it needed it or not. Lawnmowers, toasters, blenders etc to no advantage whatsoever and they failed a lot. Come on… It’s a toaster! So Wi-Fi enabled laundry pairs? Bah, humbug!
I’m tired of water saving appliances, fixtures, etc.
I’m out in the boonies, and get my water from a well. It makes no difference to the water supply if I have a toilet that takes 5 gallons per flush, and it doesn’t matter that my showerheads are low flow.
I understand the need to limit water use in the cities, given the water supply available. So make it expensive to use more water and let the market decide what to use.
Absolutely had enough of the nannies intruding into daily life.
The same holds true for dehumidifiers. I owned an old Kenmore dehumidifier that acted up, and I knew it dated to the 1980s, so I bought a brand new, electronic control panel and all, ‘Hisense’ dehumidifier from Home Depot. It lasted two years, just long enough for the warranty to expire. Now, it turns on, but will not actually dehumidify. The compressor will not turn on. I took the old Kenmore to be reworked, and it is back in operation…probably laughing at me…if it could laugh. The repair actually cost more than the Hisense, but it was worth it.
Buy a speed queen commercial washer, only one i found that is even better than the old ones. Fills completely with water, works great. Must buy from appliance dealer, about $700. Also use tri sodium phosphate, tsp, that you buy at lowes paint dept. Add tablespoon to wash load, this is what they removed from our detergents. Add TSP to dishwasher too, works great you only need a few pinches.
Second vote for Speed Queen! Made in Wisconsin USA :-) And as Janine said above they actually fill all the way up with water, they have real agitators and have a great warranty. They even still make a model with an old fashioned mechanical timer….
They still make their machines mostly for Laundromats but started selling home machines a few years ago. We bought a set 2 years ago after my 25 year old GE finally died. Almost bought a new “green” machine but did my homework and found the reviews of the Speed Queens. Went to local appliance store to get them and would absolutely do it again.
Oh, and I’ve heard about the TSP but I still just add Borax detergent booster (20 Mule Team!) that I can get at Walmart. Seems to work great.
EPA regulations are behind the problems of appliances that use water…. all of them, The repair man said that anything sold with an EPA approval was doomed to fail, fail to perform, fail to operate, just fail. He said wash dishes by hand and rinse them in the dishwasher.
Same thing applies to dish washers and toilets. I believe Mark Levin once said that when the federal government can control your toilets thats when you know they have too much power.
I don’t get it. The small no-frills one in my apartment fills with water and agitates. It’s not rocket science. (Pun is OK). They still show a fancier version of the same design:
https://www.frigidaire.com/Washers-Dryers/Laundry-Center/Laundry-Centers/FFLE3900UW/
Hopefully there’s still enough of a free market to supply new appliances that work. Nothing wrong with selling garbage to those who need to virtue signal either, unless those people make it mandatory.
They can have my clean clothes when they pry them off my dead blood soaked body, in which case they are no longer clean anyway.
I learned this with an old GE air-conditioner. I’d bought it in 1991 for about $400; a wall unit to cool a large apartment. 10 years later, 2001, it failed and I had someone take a look. They said the same, that it would be very expensive to repair. I bought the same air-conditioner again, updated: Not “smart,” just updated. And by gosh, it cost the same $400. Except this one didn’t cool the place, was exceptionally loud, and the thermostat now didn’t stop the fan running…ever. To keep the price the same, GE simply reduced (a lot!) the quality of parts and engineering. If I’d spent about the same $400 on fixing the “very expensive” old machine, it would have lasted another ten years, and i would have been happy. IF I could get the parts anymore!
I saw something last week that the President is trying to circumvent epa regs on dishwashers by creating a new category called fast dishwashers. Hoping it works as planned.
I as well, have been engaged in assorted appliance-replacement the past few years, all my stuff is easily 25+ years old.
-Just replaced my washer a few months ago –Kenmore series 200 “HE”, $475 (on-sale) delivered from Sears– a top loader but with ‘HE’ features. I’m still experimenting with the correct amount of detergent to use. One handy feature the machine has however, is the “deep fill” option, overrides the water-saving features and allows me to fill it and wash as normal.
[Note to Steve Earl– I use borax as a detergent-booster myself, which I get from Dollar General ‘cuz there apparently is no generic version of borax in my market.]
Pivoting—I have a question about microwave ovens— my Amana Radar-Range is straight from 1993 and it’s 1500 watts. Been contemplating a replacement but most of what I see are 900 watts (or less).
Do they still make 1500 watt microwaves, or what?
wayne: For microwave ovens, look in pawn shops and thrift stores and used appliance places. I am betting you can find a unit that works fine for pennies on the dollar, with the options you want.
We also bought a Speed Queen commercial washer, after having problematic LG and Maytag “smart” wash machines. NEVER AGAIN will I buy a smart washer….NEVER. I ALSO RECENTLY BOUGHT FIVE OLDER WRINGER WASHING MACHINES. I grew up with these and love them.
GrumpyCurmudgeonLady:
My workaround for “low flow” shower heads is to have a diverter valve between the shower head and the wall. Attached to the diverter is an old style kitchen sprayer (with an extension). The regular shower head is fine for soaping up, and then I switch over to the sprayer for rinsing off. Works great if you just want to lean over the tub to wash your hair, too. The arrangement also worked well when I lived in an apartment that had water temperature balance issues – where the temp would vary 20 degrees quickly depending on other users.
Can’t take credit for the idea – saw the arrangement at a friend’s house where they had it set up to give their pets baths in the tub.
Mary–
I have some nice vintage washboards from the 1930’s but those are just for show.
——
“Mother Takes a Holiday”
Whirlpool 1952 (A Jam Handy Production)
https://youtu.be/nMss3ZR7ijg
28:40
“a drama of how the women in the family manipulate their men to upgrade the laundry facilities.”
Absolutely beautiful—
1917 Maytag Model 43 Washing Machine
(>gas powered)
https://youtu.be/Aq_nD87riLY
3:35
Who knew this would be such a hot topic! I agree Bob! The old washing machines use more water and do a much better job. I work with a lot of pesticides for my job, every year or 2 we have to renew our pesticide applicator license, by going to a boring renewal class put on by the Dept of Agriculture. The last 2 years they have been on kick of lecturing us how to do our laundry after working with pesticides. As boring as I found this topic to be, what I took away from it was that old washing machines are indeed better at cleaning our clothes! These bureaucrats had even gone to the extent of conducting their own studies and testing pesticide residue after a laundry cycle (I shudder to think what they spent on these “studies”). They said that the new eco-friendly washing machines were terrible at getting the pesticide residues out. It took 3 cycles of a fancy new machine to do what an old machine could do in 1 cycle. Yes, buy dumb.
Tri sodium phosphate (TSP) is not the best option for adding to the washer or the dishwasher. It can combine with minerals in your water to create a non soluble layer on things. Short term you won’t notice it but long term it can cause problems. You should use sodium tripolyphosphate instead. It’s safe and effective and can be bought on amazon pretty cheap. It’s even approved as a food additive. That is the ingredient that dishwasher detergents used to have in them back when they worked better. I add half a teaspoon to every load in the dishwasher. Made a huge difference. I don’t even rinse my dishes now, everything goes in and everything comes out clean.
The old “Build a better mousetrap” trap. Stick with what works.
Most low-flow showerheads have a plastic flow impedance part just sitting inside the female connector.
Unscrew the showerhead, remove the offending part with a pair of pliers, reinstall the showerhead, and enjoy.
.
I’d heard that the companies were getting pressure from the government to make the system harder to defeat during the Obama years, but I don’t know that any had actually changed it.
I got rid of my “smart washer” many moons ago. I now have a Speed Queen and was told it has the commercial grade motor and should last 25 years. I love it!! The clothes come out clean just as I expected and it uses the same amount of water as the machine my mom used when I was a kid! ?
When our last washing machine bit the dust about a year ago, I spent a lot of time agonizing over how to replace it. I also went online and saw the various techniques to trick the machines into giving you enough water. Some even involved opening up the machine and disabling or resetting sensors.
And yes, there was the “Where the f* did the agitator go?!”
I almost got a front-load machine, since an agitator really isn’t needed. But tricking them into giving you enough water seemed more difficult.
I eventually found a GE with an agitator and the ability to manually set the water level. (It will also do auto-level, with a “deep fill” button that adds more water to the auto-level fill-up.)
Our dishwasher is less trickable. Seems we almost always use the “Heavy Wash” option. I finally ran out of the commercial dishwashing soap I was using (because it still had the phosphates necessary to actually clean the dishes). I will need to order more.
As others mentioned, one of the fundamental principles of cleaning just about everything is “More water, the better!” The second fundamental is “Elbow grease works!” – which means give me back my agitator!
Gov’t is crawling into every nook and cranny to force us to do things “for our own good” and it’s enough to make me want to stuff them in a ‘smart’ refrigerator and screw the door shut.
Though, one comment on the “buy dumb”:
It’s not necessarily the ‘smart’ bit that’s the problem. Computers were in my old dishwasher and washing machine. It is the amount of control they exert through the computers that is the issue.
Trust me, if there were enough truly ‘dumb’ machines sold, the gov’t would force them to do the same thing, but in ways much harder to defeat (because you couldn’t cut out the computer sensors or bypass them). The ‘smart’ bit just makes it easier to control you.
(Oh, and add cars to the list of “Way too damn smart for anyone’s good.”)
You could write a piece about “smart” schooling.
The use of computer based course assignments, testing, email and texting has become a nightmare , especially for parents who are now given new responsibilities to monitor their children’s education, especially when 6 different teachers use 6 different methods. And of course you must keep up the newest operating systems and virus software and apps compatible with the schools choices.
I am old school…give me a good teacher, a good reusable text book(no batteries, no operating system), a pad of paper and a pencil.
The greatest minds in history learned that way, relying on computer number one between their ears.
Someone was surprised that this was a hot topic. Anybody that has bought a new washing machine in the past 5 years will verify this issue. When I got mine 5 years ago, I called the repair man and he came out and laughed. Called it like someone else mentioned a “Obama Machine”. He told me to keep a 5 gallon bucket next to the machine and add it to the wash and rinse whenever I did clothes. Fortunately we moved and now have old machine that churns out clean clothes again. I will get that one repaired for the rest of my life.
Dishwashers… Remember when you could wash a full load of dishes in 35 minutes… Now what is it, two hours plus?
WiFi connectivity – talk about a solution in search of a problem!
How soon before IoT is everywhere and our toasters, etc. are all reporting back to the NSA through the backdoor?
How soon before “they” turn off our appliances during heavy load periods? Oh wait, the local electric company is already doing that with the A/C. Fortunately it’s still voluntary, but for how long?
So glad you all posted and commented.
You jinxed me Robert!
Your post caused my clothes dryer motor a phase to ground fault and burnt it out last night. Just joking on the jinxed part, but after 20 years the GE Dryer gave up the ghost and no parts can be found. Looks like I will have to bite the bullet and another one.
listen to John Hartford’s “good ole electric washing machine”
I heard about smart washers doing that whole bit and the last time we upgraded I insisted that we buy DUMB ones. It paid off. We can put WAY more clothes in every load with our latest and greatest DUMB washer & dryer.
Only liberals can take something that works and make it twice as expensive and it can’t do the job. You have to wear dirty clothes to save the ‘environment’. NOT AT OUR HOUSE!!
The lion’s share of our water bill is used on our lawn. Who buys it when they say “you’ll save money on your water bill”? Bull excrement. I’m proud of our clean clothes and soft and lush, gorgeous dark green, healthy, OVER fertilized and regularly watered grass.
I PAID FOR THAT water.
Whatever happened to “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”?
William wrote: “EPA regulations are behind the problems of appliances that use water…. all of them, The repair man said that anything sold with an EPA approval was doomed to fail, fail to perform, fail to operate, just fail. He said wash dishes by hand and rinse them in the dishwasher.”
I have been calling my dishwasher a “sterilizer” for years. The word comes from the time in college when I worked in the kitchen — our “dishwasher” didn’t wash at all, only sterilized.
My Democrat mother once complained to me that her dishwasher stopped cleaning her dishes. I informed her that the government required changes to the detergents that make them practically worthless, but she refused to believe me. She thought her dishwasher was broken and has been buying new ones ever since. I will tell her about the TSP/Borax/sodium tripolyphosphate solutions.
As I like to say, when we let the government run things (such as what is in our washing machines, dishwashers, detergents, or air conditioners) we only get what government wants, not what we want (such as clean clothes, clean dishes, or comfortable homes).
Andi asked: “Whatever happened to ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!’?”
The government has a “not invented here” philosophy, and because that phrase wasn’t invented there, they won’t follow it.
I resisted buying a microwave for years. To much hassle when I just want to induce rapid motion in the molecules of something. Then I found the machine of my dreams at a “silent auction” a group I belong to puts on for charity, It was old and a bit dinged up, but I loved it. I took it home that night, I think I was the only bidder. It had TWO controls, a “twist the dial” timer and an on-off switch. It finally died on me….how I miss its inspired simplicity! And you know what, I think it is harder and requires more genius to make something simple and to avoid the impulse to throw on every bell and whistle than otherwise.
.
Referencing dishwashers— It’s worth it to run some household bleach through your machine every once in awhile. The water is never hot enough to effectively kill the organisms that grow on the inside of your machine.
Referencing detergent for clothes washing—most all contain alkylbenzene sulfonates (and their derivatives) as the cleaning agent + an antiredeposition agent to prevent the dirt from resettling on your clothes + assorted dyes, dye-transfer-inhibitors, perfumes, optical brighteners, and an agent to modify the hardness of your water and protect the machine parts from corrasion. (A joke in the detergent-biz; “If we add enough optical-brighteners to our products, we won’t need to add any detergent.”
I have an LG and love it. Gets all the clothes clean. The only problem with the dishwasher, is that the trays don’t fit as many pots and pans as the old one.
Okay, I finally had to go take a look to see what model washing machine we have. Knew it was an older model. Must be my lucky day – a Kenmore Series 80. I’ll keep this guy running even at the cost of hours watching YouTube videos on appliance repair.
Not sure how accurate or up to date this is:
“How to determine who actually manufactured your Sears Kenmore appliance”
http://www.appliance411.com/purchase/sears.shtml
–You need the 3 digit model number off the ID tag and compare it to the chart.
OK, this may be the most comments I have seen on an ‘independent’ website. Apparently my husband is right and there is a groundswell of “We ain’t going to take it anymore!!!”. I hope he is right… on many fronts.
So, since nobody is likely to read this, I’ll put my Bosch Dishwasher review here. It is right in line with what everyone has been saying – I wrote it, Amazon didn’t like that I called ‘Euro-Engineers’ ‘Euro-Trash’. Hmm. They seem to have no problem with the blue-bonnets calling us red-riders racysssts or what-the-heck-ever on reviews all over the place. So here is my review of the bosch-trosh:
——————————————
Well, I am not sure what I would like in a dishwasher these days other
than what it is SUPPOSED to do:
– Give me more time in my day not ‘tending to’ drudge work.
– Thoroughly clean the dishes (this is what it is FOR).
– Dry the dishes, so that I can put them away.
– Do it in a decent amount of time so I can put them away before I go to bed at night.
This machine only does one of these things. It is the minimum. It does
seem to clean the dishes. Oh oh! See update!
cons:
– I have to use ‘Heavy’ with sani and extra dry features in order to get the
dishes to the point that they are clean and somewhat damp.
– The cycle is over 3 hours long.
– You have to clean a filter (what is THAT about? I do not want to be
a slave to my appliances).
– There is an inlet water filter (???) that WILL clog. When it does,
unless you remove and fix it yourself, it is an appliance repair
person who will be called. The part is not hideously expensive, the
repair call will be. I don’t know if you can get away with drilling
out that screen or not. I’m not messing with it until it fails.
– It does not dry the dishes. At all. Extra-dry is a joke. There is no
difference between ‘no dry’ and ‘extra dry’. If you leave it all
night the dishes are slightly dryer than if you attempt to put them
away after the (very long) cycle finishes. If you leave the cabinet
open after completion overnight, the dishs will be dry. Joy. Even
with the factory setting turned off (yes, there is a ‘secret’
setting in the manual, not at all evident. You DID read the entire
manual, right?)
– Unless you sterilize the filter before going away for a few days,
you better leave the cabinet open, or you will return to
swamp-fever. Oh, oh! Even worse. Add to this: Remove all water
from the sump, using a turkey baster. You could pour clorox in, but
I am sure it would void your warranty.
pros:
– It is priddy.
– It is very quiet, frankly, I would rather have it be noisy with a
food grinder and drying fan.
– It was not difficult to install, except you need to buy a power cord
if you are plugging it into a receptacle.
– It is no better or worse than any other dishwasher of its price
point that are available. See updates on cons.
– You will be able to brag about having some German engineering in
your kitchen. You get the Euro-trash smell too. (see the cons.)
UPDATE: 2017-07-03
Well. Guess what? The thing doesn’t pump out all of the water from the
previous wash. Therefore, even if you sterilize the filter, you will
return from your vacation to an active biology
demonstration. Yech. You need to leave the dishwasher open if you
leave it for more than 24 hours.
UPDATE: 2017-07-04:
I used a turkey baster and drew the water out of the washer’s sump.
It was quite cloudy, cloudier than the final backwash on my pool
filter. This is after using ‘heavy soil’, ‘sani’ and ‘extra dry’. (Which you need
to select EVERY TIME YOU USE THIS BOAT ANCHOR.)
THE WATER IS DIRTY in the final rinse. But thank God it doesn’t draw
drying air from under the cabinets! That is horrific!!! (This is the ‘excuse’
that europeans use for not ‘allowing’ American dishwashers to disgrace their
kitchens.)
But that is not surprising given the personal hygiene of the most
Europeans. (They don’t bathe that regularly, they generally have that whiff of BO
about them – not the nice smell of a man that has been working all day, but rather
the smell of a man (or woman) who has been working outside but haven’t
bathed for a week). Been there, smelled that. Although it is hard to
get a snatch of the smell through all the tobacco smoke. So much for
‘healthy’ Euros. But I am sure they are right: Americans are too clean.
Yeah. Right. How ’bout them Japanese all these Libs are always on
about? The ‘Japanese Soaking Tub’. A great idea if you get yourself
sparkly clean (AND I MEAN JAPANESE CLEAN) before ‘soaking’. Else,
guess what you get? Yeah. The inside of a Bosch dishwasher.
So, an additional cons is this:
cons: IT DOESN’T EVEN GET YOUR DISHES CLEAN. This is the minimum
requirement of a dishwasher – FAIL. Not drying, not being quiet, not
even getting HOT are not ‘requirements’ of a dishwasher, but getting
dishes CLEAN is.
So, my recommendation is: Don’t buy it
Get something that may be noisier, but gets rid of the sump water and
grinds up the stuff left on the dishes when you load.
cons: While I have had people tell me that they only have to clean the
filter every month or so, I wonder if their ability to think is
impaired. The ‘filter’ is filled with slimy crud after every wash, at
least in my house. But I suppose if you carefully clean and sterilize
your dishes before you put them in, all will be well. Perhaps I could convert it
to a dish cabinet. But no, the thing STINKS even immediately after running
a cycle with no dishes and a sparky clean filter. IT STINKS!!
GrumpyCurmudgeonLady: Thank you for your comments.
The number of comments on this particular post here on Behind The Black is hardly unique. Moreover, don’t assume your comments will not be seen. A lot of people will read what you write, as the website’s popularity appears to be growing, with this month likely to be its most visited month ever.
Nice to see your response. I hope people DO read it. Lousy, stupid, annoying, left-wing machine ;->
Thanks for your site, I enjoy all of it, as does my husband. He is the serious space-nut, I am just space-nut-lite. But still, great fun to read about (except the downfall of our once quite amazing NASA). Being engineers, we are both deeply disturbed by the state of ‘science’ and ‘engineering’ education in our fair nation. Perhaps that will turn around, stranger things have happened.
Anyway, thanks for your comment Robert!