We don’t begrudge Sears Repair–or, indeed, any business–a healthy markup on items that they sell. That’s how capitalism works, and capitalism is awesome. But Matthew must have felt insulted when the part his dishwasher needed showed up on his doorstep ahead of a return visit from the repairman. The part needed only a few screws to install…and, making things worse, was available $50 cheaper, for only $121, on Sears’ own website. It’s even cheaper elsewhere. [More]
dishwashers
Why Pre-Rinsing Dishes Is For Wasteful Suckers
By 4.13.12
Maybe out of long-standing habit, you pre-rinse dishes before sticking them in the dishwasher. Stop it. You’re most likely wasting time and water by splashing water on there when your dishwasher is perfectly capable of removing crusted-on food itself. If it’s in working order. [More]
Where 'Delivery Date' Doesn't Mean 'Date When We Will Deliver Your Dishwasher To Your House'
By 3.21.12
In Paula’s letter to Consumerist, she said something unusual that caught our eye. She sincerely wished that she had ordered her new dishwasher from Sears rather than Lowe’s. What makes a person express such crazy desires? She had assumed that the “delivery date” displayed for shoppers on the Lowe’s site stood for the date that the appliance would be delivered to and installed in her home. Not quite. [More]
Clean Your Dishwasher With Lemonade Kool-Aid
By 1.7.11
You can spend a lot on fancy cleaners to get the scum out of your dishwasher, or you can just pop in two 10-cent bags of lemonade Kool-Aid in the soap dispenser. [More]
Maytag Dishwasher Possessed By Devil
By 11.18.10
Katie’s Maytag dishwasher barfs water all over the place and has had multiple parts fail. Recently the company issued a recall for her model offering a repair or $200 credit but unfortunately her serial number wasn’t included in the list. Where’s that old Maytag guy when you need him? Oh right, forced into early retirement and replaced with an outsourced vendor. [More]
GE Recalls 174,000 Dishwashers Because You Don't Need Flames To Clean Plates
By 10.26.10
It’s been a bad week for kitchen appliances. First Frigidaire recalls a ton of cooktops and ranges and now GE has issued a substantial recall on 174,000 of its Profile and Monogram dishwashers after learning of a potential fire hazard. [More]
New Twitter Friend At Sears Helps Reader Get New Dishwasher
By 4.22.10
Remember Bob? He had an extended warranty on his Kenmore dishwasher, and Sears decided that it would much rather send repairman after repairman to fix his defective dishwasher–and reimburse him to pay someone to wash his dishes. Between following Doug Moore, SVP and President of Appliances on Twitter and writing to Consumerist, Bob is getting a new dishwasher. A functioning dishwasher. [More]
Sears Spares No Expense To Not Give You A New Dishwasher
By 4.16.10
Bob tells Consumerist that his Kenmore dishwasher has several times due to the same problem–caused, according to one repairman, by a design flaw. It seems that it would be more cost-effective for Sears to replace his dishwasher with one that does not randomly die. Sears does not agree, and requires that an appliance fail four times due to the same problem in the course of a year before it can be replaced. When Bob complained to Sears about his issues, they offered to reimburse him to pay someone to wash his dishes. [More]
How To Take Care Of Your Dishwasher, Washing Machine, And Oven
By 3.15.10
My friends broke the high-efficiency (H.E.) washing machine in their new apartment last year because they were using too much soap. Alina Tugend at the New York Times says it’s a common problem–one repairman told her that “most people use 10 to 15 times the amount of soap they need.” [More]
Why Is Sears Being So Sneaky On This Dishwasher Rebate?
By 12.4.09
On Black Friday, Sears offered free installation on select Kenmore dishwashers in the form of a rebate coupon. The coupon is pretty simple to understand as far as these things go–buy one of the listed models, and Sears will pay for the installation. According to William, however, the listed model that he wanted remained out of stock only for the duration of the coupon. When he asked Sears to honor it the next day, they agreed to–but then after he bought the dishwasher they told him he had broken a nonexistent rule and therefore had voided the coupon. [More]
Eco-Friendly Dish Detergents: Do They Clean The Earth And Your Plates?
By 7.1.09
What’s with these purported “green” cleaning chemicals? I’ve been known to mutter “it’s all a bunch of tree-hugging hippie crap” while I coat every surface in my house with the strongest, cheapest chemicals I can find. I’m fond of bleach. But other people have consciences or something, and it’s for them that Consumer Reports evaluated eco-friendly dishwasher detergents.
Use Your Dishwasher Properly
By 5.24.09
Listen parents, we told you all those years that cleaning the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher was silly and duplicative, and now we have the Times telling us we were right! Ha! Pre-rinsing dishes is “actually triple bad” according a “senior dishwasher design engineer,” because dishwasher detergent exists to attack food, and when it doesn’t find any, it instead attacks your glasses. It also wastes electricity and water. And that’s not the only mistake most people make. Inside, the Times’ tips for keeping your dishwasher happy…
Help, My KitchenAid Dishwasher Hasn't Worked Since July!
By 3.29.09
Katy’s KitchenAid dishwasher hasn’t dissolved soap or cleaned dishes since July, despite receiving four new parts over seven service visits. KitchenAid’s service plan promises a replacement unit if the same part breaks three times, but KitchenAid still isn’t sure which part of Katy’s dishwasher is broken, and so they’re refusing to give her a new one. Does that seem fair?
By 2.24.09
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Hollywood Depictions Of Dishwasher Loading VS Reality Consumer Reports compares dishwasher-loading techniques depicted in Rachel Getting Married to their own test results. Aww. [CR]
Sears CEO's Phone Isn't Working
By 12.18.08
Sears CEO Bruce Johnson needs someone down to housewares to get him a new telephone. Reader Len called the executive office and was told “his phone isn’t working, you have to call back.”
Ric Romero Reports: Battle Of The Dishwashing Detergents
By 3.29.08
Consumer Reports cut through the greasy claims of competing dishwasher detergents to find out which one is best suited for Ric Romero’s “dirty dish-duty.” The winner? Much like the Special Olympics, everyone won. Each detergent works fine if you scrub long enough. Efficiency comes with a price, and Dawn direct foam was the costliest and speediest of the twelve brands tested, followed closely by Ajax Lemon Dish Liquid.
Maytag Sends You A New Dishwasher?
By 6.6.07
Steve thinks he may be getting a new dishwasher. Steve’s old dishwasher was part of Feburary’s potentially flammable dishwasher recall. He called for the repair kit, and never received anything. Someone from Maytag called to follow up and was shocked to hear the dishwasher was still out of commission. So they’re sending Steve a new one.
2.5 Million GE Potentially Flammable Dishwashers Recalled
By 5.17.07
A plague of burning dishwashers sounds like something that would happen after the 6th seal has been opened, but no. It’s real and it’s happening now. You may have a dishwasher in your very home that is, at this very second, thinking about lighting itself on fire. From the CPSC:
GE has received 191 reports of overheated wiring including 56 reports of property damage. There were 12 reports of fires that escaped the dishwasher. Fire damage was limited to the dishwasher or the adjacent area. No injuries have been reported.
This recall involves a huge number of dishwashers, so you’ll want to check this list to see if your GE dishwasher is part of the recall. If it is: “stop using the recalled dishwashers and contact General Electric for a free repair, a $150 rebate towards the purchase of a new GE dishwasher, or a $300 rebate towards the purchase of a new GE Profile or GE Monogram dishwasher.”
