I just want to wash my dishes
March 1, 2015 1:42 PM Subscribe
My dishwasher in my apartment has a lower rack that is not made for my dishwasher, and this causes the dishwasher to not run correctly half of the time. I feel like my landlord is supposed to supply appliances that work correctly and not jury rig something together than kind of sort of works. Can I do anything besides wash my dishes twice or by hand?
As it says on the tin. The dishwasher bottom rack often causes the spray arms (I think? The thing that goes up and then spins around shooting water) to get stuck on the bottom rack. Either concurrently or a side effect, when this happens the soap door does not open, so the dishes do not get clean, I have to remove items in some crazy kind of luck of the draw way and then run it again to see if I fixed the problem.
Frequent calls to the office have not helped, they sent out someone who literally broke part of the rack off so the spray arm could go through easier. This is what fixed it enough to work about half the time, if I load my dishwasher the right way and not full.
I feel like they should have to get the correct rack or a new dishwasher or something. I know that this is not life or death but I signed the lease thinking I would have working appliances and I didn't really get that. I got a half working appliance.
Anything I can do here? I'm in Kansas.
As it says on the tin. The dishwasher bottom rack often causes the spray arms (I think? The thing that goes up and then spins around shooting water) to get stuck on the bottom rack. Either concurrently or a side effect, when this happens the soap door does not open, so the dishes do not get clean, I have to remove items in some crazy kind of luck of the draw way and then run it again to see if I fixed the problem.
Frequent calls to the office have not helped, they sent out someone who literally broke part of the rack off so the spray arm could go through easier. This is what fixed it enough to work about half the time, if I load my dishwasher the right way and not full.
I feel like they should have to get the correct rack or a new dishwasher or something. I know that this is not life or death but I signed the lease thinking I would have working appliances and I didn't really get that. I got a half working appliance.
Anything I can do here? I'm in Kansas.
Sears or Appliance Parts Pros probably have the part unless it's some really weird brand/model. I've purchased dishwasher parts from both of them, and while it's kind of expensive, it's better than having a dishwasher that doesn't work right.
posted by primethyme at 1:52 PM on March 1, 2015
posted by primethyme at 1:52 PM on March 1, 2015
I was going to suggest you see if someone will sell you the correct bottom rack. You should be able to google the model number, and then look in the manual, and then find the part number. I had success in replacing both a broken shelf in my refrigerator, and a missing end cap on the top rack of my dishwasher (which caused the top rack to fall out). Perhaps your landlords would be amenable to reimbursing you the cost of the new rack, instead of the cost of a repair person (if indeed it's the rack that's causing the problem).
posted by leahwrenn at 1:54 PM on March 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by leahwrenn at 1:54 PM on March 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
It might actually be cheaper and easier to stick this dishwasher in whatever storage space you have, and buy a second-hand one and use that instead. Sure, it's something you should not need to do, but you just want to wash your dishes and this is a low-stress, low-investment way of getting there.
posted by Too-Ticky at 1:57 PM on March 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Too-Ticky at 1:57 PM on March 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
I live in an apartment with a dishwasher -- it was the one "must have" when we were looking to move. Two years in, one of the internal parts gave out. Again. I had taped it together a few times and apparently so did the tenant before me.
I was tired of half measures and called the company who made it, followed their automated voice prompts to their outsourced order-a-part division, gave my credit card over the phone and for less than $20 had a new part in the mail three days later.
Could I have filed a form with the landlord to get them to have the super look at it? Sure. Would he have taped it together like I and the previous tenant had done because the landlord is a cheapskate? Probably. Would that be worth my frustration? No.
Depending on how things go when I leave (or if they try to jack up the rent substantially), I've got a file full of small things that I should really ding them on but isn't really worth it.
If you can afford the few bucks to get a part, it's probably the path of least resistance.
posted by Brian Puccio at 2:01 PM on March 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
I was tired of half measures and called the company who made it, followed their automated voice prompts to their outsourced order-a-part division, gave my credit card over the phone and for less than $20 had a new part in the mail three days later.
Could I have filed a form with the landlord to get them to have the super look at it? Sure. Would he have taped it together like I and the previous tenant had done because the landlord is a cheapskate? Probably. Would that be worth my frustration? No.
Depending on how things go when I leave (or if they try to jack up the rent substantially), I've got a file full of small things that I should really ding them on but isn't really worth it.
If you can afford the few bucks to get a part, it's probably the path of least resistance.
posted by Brian Puccio at 2:01 PM on March 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
They should fix it, but clearly aren't going to, so buy the correct replacement yourself and use it as a weapon (not literally; actually, perhaps literally) when they try to stiff you on your deposit when you move out.
posted by holgate at 2:05 PM on March 1, 2015
posted by holgate at 2:05 PM on March 1, 2015
If you decide to DIY it (and I'm sorry I don't have good landlord advice except that other people are probably correct) I've had a lot of good luck with the forums and advice over at Appliance 411.
posted by jessamyn at 2:07 PM on March 1, 2015
posted by jessamyn at 2:07 PM on March 1, 2015
I am not your lawyer or barred in Kansas. Consult with a local attorney.
The suggestions so far seem to be that you should fix it yourself and bear the cost of it, but if you decide to go the route of doing anything yourself (i.e. hire someone to repair or to fix it yourself) then you should make sure you document everything, including giving notice to your landlord and including your attempts to get the landlord to fix it.; this is to protect yourself in case they try to hold your deposit hostage for the broken dishwasher when you leave.
In many states someone in your situation would have the remedy for a "repair and deduct" - if you have a dishwasher that's provided by the landlord and (hopefully) documented in your lease contract, then you are entitled to have the dishwasher function in good working order. When landlords refuse to fix the situation, then in many jurisdictions you're allowed to do a "repair and deduct" - meaning that you get the dishwasher fixed (either DIY or hiring out) - then deduct from the next month's rent the amount of money you're out, after writing a letter and giving them an appropriate amount of time to fix the situation.
However, judging from this tenant's rights manual I found on Kansas law, your state does not have a specific law that allows you to do "repair and deduct" like other states with stronger tenant's rights. That means, despite what others have said about repairing it yourself and getting it reimbursed, you're not legally entitled to it like you might be in some other jurisdictions.
It does appear, however, that you are potentially entitled to break a lease and move out if they continue to refuse to fix the dishwasher per your contracted terms. See page 9 of the manual for more details on that issue.
Whether you want to do all that is up to you, but you could start by writing a letter that asserts your rights at least 30 days before the next rent period is due:
* You signed a contract that included a dishwasher, you have an expectation that the dishwasher is in good working order, you called on xyz dates, attempts to repair were not successful, and now you want them to either replace the dishwasher with one in good working order per the terms of your contract or give you a rent reduction of $x
* If a repair or reduction in rent is not met within [reasonable amount of time - say 30 days] then the Kansas
Residential Landlord and Tenant Act gives you the right to break your lease, and your are putting them on notice of your intent to move out by after the next rent date.
Maybe you don't want to move out or aren't willing to move out over this. That's fine - if it's still not resolved amicably and you decide you're just going to live with it, then just send another letter clearly stating that you have decided to not move out. However, given that you don't have much leverage this is about all you've got to get your landlord to fix it. Any other solution will be coming out of your own pocket.
posted by Karaage at 2:49 PM on March 1, 2015 [3 favorites]
The suggestions so far seem to be that you should fix it yourself and bear the cost of it, but if you decide to go the route of doing anything yourself (i.e. hire someone to repair or to fix it yourself) then you should make sure you document everything, including giving notice to your landlord and including your attempts to get the landlord to fix it.; this is to protect yourself in case they try to hold your deposit hostage for the broken dishwasher when you leave.
In many states someone in your situation would have the remedy for a "repair and deduct" - if you have a dishwasher that's provided by the landlord and (hopefully) documented in your lease contract, then you are entitled to have the dishwasher function in good working order. When landlords refuse to fix the situation, then in many jurisdictions you're allowed to do a "repair and deduct" - meaning that you get the dishwasher fixed (either DIY or hiring out) - then deduct from the next month's rent the amount of money you're out, after writing a letter and giving them an appropriate amount of time to fix the situation.
However, judging from this tenant's rights manual I found on Kansas law, your state does not have a specific law that allows you to do "repair and deduct" like other states with stronger tenant's rights. That means, despite what others have said about repairing it yourself and getting it reimbursed, you're not legally entitled to it like you might be in some other jurisdictions.
It does appear, however, that you are potentially entitled to break a lease and move out if they continue to refuse to fix the dishwasher per your contracted terms. See page 9 of the manual for more details on that issue.
Whether you want to do all that is up to you, but you could start by writing a letter that asserts your rights at least 30 days before the next rent period is due:
* You signed a contract that included a dishwasher, you have an expectation that the dishwasher is in good working order, you called on xyz dates, attempts to repair were not successful, and now you want them to either replace the dishwasher with one in good working order per the terms of your contract or give you a rent reduction of $x
* If a repair or reduction in rent is not met within [reasonable amount of time - say 30 days] then the Kansas
Residential Landlord and Tenant Act gives you the right to break your lease, and your are putting them on notice of your intent to move out by after the next rent date.
Maybe you don't want to move out or aren't willing to move out over this. That's fine - if it's still not resolved amicably and you decide you're just going to live with it, then just send another letter clearly stating that you have decided to not move out. However, given that you don't have much leverage this is about all you've got to get your landlord to fix it. Any other solution will be coming out of your own pocket.
posted by Karaage at 2:49 PM on March 1, 2015 [3 favorites]
First your landlord stinks, sorry. Second, they are probably not going to do anything about this because it turns out that replacing those stupid bottom racks are ridiculously expensive (might as well buy a new dishwasher). So, third, if the issues is that the soap container is not opening, then run the washer with it open. I do this all the time (because I'm lazy) and the dishes come out clean.
posted by Toddles at 4:29 PM on March 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Toddles at 4:29 PM on March 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
This doesn't solve your problem, but I had an issue with a previous dishwasher that had a terrible design that basically prevented the soap cup from opening. I started using those little detergent pods and just dropping them in the bottom of the dishwasher instead of the cup. You could also dump liquid or powder detergent in the actual dishwasher.
posted by radioamy at 7:41 AM on March 2, 2015
posted by radioamy at 7:41 AM on March 2, 2015
I feel like part of the problem here is that a dishwasher is not a 'necessary' appliance in the way that heat, water, fridge, etc. typically is see. For example, I've never rented a place with a dishwasher. Unless your lease specifically lists a dishwasher and says the landlord will be responsible for repairs, I think it's going to be hard to get him to do it. This leaves you with either trying to find a replacement rack yourself, only washing dishes on the top rack, or handwashing (which, really, is not that terrible!). You can also try being the squeaky wheel and be a pain in the butt about calling constantly and see if that works.
posted by rainbowbrite at 10:07 AM on March 2, 2015
posted by rainbowbrite at 10:07 AM on March 2, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
Alternatively, you could take down all the model numbers and try and contact the manufacturer for a replacement. Yeah, you'll be out some stupid amount of money, but in a case like this (if you like the rest of the apartment and aren't willing to leave over just this) its really best to just sort it out yourself.
Also keep in mind that certain, older dishwashers (especially those found in apartment buildings) are terrible at washing dishes. A certain degree of inherent shittiness might be in play here.
posted by furnace.heart at 1:49 PM on March 1, 2015