Totally OT: Dishwasher question

[Alex Eisenhut]

I bought a new dishwasher 5 years ago and never used it, never powered it up, never hooked up water to it. I just bought it to plug the hole in the kitchen counter, I always wash by hand.

So is it probably safe to plug it in now? Any seals or gaskets dry out after all this time?

Yes I called the manufacturer's phone number, the store, etc, no one can really tell me...

[IanB]

I would open it up and examine its internals. Are all shipping bolts and straps removed (if any were there)?

Do all the rotating bits rotate freely? All bearings turn freely? No signs of rust? All rubber pipes in good condition? No signs of perishing? If you apply mains water pressure to it, any signs of leaks?

[Bud]

I bought a new dishwasher 5 years ago and never used it, never powered it up, never hooked up water to it. I just bought it to plug the hole in the kitchen counter

Gosh, that is for sure the most expensive way to plug holes i ever heard of
    

[Alex Eisenhut]

I bought a new dishwasher 5 years ago and never used it, never powered it up, never hooked up water to it. I just bought it to plug the hole in the kitchen counter

Gosh, that is for sure the most expensive way to plug holes i ever heard of
    

Pah, for my next trick I'll fill it with DS1054Z's and not use them either.
It's a condo, the hole was there, it was meant for a dishwasher, and I figured I'll need something there when it's time to sell... I could have put a wine cellar in there, but I'm a scotch guy. 

[Alex Eisenhut]

I would open it up and examine its internals. Are all shipping bolts and straps removed (if any were there)?

Do all the rotating bits rotate freely? All bearings turn freely? No signs of rust? All rubber pipes in good condition? No signs of perishing? If you apply mains water pressure to it, any signs of leaks?

Yeah I'll do that, there's not much choice. It was a silly idea to buy something to not use it... 

[SkyMaster]

Once your dishwasher is up and running, you will wonder why you waited 5 years before using it 

[grifftech]

Why are so many Canadians in this thread?

[imidis]

We are taking over! 

[zapta]

Why are so many Canadians in this thread?

Between time zone differences and US independence day fireworks, Canadians is what left.

[Zero999]

I would open it up and examine its internals. Are all shipping bolts and straps removed (if any were there)?

Do all the rotating bits rotate freely? All bearings turn freely? No signs of rust? All rubber pipes in good condition? No signs of perishing? If you apply mains water pressure to it, any signs of leaks?

Yeah I'll do that, there's not much choice. It was a silly idea to buy something to not use it... 

Couldn't you have simply bought a cupboard or chest of drawers?

[steve30]

Here's a reply from a non-Canadian guy  .

I don't think 5 years would be too long to leave it sitting around.

Give it a try and let us know how it goes .

We got a dishwasher 10 years ago. It took me quite a long time to get used to using it. I use it a lot now, but I still wash a lot by hand.

[Brutte]

So is it probably safe to plug it in now? Any seals or gaskets dry out after all this time?

If you have not used a dish washer, do you know how to install it and operate it?
Believe me or not, that is not a trivial task. RTFM, at least.

As for installation procedure, not sure if all dishwashers are the same..

You must know that the built-in (is it the correct white-goods term? "Embedded" maybe?) models do not have proper chasis and counterweigh as free standing models do! These heavily (pun intended) rely on the surrounding equipment/furniture.
First you should check if it is properly aligned. These types are much lighter but if you try to pull out filled baskets, it would tip over and ruin your day if not firmly installed. Also check if the locking mechanism/front door is not skewed. If it is then it may happen it would flip the locking lever and you won't be able to close the door.
Next, I'd check if the water supply valve cuts off correctly. Such failure might be very expensive.
Then there is a water hardness adjustment. You need to know how hard your tap water is. This is not critical but for best performance you have to provide adequate quantity of both softening salt (cheap) and detergent (expensive). Otherwise you would have to put much more detergent for same performance. In my dishwasher the adjustment is one-time only, you cannot readjust it as it relies on cutting off a plastic pipe so take your time with that.
With water outlet - if it ever happens the pipe is damaged or falls below the tub level.. Same story as with washing machine.

That would be all for the successful installation.

[IanB]

It's also worth noting that even if the dishwasher is "empty", there may still be a large pool of water sitting in the sump. So if you tip it on its side, for example to repair something, you are likely to get a flood of water all over the floor.

[steverino]

You could take the unit out of the opening and run it outdoors and check for leaks.  You just need to hook it up to, preferably, hot water.   Typically, the supply line is 3/8 compression flex line. 

[edavid]

I'm sure it will be fine, 5 years isn't very long.

The biggest problem I have had is with leveling... if you don't get it just right, the door will pop open during the wash cycle.  Maybe there are some brands that have a better latch.

[rdl]

You can use them to clean stuff other than dishes.

[HackedFridgeMagnet]

Just get a broken one that looks ok from the recycling depot.

I actually have that situation at home, broken dishwasher filling a hole.
It's stainless steel but all the button info stencil has rubbed off. Looks better than the white one it replaced.
I was given it, and was told it was working.
The outlet valve had failed so I fixed that, but the heater doesn't work. Found the model number written inside but I looked and couldn't find any info on what the front buttons actually do.
Haven't been bothered to replace the element until I found what the buttons do.
Doesn't really matter we would rarely use it anyway but it does fill up the hole quite successfully.

[wraper]

First World Problems 

[Zero999]

Just get a broken one that looks ok from the recycling depot.

I actually have that situation at home, broken dishwasher filling a hole.
It's stainless steel but all the button info stencil has rubbed off. Looks better than the white one it replaced.
I was given it, and was told it was working.
The outlet valve had failed so I fixed that, but the heater doesn't work. Found the model number written inside but I looked and couldn't find any info on what the front buttons actually do.
Haven't been bothered to replace the element until I found what the buttons do.
Doesn't really matter we would rarely use it anyway but it does fill up the hole quite successfully.

If the heating element is broken, could you connected it to the hot water pipe?

If that's too much trouble then how about using it to store dishes and cutlery?

[HackedFridgeMagnet]

If the heating element is broken, could you connected it to the hot water pipe?

Good idea. 

If that's too much trouble then how about using it to store dishes and cutlery?

Bad Idea.  I'm not doing that we already have to much.

[Kevman]

In the US dishwashers are usually just hooked into the hot water line. I guess some fancier ones 'boost' heat the water but that's rare. Around here we use natural gas heaters so heating water electrically is much more expensive.

The heating element in the bottom is there to dry the dishes but I don't know of anyone that uses that feature. Seems like a massive waste of electricity.

[Brutte]

the door will pop open during the wash cycle

Perhaps you should leave the door open during "wash cycle".

[CJay]

Here's a reply from a non-Canadian guy  .

I don't think 5 years would be too long to leave it sitting around.

Give it a try and let us know how it goes .

We got a dishwasher 10 years ago. It took me quite a long time to get used to using it. I use it a lot now, but I still wash a lot by hand.

Never, ever tell your partner that they're apparently really good for cleaning cases of electronic items and even circuit boards because they're highly likely to get upset

[XynxNet]

Any seals or gaskets dry out after all this time?

Usually not. Just look the door seal over for cracks. If there are any, they should be pretty obvious. Test it for flexibility by poking at it with your finger.