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Your opinion about a dishwasher

last year

In December 2013 we bought a Bosch dishwasher that I like very much. It has been used six times a week for eleven years and works well. Last night we found water on the floor and it cleaned the dishes but didn't pump out the water. The pipe might be clogged or it is something more serious.


My question is do we pay a plumber to come fix an 11-year-old dishwasher or run out and buy a new one? I know appliances today have a short working life compared to ones years ago. Both my mother and I had GE refrigerators that were working for 30 years and I even sold mine. Plumber visits aren't cheap and then we might be told it would cost too much to fix. What would you guys do in my situation? Thanks.

Comments (50)

  • PRO
    last year

    You troubleshoot it yourself first. Start with the filter in the bottom. Remove the screen and clean.l ook for foreign bodies. Examine the door gasket for pliability and cuts or breaks. Examine the fill hose, from where it's attached under the sink, through the side of the cabinet. Is it in good condition? Cracked looking? Is it wet? Pull the DW out and run your hands over the rest of the supply hose for pliability or moisture. Same with the discharge hose. Examine for pliability or pinhole leaks, and if it has the high loop leading to the drain. If all of that looks good, then run a cleanout cycle with Lemishine.


    See what you can see first. If it's not a gasket or a hose, it might be the pump. That's not that difficult to replace. Youtube it.

    lily316 thanked Minardi
  • last year

    The last time I priced dishwashers (3 or 4 years ago), they were going for well over $1,000. Yes, plumber (or appliance repair people) visits aren't cheap, but the charge has got to be a small fraction of the cost of getting a new dishwasher. Also, the repair person might find that the problem isn't the fault of the dishwasher at all, but something that would have to be fixed in order to install a new one.

    I would investigate the problem first, and proceed from there. Good luck!

    lily316 thanked Alisande
  • last year

    I have no nostagia for appliances of yesteryear. They were limited in functionality (many worked poorly), wasted a lot of energy (when energy costs and consequences weren't front of mind), and often made a lot of noise. I've replaced many still functioning appliances some might feel teary eyed about to get something in place newer and more capable.

    I'd get a new one. That's the inevitable eventuality either after wasting money on a plumber now or later, a few years down the road. . Bosch is a good brand, there are others.

    lily316 thanked Elmer J Fudd
  • last year
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    If you have the manual it came with there should be a trouble shooting sequence in it. There should be indicator lights which the manual will explain. If you don't have the manual look it up on line. If you can't solve it yourself I'd contact the Bosch Service Centre who will send a Bosch registered engineer.

    lily316 thanked floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
  • last year

    Thank you for all the suggestions. My husband will be looking at these links now. We called our plumber who said they don't do dishwashers but knowing the age he said to get a new one. We called the appliance store and they had a Bosch for $1250 installed and the old one taken away in TWO weeks! The one we have we got at Lowes but I've heard bad things about their installers.

  • last year
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    How often do you clean the filter at the bottom? I had a Bosch at my house in L.A., and the filter would frequently get clogged, and it was difficult to clean, and so once it was cleaned, I made a point of making sure that the dishes I put in did not have any food particles at all, and this solved that problem.

    Some of the older dishwashers require you to have an air gap, and this helps prevent water from spilling out of the bottom.

  • last year

    "We called our plumber who said they don't do dishwashers but knowing the age he said to get a new one."

    Don't listen to him. The dishwasher can be fixed and there's no reason to discard it. I thought my old Whirlpool Quiet Parter 1 dishwasher died but all it needed was a control board and, later, a fuse.

    lily316 thanked wdccruise
  • last year

    We have a new Bosch dishwasher. I wish I had spent the money to have the old Bosch repaired, as it did a better cleaning job than the new one. It was also much simpler to operate.

    lily316 thanked ramona1976
  • last year

    " We called our plumber who said they don't do dishwashers "

    This was a thought I had before writing my comment that I left out.

    These days, most plumbers restrict themselves to new installs, rerouting or leak or blockage repairs of existing fresh water, waste water and gas pipes, and replacing or connecting things connected to pipes. Faucets, disposals, toilets, sinks, clothes washers, water heaters and dishwashers. Few do appliance repair, that's a different kettle of fish.

  • last year

    " Some of the older dishwashers require you to have an air gap, and this helps prevent water from spilling out of the bottom. "

    lars, that's not what an air gap does. An air gap is a type of backflow preventer, preventing a clogged drain line from flowing back into the dishwasher. A so-called "high loop", where the drain line coming out of the dishwasher is connected up high in the cabinet space, just underneath the bottom of the counter, and then running down to the connection to the drain pipe, does about the same thing.


    lily316 thanked Elmer J Fudd
  • last year

    When the flows back into the dishwasher, it then spills out of the bottom - at least that is what happened with the one at the Salem house, until we had an air gap installed.

  • last year

    .... that'd be because the backflow of water filled it to overflowing ... which isn't always the case per individual backflow incident depending on the volume of backflow before the next run of the machine.

  • last year

    This is a timely post. I need a new dishwasher. Well, I probably do not. But I want one. I smelled something burning the other day. I realized the smell was coming from the dishwasher. Turns out, one of the wheel things that the lower racks were on had come off, and placed themselves on top of those coils that heat up to dry the dishes, causing it to melt. So now I have a limping lower rack, and melted plastic on the bottom. The plastic actually popped right off, and the lower rack has the other "feet" so its fine, but it came with my house, which I bought 9 years ago, and wasnt close to new then. Its a whirlpool and has worked just fine, but i figured I might as well upgrade. Everyone tells me to get a Bosch, but I wonder if its worth the big price difference. I have never had to clean a filter on a dishwasher, and have never had one that smells, and I would rather not pay over a grand to have to do that. Ew.

    lily316 thanked amylou321
  • last year
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    I looked at Bosch and Miele but they don’t have warranty services in my area ( or didn’t when I last shopped). So be sure they do where you live. I ended up with a Kitchenaid from Costco , which I am very happy with. All except the 3rd top rack that I always forgot about and have snapped the stems of 3 Tiffany wine glasses. I finally just removed it.

    Costco gives you another year of warranty service for free if you buy from them.

    lily316 thanked Olychick
  • last year

    I have a twelve year old Bosch dishwasher. I paid $250 for a repair last year. It was worth it- first repair ever. Repairman told me our dishwasher would be about $1500 to replace. I do clean the filter every 4 or 6 weeks.

    lily316 thanked maddie260
  • last year

    I’m on my second Bosch 800 series, first one was sold with my last house. They both clean very well, extremely quiet, the newer one seems to dry better than the old one, not as dry as an American with heating element but well enough. I don’t clean the filters as often as recommended and they don't get particularly gross esp considering I don't rinse.

    I had an old Miele which I loved, and if I’m ever in the market again it would probably come down to one of these two brands.

    But to Lily’s question, after trying the home remedies linked above I’m not sure what I’d do. I’d hate to waste money on a service call only to be told it’s not worth fixing, but then I’d also hate to send something like that to the landfill needlessly. 11 years is a tough call.

    lily316 thanked foodonastump
  • last year

    Well, the update is...We went to an appliance store and tentatively scheduled someone to come the day after Thanksgiving. He will try to repair it and if not able to, some of his charge would be deducted from the price of a new one. Then we hit Lowes and they had no black ones and would have to order and the scheduling to the independent contractor to install would be a month.

    We had a total kitchen remodel in 2001/2002 with Plain and fancy. Our initial dishwasher had a wooden panel on it. The lady in the appliance store said that is not done anymore. That DW died a long time ago and I think we had a shortlived Maytag but I need a solid black because I have a black soapstone counter. The kitchen represents the era of the house (1840)with two painted colors( ivory and sage) and two styles of cupboards, raised and paneled. I really want to keep this DW and tomorrow there will be a search for a plumber to come to the house as many think it's a blockage. It sucks handwashing dishes.

  • last year

    "The lady in the appliance store said that is not done anymore."


    Well, unless tastes are very different in the US, that sounds suspicious. You'd have no trouble getting a built in dishwasher here. Everyone I know has one. Ours is a Miele.

    lily316 thanked floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
  • last year

    Find one of those guys on You Tube who can lead you down the path of diagnosing and maybe fixing it before you jump.

    My daughter and hubs hadn a Bosch dishwasher that went bad and I dont know in what manner. My son in law is pretty handy but he could not get the parts needed and the eneded up buying a new one, and, guess what..............the .new one is no where as good as the old one was!!! Stop me if you have heard this one before............


    Isnt that the way it seems with just about everything? Who has not had this experience when buying a new appliance?

    They also had a hard time trying to replace the fridge that went out just as covid began to recede . Their new fridge had to have the comprssor replaced in just over a year!


    I have a new electric GE oven with convection and that darned thing sounds like a lawn mower running in the oven! Just horrible!!!!!

    I dread having to replace anything anymore.

    lily316 thanked jehanne hansen
  • last year

    I am not handy but I strongly suggest first checking online for troubleshooting your situation. That's where I learned that the filter should be rinsed regularly. I now do it every so often. I don't find much there but it definitely helps....after that=

    Our dishwasher wasn't working well, but it was working. I realized the arm at the bottom looked a bit deformed. I googled and youtubed and saw it was a $40 part that was simple to install so I figured I'd try. Sure enough, it was simple as lifting off the deceased one and clicking in the new.

    I do draw the line at pulling out the dishwasher or really messing with opening up appliances but I also had a great fix on my fridge for which I almost called a repair person but decided to browse youtube. To my delight, all operating well.


    I'm afraid to say it, but so far, in the 4 years I've had these appliances, I've not had to call a repair person and the few blips that happened were solved via youtube.

    lily316 thanked salonva
  • last year

    @amylou321 - For reference I just cleaned my filter. Thoroughly and at a leisurely pace, door open to door closed came to three minutes. 3:00:98 to be exact.

    lily316 thanked foodonastump
  • last year

    Lily, once you've resolved your leak problem I highly recommend placing a water leak alarm on the floor beneath the DW (several types available on Amazon, also at Lowes/HD). Our 25 YO Maytag DW started to leak and the water alarm caught it early before any damage was done. The leak was slow (about 30 drops per load) so over time it would have not shown up on the open floor. Leak alarms are a good investment, I have about a dozen in use under sinks, behind toilets, at the base of water heaters, and a couple in my crawl space.....you can tell I wasn't born under the Aquarius sign, nyuk.

    lily316 thanked vgkg Z-7 Va
  • last year

    I had never hear of a dishwasher filter till we got our Bosch 8 years ago. I rinse it off every few days to keep ahead of it.

    Sometimes I’m happier to try to repair, because replacing is like giving a mouse a cookie. Not only do you have to shop, but you need dimensions, or odd installations, there’s always something!

    And we have a couple of great repair services here, not affiliated with a retailer. They are very upfront about whether it repair or replacement is the better choice.

    lily316 thanked bpath
  • last year

    I don't believe it's very difficult to install a dishwasher, but you have to get the thing TO your home and dispose of the old one.

    I'm not sure your dishwasher is old enough to be considered superior to new. I think that feeling better applies to appliances older than yours.

    My 3 y.o. bottom-of-the-line Bosch works well, but the rinse dispenser started leaking right after it was out of warranty. The $50 replacement part would cost $100 to replace and I've done without it.

    Last I knew every appliance is available with a 'dummy' front panel to accept a custom panel. However, it's ridiculously expensive...if you can find anyone to do the work.


    lily316 thanked chisue
  • last year

    I'm not sure your dishwasher is old enough to be considered superior to new. I think that feeling better applies to appliances older than yours.

    Good point. IIRC I’ve been here for around 20 years, started here on Appliances and way back then, and earlier also, people were talking about how things aren’t built like they used to be. I suspect few “used to be” appliances are in existence.

    lily316 thanked foodonastump
  • last year
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    Lily,

    Is this close to what you would be looking for in a dishwasher?

    https://www.lowes.com/pd/Bosch-100-Series-Front-Control-24-in-Smart-Built-In-Dishwasher-Black-ENERGY-STAR-50-dBA/5014401293

    (hope the link shows up here)

    I have the Ascenta model in the Bosch line, which is or was (not sure if Ascenta is still produced) the entry level model. The one I linked is one level higher. Mine has the plastic bottom unlike the higher models, but to date, it hasn't been any trouble. Anyways, my Bosch Acenta has been a great help in my kitchen and gets everything sparkling clean. It was a bargain even during the pandemic when obtaining appliances was difficult. This 100 model is under $600. Anyways, I'd hate to see you pay close to the price of a new lower end dishwasher for a repair on an older dishwasher since the cut off date for built to last appliances was quite a bit before yours was built.

    I am really put out when a have a broken dishwasher and since my life used revolve around broken dishwashers, this time around, I chose the lowest model since I figured I'd have to replace it soon enough based on years of out of order dishwashers, but it's been a trooper. Hope I didn't jinx myself. Good luck.

    lily316 thanked SEA SEA
  • last year

    Last night the nice guy who showed us the dishwashers at Lowes gave us a number for Sears repair service and my husband called today. They are supposed to come out this afternoon so stay tuned. Our Sears Store /Appliance part closed at our mall a few years ago so who knew they were still around?

  • last year

    So a little off-topic: I told my husband to look in our files and see how old the GE washer and dryer are. Yikes... 22 years old!

  • last year

    " Our Sears Store /Appliance part closed at our mall a few years ago so who knew they were still around? "

    I believe Sears Appliance repair was never "part" of Sears but rather it was/is an independent business licensing use of the name for its repair business.

    Just like AARP medical insurance. It's UHC (United Health Care) using the AARP name under license. AARP has nothing to do with these insurance policies.

    lily316 thanked Elmer J Fudd
  • last year
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    SEA SEA's link is the model I have. It's VERY quiet has cleaned everything I've put into it -- even it it does take HOURS to do so. We run it overnight. (Asking for trouble, huh?)

    lily316 thanked chisue
  • last year

    The Sears man was here and diagnosed it as a water valve leak. We decided to fix it. The part costs $50 and the labor is $373. Today's visit wasn't charged. The kid was very smart and young(30s) and he said this is the 800 series with the parts still made in Germany and today most parts are from China. The part will arrive here Wednesday, hopefully, and he'll come the day after Thanksgiving to install it. Fingers crossed it was the right decision but I really like this DW. .

  • last year

    My 2014 Bosch 500 series had a service call in 2022, was sort of fixed and went on to work for about 70 days. The cost of another authorized service call, plus any parts needed seemed ludicrous. I bought a new machine.

  • last year

    "The part costs $50 and the labor is $373.

    What's the dishwasher's model number?

    Is the water supply valve installed like the one in thisyoutube video? If so, you could buy the part #00622058 on Amazon for $20 and install it yourself for $0. You don't even have to pull out the dishwasher as the valve is installed conveniently from the front.

  • last year

    @wdccruise - Curiois, what would a water inlet valve have to do with a dishwasher not draining?

    lily316 thanked foodonastump
  • last year

    foodonastump: "what would a water inlet valve have to do with a dishwasher not draining?"

    Well, the OP wrote, "Sears man was here and diagnosed it as a water valve leak."

    lily316 thanked wdccruise
  • last year
    last modified: last year

    OP also said, ”Last night we found water on the floor and it cleaned the dishes but didn't pump out the water.” Check valve would seem more likely to me, or something other than an ”inlet” valve.

    lily316 thanked foodonastump
  • last year

    Good catch food

    lily316 thanked Elmer J Fudd
  • last year

    We had the exact same problem with our Bosch 800 series, also 11 years old. It was acting up for a few months, finally wouldn't drain at all. It needed a new water pump, cost to repair would be $900 (parts and labor). We bought a new one, same model, and had it installed today. (The new one was actually cheaper than what we paid 11 years ago.)

  • last year

    wdccruise.... Do you think we are diagnosticians? How would we know what the problem was? One thing I learned is that Boschs are made with levels of silence. Some series are not as quiet as ours which is the 800. I told the guy I had to put my ear against the machine to hear if it was running. The time frame was almost the same for fixing this or buying a new one. It'll take at least a week to fix and longer for a new one.

  • last year

    foodonastump: ”Last night we found water on the floor and it cleaned the dishes but didn't pump out the water.” Check valve would seem more likely to me, or something other than an 'inlet' valve."

    The OP wrote that it was a "water valve leak". If you search for "valve" for Bosch dishwashers on partselect.com and searspartsdirect, the only parts listed are water inlet valves. The fact that the dishwasher stopped mid-cycle may or may not have anything to do with the water leak. (My old Whirlpool dishwasher also stopped mid-cycle and I had to bail out the water. Was that due to a pump or valve or anything water-related? Nope, it was a fuse.)


    lily316Original Author: "wdccruise.... Do you think we are diagnosticians?"

    There are numerous sites that can help with diagnosing appliance problems but you didn't provide the dishwasher's model number.

  • last year

    You may want to buy insurance on your new dishwasher.

    I bought it on our expensive Monogram fridge/freezer in 2001. I paid monthly until it failed two years ago. Much to my surprise, the insurer gave me back every dime I'd paid. I've insured the Monogram replacement and see that the contract says they will repair OR REPLACE the appliance. Well, they didn't pay as much as the replacement cost, but those thousands sure helped. I don't think much of their 'repair' service when you'd have to wait days while your food spoils, but the replacement clause is something else.

  • last year

    If you search for "valve" for Bosch dishwashers on partselect.com and searspartsdirect, the only parts listed are water inlet valves.

    Nope:

    Official Bosch 00165262 Check Valve – PartSelect.com

    Also from partselect:

    “If you suspect that the drain hose has a restriction or if you find that wastewater is getting back into the dishwasher tub, then the check valve is most likely the problem.”

    How To Fix Dishwasher That Won't Drain | Dishwasher Repair

    I’m not saying this is the issue. I’m saying it could be the issue. Maybe even a likely issue. And sounds more intuitive than an inlet valve to me but I’m not the expert.

  • last year
    last modified: last year

    Lily, sometimes it isn’t that difficult to begin figuring out how to troubleshoot and diagnose stuff.

    For me, the motivation has been the savings of time and money, but I’m also often curious about how something works or what went wrong.

    I have fixed things on my own before and saved myself a bunch of money and trouble. Sometimes I’ve looked to YouTube or the Internet, and other times I have just thought about it and figure out a solution that’s unconventional, but that works splendidly. I have fixed a leaking dishwasher drain with the help of a YouTube video I saw that a seal where the dishwasher goes into the drain for the sink had a gasket that was compromised. So I just went to the store and found a replacement gasket for something like six dollars. I knew to turn the water off or you have some buckets and towels ready and so that was no messy problem at all. I just fixed it and was happy with myself for figuring it out and replacing the gasket.

    You’d be surprised what you can figure out by just being a little persistent and paying attention and rolling up your sleeves. It’s true that some people are more mechanically inclined than others or more curious about these things. I know somebody who had trouble figuring out how to use a apple peeler because she couldn’t figure out that there was a set screw that allowed for the adjustment of how much skin to remove.

    About six months ago, our refrigerator kept freezing food in the vegetable bins. my husband looked at it finally and thought that it was a thing called a damper at the back of the refrigerator inside the refrigerator. For whatever reason he was taking too long so we called an appliance repair person. The guy came looked at it and told us he was pretty sure it was the damper and the new part would be $x.xx and he could return with the part in about three or four days and the total cost for labor and the part and the trip would be about $350. It seems to have worked and save us buying a new refrigerator.

    Here is a generic dishwasher trouble-shooting video and it shows a leaking water intake valve.

    ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDNiLvApKLc







    PS The inlet valve, as explained in the video, can cause leaking if it is stuck and allows water to continue filling the dishwasher.

    PPS The cost — Although the price of the new valve is minimal, the ”labor” cost most likely includes

    travel time —2 trips

    diagnostic time (on first trip)

    onsight labor for the removal of faulty valve and the replacement with the new part, then testing and cleanup.

  • last year
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    @chisue I am curious what your total insurance payment were over all those years? I would think banking that same amount of money each month, earning interest on it, then using that money for repairs or replacement would be a better path. But I’m curious how the numbers worked for you. You paid in 2001 and later year dollars but were repaid in inflated 2022 dollars and they earned interest on your money instead of you. I know insurance companies are not in the business of losing money, so this must work to their advantage.

  • last year
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    Petalique - I’d imagine an inlet valve stuck open would be a fairly catastrophic event? Something more than ”didn’t empty.” Unless a secondary pan detected water and was able to shut things down. I know my old Miele had that feature, not sure about my Bosch’s.

    Anyway, I’m not trying to diagnose here, my main point has been that I wouldn’t suggest Lily replace parts on her own without knowing exactly what needs to be replaced. And based on what I’ve read here, I’m not convinced she does.

  • last year

    Gee, I don’t know.


  • last year

    My Bosch dw is 21 years old. I hope it runs forever. Silly to love an appliance but it is like an old friend.

    lily316 thanked dedtired
  • last year

    dedtired, I hope I'm as fortunate as you. I do love the way this Bosch looks in my kitchen.Even better than the original one with a wooden panel front the kitchen designer picked. .