Have you ever had a home appliance (Washer, Drier, Refrigerator) break at the...
By filmbuff
@filmbuff (2909)
United States
June 16, 2007 2:27am CST
at the worst possible time?
The reason that I am writing this is that yesterday my dish washer broke. I had just loaded it full of dishes and started it up. After a couple of minutes I smelled something burner and when I went into the kitchen I saw smoke wafting up from my built-in kenmore dish washer.
I immiediatly shut it off, and pulled it out from the under the counter to make sure the house wasn't on fire. Good news is that is wasn't. The bad news is that I couldn't see where the smoke came from.
I started the washer up again and watched, still smelt burning, no smoke, except now it would agiate for a few seconds and then just stop and repeat.
When I opened up to look inside I noticed that the water was not draining at all, so I figure the pump probably burnt itself up.
Needless to say, I'll be washing dishes by hand for a while until I replace it.
(I know this is getting long bear with me)
When I was in college I remember getting all my loan and grant money for the semester. The first thing I did was head out and buy hundreds of dollars worth of meat to put in my freezer.
The next die my refrigerator died, and the by the time I realized it was not working all the the meat had either spoiled or had been warm long enough that I figured it wasn't safe to eat.
Has anyone else ever had an experience of having a home appliance break at the worst possible time? What happened, and what did you do?
My thanks for taking the time to read this far.
Minnie Mouse is HOT!
filmbuff
2 people like this
7 responses
@66jerseygirl (3877)
• United States
16 Jun 07
oh yea.when I was in my late teens, our oven went the day before thanksgiving.It was gas and the top burners worked but the oven didn't and we couldn't get anyone to come out and fix it so we had thanksgiving turkey cooked in the microwave.uggggggh!
3 people like this
@filmbuff (2909)
• United States
17 Jun 07
Oh that must have been awful. Although I seem to remember it was all the rage to microwave turkey's there for a while, but I just can't imagine it would be anywhere near as good as one cooked in an oven. Thanks for commenting.
Minnie Mouse is HOT!
filmbuff
1 person likes this
@Tanya8 (1733)
• Canada
16 Jun 07
That meat story is heart-breaking. I'm sorry about your dishwasher too.
I'm currently involved with in a war with my 3 year old oven. It appears to have been specifically designed to have its parts self-destruct they day the warranty expires.
The self cleaning cycle doesn't work (which is something you don't notice if you mostly use the stove top, until after the warranty expires). It just bakes the dirt on in such a way that it can't even be removed with a chisel.
The oven door glass shattered during my first self-cleaning experiment, however you can't buy a replacement piece of glass - you have to order an entire new door and have it shipped at a cost of $500. I ended up pulling the glass out of an old oven from the 60s to fix it.
The temperature settings? Meaningless. 350 could mean 250; it could mean 450. It's best to just stand by, watch how the food is cooking and open or close the door to control the temperature.
The temperature probe? Ha ha ha ha. I'm not sure why my husband persists in trying to use it. I suppose it's useful, if you need a hockey puck and want to manufacture your own out of a pork roast.
As you can see, your discussion hit a nerve. I often fantasize about the apricot-pink oven I used to have in my dilapidated old rental apartment. I can't believe I ever mocked it's color, or that of those avocado green ones everyone had in the 70s. The superficial beauty of my new oven is marred by it's inner worthlessness.
2 people like this
@filmbuff (2909)
• United States
17 Jun 07
I feel your pain in regards to the oven. I think it's time for a replacement. Cut your losses and take the old one outside with a sledge hammer for some satisfaction.
On a similar note, I don't think I've ever had an oven that self-cleaned well.
1 person likes this
@Angelwhispers (8978)
• United States
16 Jun 07
Oh yes I sure have, my washing machine transmission went out once on a Sunday night when I was trying to get every one ready for the following week. What really upset me was that the load of clothes that was being washed where my nursing uniforms, and it leaked transmission fluid up into the wash drum, there by destroying and spotting up just about every uniform I owned at the time. I actually did cry over that one.
2 people like this
@someonesmom (5761)
• Canada
17 Jun 07
I've had the exact same thing happen as you, Angelwhispers. Our washing machine transmission went last fall, and was leaking fluid too. Some of our clothes ended up being damaged. The machine was an 'ancient' used one, that we'd gotten for free, to replace our old 'ancient' used one. We had to wait until this spring, to 'finally' get a brand new one, that I paid for with my income tax refund. The old one wasn't worth fixing. In the meantime we used our neighbour's washer, and took loads to my sister's, when we went to visit. What a pain! I can understand why you cried.
1 person likes this
@Angelwhispers (8978)
• United States
17 Jun 07
Someonesmom, mine was also a used machine I had finally been able to purchase after many years of dragging laundry every week back and forth to a laundry mat. Like you also I think it was income tax time before I could replace that one. I did however get a new one at that time.
Filmbuff, it was agonizing to loose those uniforms, it was in the early years of marriage and the boys were young. Paying for new uniforms was almost impossible at the time. I had a couple of nursing buddies that contributed to my cause. If I had lost that much meat in a freezer back in those days I would have had to sit down and cry over that also.
2 people like this
@AmbiePam (121073)
• United States
16 Jun 07
I don't know if this counts, but last night I came home and my dogs had torn one of their puppy pads apart. So I picked up the big pieces and went to get the vacuum for the tiny pieces. I started the vacuum, it worked for a minute, and then it stopped. I tried it again until it actually shocked me, and then of course, gave up. I was so annoyed! LOL, I can't get the tiny pieces. They are almost embedded in the carpet. So I called my dad, and good 'ol dad is coming over this morning to see what he can do. He worked as an electrician early on and even as he got older, churches and friends who had businesses, would call him and get him to fix numerous things electrical. I hope he can fix it!
2 people like this
@filmbuff (2909)
• United States
17 Jun 07
Yeah me too, not good if it's shocking you.
When my dog was a puppy I made the mistake of leaving her inside the house while I went out to run errands.
By the time I came back, she had taken a couch pillow and ripped it to shreds. There was foam everywhere. I still find bits and pieces of it now and then. She looked so proud when I came home it was funny.
2 people like this
@fleur_petal (883)
• India
16 Jun 07
well co-incidently ths thng hppnd today only in the morning. i switched on the gas to make some breakfast and after somtime i tried to slow down the gas hwever in doin so the knob fell of since the screw ws loose. i hd to rush to the wrk. finally i left the food lik tht only n picked up a coffee from a coffee shop while on my way!
@someonesmom (5761)
• Canada
17 Jun 07
Hi filmbuff,
First of all, I'm cringing at the thought of you losing all of that meat. What a waste. I'm sorry too, about your dishwasher, as it's very hard to do without these things, for any length of time. For the longest time, we had 'a lemon' of a vacuum cleaner. We purchased the floor model, and it turned out to be no good. We took it back, and they (Sears) replaced it with a new, non floor model. This one was equally bad, and smoke would pour out of it 'if you looked at it the wrong way.' I'm happy to report, we now have a totally different make, and type, and it works beautifully. I hope you can get your dishwasher repaired or replaced soon.
1 person likes this
@someonesmom (5761)
• Canada
17 Jun 07
I hope you're able to get your new dishwasher soon, before it causes damage to your back and neck.
1 person likes this
@filmbuff (2909)
• United States
17 Jun 07
Sears is usually pretty good about replacing problem items and making good on the deal. I'm glad you ended up with a vacuum cleaner that you're happy with it.
Losing the meat hurt financially as I suspect the dishwasher will. Doing dishes by hand kills my back and neck. So I'm looking for a new one.
1 person likes this
