Dishwasher Conqueror!

Makin' Do without a handyman!
When we bought our washer and dryer, we decided to splurge on a new dishwasher as well since the rebates we'd be getting back would more than cover the cost. And, well, Moriah needed some help since she does all the dishes for the family. Angela's handy husband did a great job helping us install the last one (which was a piece of crap and only lasted a couple of months. We bought the cheapest one available, you get what you pay for!) We haven't had much luck with dishwashers in this house, we're on our 4th in the seven years we've lived here. We've gone without one for a long time, but once you've gotten used to perfectly clean dishes it's hard to go back to hand washed, no matter how good your daughter is at it!

Needless to say I wasn't all that keen on paying someone to install a machine which most likely wouldn't work for very long, although, it is a new Maytag which should be pretty good. So since I didn't want to bother Keven again, and Patrick has no time, or really any desire to do it, and given the fact that I like to learn to do new things, I decided that I would try my hand at it. It couldn't be too difficult, right?

First I pulled out the old washer and laid it on it's back next to the opening in the cabinet, leaving all hoses and wires attached. Then I unboxed and laid the new washer on its back adjacent to the old one so I could see how the old was hooked up and how the new needed to be attached. Then I pulled out the installation instructions and read it through, discovering in the process that the new washer did not come with two essential parts. So off I went to Lowes to get the parts. When I came home I discovered that both the instructions and the sales associate were wrong, so I went back to Lowes to get the right parts. I really dislike leaving the house at all anymore, so having to go out to the same place twice in one day made me kinda grouchy. But if you've read this post on my other blog, you'll see how I am learning to fight those bad, bad feelings!

Now that I had the right parts, and read the directions, I turned off the water and the electrical power to the kitchen. So important! That was the only thing that really scared me, getting electrocuted. Anyway, there were really only 3 things that needed to be attached to the new machine; the drainage hose, the water hose, and the electrical wires. The first thing I attached was the drainage hose which seemed fairly easy, just pop it off the old machine onto the new and screw the clamp tight.

Then I attached the new fitting for the water hose onto the new machine, laid a towel on the floor, and unhooked the water hose from the old machine and screwed it onto the new one, soaking myself, the floor, and the machines in the process. I'm not sure how that happened, I'm positive I shut the water off, but maybe there was residual water in the hose that I should have drained out first. I'm not that smart!

After I dried everything really well with a towel I proceeded onto the next, most scariest part, electrical. First I carefully removed the wires from the old machine and inserted them up through the hole in the new.

Then I carefully grounded the wires onto the screw provided.

Once I came to the conclusion that I wasn't going to burn to a crisp in front of my children I became more confident and screwing the wires together was a breeze! Black together and white together. Tug on each one gently to make sure they're secure, and voila! The electrical was done!

Woo hoo! Next I turned the machine upright, careful not to pinch the hoses, and taped down the insulation because it would be a tight fit under the counter.

Next I shoved it in and adjusted the feet to raise it snugly under the counter.

Now that was a job and a half! It was actually the hardest part of the whole installation because I had to lay on my belly on a filthy floor while holding the machine up with one arm to take the weight off the foot screws so they would turn easy. Somehow I managed to jam one of the screws so it wouldn't adjust properly and ended up shoving balsa wood shims from my dollhouse (which I'll be blogging about soon Lord willing!) underneath it for stability. Stability is important!

Once the height was adjusted properly I was able to anchor the top of the machine under the top of the counter.

After that I took all the packaging out from the inside and turned it on for a test run.

And miracle of miracles! It ran perfectly with no obvious leaks!!! This morning Moriah filled it up and ran the first full load and it still ran great! I'm pretty excited about it, it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Although it took me an entire afternoon, what with running back and forth to Lowe's and all, it was still worth it in order to save $100. And I now have sweet new dishwasher installing skills!