As some of you know, Dee and I have been suffering through a few plumbing problems the past few days. Our dishwasher has been leaking a small amount of water from somewhere. Our expert plumber Dave came by to see us the day after Christmas to snake out the drain line from our sink, but the dishwasher continued to leak a little water whenever it was doing it thing. We purchased this Whilrpool dishwasher in the fall of 2001, so we have had it a while and it never gave us a lick of trouble. This morning Dave returned to see if he could isolate the problem and allow us to use the dishwasher. Dave pulled out the dishwasher and discovered a seal might be leaking, so he made a quick adjustment to the connection and it appears that the leak has been repaired. However, if the leak returns, Dave suggested that we purchase a new dishwasher as the repair cost would most likely be almost as much as purchasing a new appliance. So if we have to get a new dishwasher, Dee will be the luckiest girl in East Grand Rapids. Not only did she get new tires for her car for Christmas, but if this repair does not take, she will get a new dishwasher, too!
One things that Dave discovered during the course of his repair work was
an uncapped drain line underneath the dishwasher. At some point in the past, the previous owner of this house must have used either an unlicensed or an incompetent plumber. Instead of properly capping off this unused drain line, the plumber just stuffed it full of insulation and wrapped the top of the pipe with black electrical tape. Our plumber went right to work, cutting the pipe in the basement and properly capping it with a PVC stub. See his expert work in the photo to the right. Dave, a consummate professional, said to me, "I can't imagine what the plumber was thinking. You can't just stuff a drain line with insulation and expect it to work." So for at least the last 7 years we have been in this house, we have had an open pipe in our kitchen. Yet another reason to rehab the kitchen in the spring!
6 comments:
Paul,
In our previous house we found a live electrical wire-uncapped and untaped--lying in the ceiling abou the sink. It was roughed in for a over-the-sink light that was never installed.
In the case or your uncappped drain, I'm guessing no plumber was involved, just a amateur homeowner.
Henry
Henry,
You are probably right. The previous owners were not that adroit at home repairs as we have consistently seen whenever we "peel back the skin" on a room or a wall!
Paul
In our house in Oliver Woods, I had a Bosch dishwasher. Of course, given my luck, the Bosch failed less than a year in to homeownership and we were too cheap (I like to think frugal) to replace it with a Bosch. We got a nice Whirlpool at Deckers. They were very nice to work with and had the added benefit of not requiring I shop at a Big Box store. It's a nice Mom & Pop shop at Michigan and Fuller. If Dee is so lucky to get a new appliance with her new tires, give them a try.
Lisa
The dishwasher in question at our house was purchased at Decker and Sons in 2001. One of Dee's co-workers told us about Decker and to be honest, their prices were no different that a Big Box store.
They are a bit pricey, but Miele dishwashers are the BMWs of the dishwasher world. Ours is really really quiet.
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