When to fix vs. buy a new dishwasher?

December 11, 2024 9:43 PM

Our current dishwasher isn't draining at all. It seems like there's been a lot of problems with it not draining, clogging, etc. recently. I was going to contact a repair company to get it fixed then I found a lot of "advice" online saying that modern dishwashers are pretty much "disposable." When does it make sense to buy a new one vs fix it?

Our dishwasher never had these issues until last year, when it got really clogged up and nasty the first time. I always thought it was because my mother loads it poorly/doesn't clean chunks of food off the dishes, but then I wondered why it worked fine for years before.... Weird. Anyway, I got rid of the "clog" did a good cleaning and it seemed to work fine until the last month, or so. For the past week or so it's not been draining. From what I can tell the hose isn't kinked. I'm apprehensive about disconnecting/examining the drain hose myself or looking up how to check the pump. It can actually wash dishes pretty well, as long as I remove all the stagnant water before doing a load, which is... disgusting/unrealistic.

I thought about calling a repair person, but are we just better off buying a new dishwasher at this point? I don't know exactly how old this current dishwasher is, but it has to be at least 8 years old, which does seem to be getting up there.

When does it makes sense to buy a new dishwasher vs repair it? Am I better off just going appliance hunting tomorrow than calling for a quote for its repair.

posted by VirginiaPlain to Home & Garden (26 answers total)

There are a limited number of things that could be wrong, based on your description (most likely bad check valve, bad drain pump, some kind of clog). Even the most expensive item (the whole drain pump) is likely less than a $100 part, so if you're willing to get in there and have a go yourself, it is likely fixable at reasonable cost. I'd start by pulling off the drain pump and having a look inside (it could be clogged or the impeller could be busted or badly worn) as well as identifying where the check valve is and having a look at it. You can also check the drain pump motor with a multimeter quite easily.

It's also possible that your dishwasher only has one pump that does both circulation and draining. But in any case, a dishwasher is not a complex machine; don't be scared of it. You'll find videos if you search for your model on Youtube.

Aside from being cheaper, fixing the dishwasher is also the right thing to do environmentally as you avoid the manufacture of an entire new dishwasher, hopefully for a few years. But if you're not willing to try fixing it yourself, then you're right, getting in a pro is likely to cost a few hundred dollars and you'd be better off replacing it given its age.
posted by ssg at 10:00 PM on December 11 [7 favorites]

My personal method, which is by no means rigorous or based in sound mathematics, is to buy a new appliance if the cost of the contemplated repair exceeds 30% of the cost for a new machine.

…then if it ever breaks again I just buy a new one and curse our wasteful society. Repairs have been getting increasingly difficult to arrange, and unduly pricey due to cartel behavior from the manufacturers that appears to be going unchecked.
posted by aramaic at 10:02 PM on December 11 [1 favorite]

I find that I'm willing to repair an appliance once within a relatively short period of time. If it breaks again within a year, replace it. I'll give it once chance, but I'm not spending a few hundred dollars every 3 months to repair something. Also, are you in the U.S.? Replace it now before the tariffs come in.

I just replaced my dishwasher after it destroyed my condo I checked consumer reports (free on your local public library's website) and went to home depot for their recommended model but ended up getting one step up from their recommendation just because I really like having the steam option. Anyway, I am super happy with how clean my dishes are. Like I literally made burgers tonight and put the dirty pan in their with my dishes and it all came out clean including the pan.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 10:11 PM on December 11

Response by poster: Thanks for the advice so far. One note about why I'm apprehensive about taking it apart and attempting to repair it myself. My father did all the handiwork around this house and rarely hired tradespeople to do anything, so sometimes his work was a bit unconventional. As a result, I'm afraid of making it worse!
posted by VirginiaPlain at 10:16 PM on December 11 [2 favorites]

I had a similar issue and got a repair person out. He replaced a part and recommended using the longest, hottest settings and to never use the eco setting. Unfortunately shorter and cooler settings can lead to clogs in different places. Didn't have any issues after that. So I'd personally lean towards repair rather than replacement. We cannot treat appliances as disposable.
posted by kinddieserzeit at 10:38 PM on December 11 [3 favorites]

I have fixed such a drainage problem myself armed with nothing but online resources and the machine is still going years later.

Depending on your definition of "makes sense", I would always opt for repair. It is wasteful and bad for the environment for a fixable machine to go to landfill. I see you have qualms about investigating yourself, but an ethical repair person can say "look I could be here for another 5 hours and I need a $500 part, do you really want to do that?" at a point before too much has been spent - so I'd say your actual question might be "how do I find an honest repair business?"
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 12:06 AM on December 12 [3 favorites]

I recently had a repair person come and try to repair the dishwater here in my apartment. It cost me about half the price of a new one, and it didn't work. So now I'm waiting for the January sales to buy a new one. The old, broken one is about ten years old, and it was probably not built to last. The repairman agreed it wasn't worth another try at this point.

On the other hand, at our family farm I bought a new one at about the same time because the old one was broken, and when they removed it, we realized that it could have been fixed. It was about 25-30 years old and had been repaired before, by ourselves and by repairmen. My idea is that I will pay for repairs once or twice but after that I give up, but in this case I somewhat regretted it. The "new" one is great, though.

My conclusion is that it depends on the brand and model. The cheap one in my apartment is from IKEA (made by Whirlpool), because it is a rental apartment, and I don't want to spend too much on appliances. The one at the farm is a Miele, they give a ten year guarantee and after that you can still get relatively cheap repairs.

The man who tried to repair the IKEA dishwasher said you don't need to go to as high a price as Miele, in his opinion the cheaper German brands (Siemens, Bosch) were equally good. A dishwasher is not a complex machine, but if the parts can't fit after some wear and tear, you can't fix them.
posted by mumimor at 12:18 AM on December 12 [2 favorites]

Ex wife of an appliance tech -- I was his diagnostician and booker of calls for his business. I would check the pump impeller, which may just be jammed by some debris, and the drain hose. Often a bone or piece of glass gets lodged in the works and the fix is as simple as removing it. Please always consider repair before replacement for your appliances. You Tube videos make it really easy to do these kinds of simple repairs and the landfill is full of appliances that could have been fixed for under 100 dollars. Most mechanical parts are not that expensive, it's the electronic parts that cost a lot but this does sound like a mechanical problem. At worst case, it would be the pump and even that is not a hugely expensive part, certainly less than a new dishwasher!
posted by alltomorrowsparties at 2:38 AM on December 12 [14 favorites]

Most mechanical parts are not that expensive, it's the electronic parts that cost a lot but this does sound like a mechanical problem. At worst case, it would be the pump and even that is not a hugely expensive part, certainly less than a new dishwasher!

This is the explanation and advice you need.

Outside of this, there is also the question of how much money we're talking about. My mom's dishwasher was like 2.5K so it made a lot of sense to repair it in a situation like this. Mine was sixty bucks off Facebook Marketplace so arguably less so but in fact, it's going to be hard for me to replace with another dishwasher that is such amazing value for money, so absolutely I will be repairing it when it breaks.
posted by DarlingBri at 3:19 AM on December 12

In your place, I'd want to be sure that the problem is something wrong with the machine and not the drain. At one point, we had a clog between the kitchen and the sewer.
posted by SemiSalt at 4:28 AM on December 12 [1 favorite]

YouTube is truly your friend here -- you can find videos to help you repair a whole host of appliance issues. I, with no prior dishwasher-fixing experience, fixed my own dishwasher in a situation like this with YouTube’s help. I got another 3-4 years out of it, for the cost of under $100 in parts and an afternoon of tinkering. I encourage you to give it a shot!
posted by ourobouros at 6:06 AM on December 12 [1 favorite]

I also recommend trying it yourself first. If you're willing to buy a new dishwasher outright anyway, then you have very little to lose by giving it a shot. Just go on youtube and search for your specific model and the problem and see what you can find.

I did this recently, and similar to ourobouros, I have no experience with fixing appliances and was able to follow the video that I found and fix the problem using only the tools that I already had at home, no extra parts necessary. It took me a bit of time but it saved the cost of the repair call, which around here was a minimum of $125 just to come out and look at it.

And you know what? In addition to saving the money, it was a huge confidence-builder! I'm not saying I'm suddenly a mechanical genius or whatever, but it feels good to have an option other than just "toss it and get a new one" and "pay a bunch for a repair". I'm now much more willing to try fixing something on my own first.
posted by number9dream at 6:17 AM on December 12 [8 favorites]

Many independent places offer repairs and then discount a new appliance if the repair is not cost-effective.

Our fridge broke down. We called a repair guy who was in the house for less than 1/2 hour. I can't remember what the cause was but was quite expensive. We got 1/2 of the repair call towards the new fridge, and they provided a temporary fridge

Our washer recently became plugged. The repair guy cleaned it up, which cost $125, and gave us a general "it's in very good shape" prognosis.

Its worth a call to find out the "call out rate" and the decide from there on what to do.
posted by Ftsqg at 6:59 AM on December 12

You say it's at least 8 years old, and dishwashers tend to last around 10 years, so even if you fix it, you're unlikely to get many additional years. I wouldn't pay for a repair at this point, but I would try (and likely fail) to fix it myself, after making sure that it won't take too long to get a new one if you end up disabling it completely.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 7:22 AM on December 12

I'd remove and clean the line. It's a fairly easy first step if you are considering a repair.


I'm also on the side of 'repair', but I've got to warn you that often, the repair you try to make will not work, and you will be out about $100 and a decent chunk of time, and some frustration that what you tried to do didn't work. Be sure you can emotionally deal with that. If you cannot (and there's nothing wrong with that) then you should replace.
posted by The_Vegetables at 7:24 AM on December 12 [1 favorite]

Also have to say that $100 is on the high side for mechanical parts. My Bosch dishwasher part was $13, including the shipping. And don't waste your time trying to replace any major electrical parts.
posted by The_Vegetables at 7:27 AM on December 12

Something to look into, if you do decide it make more sense to replace instead of repair: in my area there is a scratch and dent / discontinued appliance outlet business that also repairs and resells new machines, and they allow people to drop used appliances off for free at one of their locations. They repair and resell the ones they can, and the ones they can't they disassemble for parts to repair other machines, or send to recycling. If there's a business like this near you, you might be able to have your cake and eat it too when it comes to getting a new machine while making sure your old one gets salvaged instead of going straight to a landfill.
posted by BlueJae at 8:01 AM on December 12 [5 favorites]

I think the "is repair worth it?" math is going to work out differently for everyone. I'm the type who hates waste, and would rather basically reubild a major appliance and get another several years or more out of it, instead of sending the hulk to landfill and buying a new one. If you want to diagnose/repair this yourself, can you share the make & model? The hivemind may have some tips. But yeah, youtube is a fantastic reference for this sort of thing.
posted by xedrik at 9:02 AM on December 12

My first answer is directed more at fixing the present issue.
Following the above advice to search out YouTube videos, see if there is one which will show how to take apart any existing strainer/filter systems inside the washing compartment. Then shop vac (borrow or find a handy neighbor to come to the rescue if you don't own one) .
I have had great success in many type of clog situations with a powerful wet/dry shop vac. To seal the vacuum I have often used several plastic bags to seal against uneven or curved surface. (Just have firm grip on the bags since the shop vac will indiscriminately suck those up as well.)
This will often pull up the offending clog. I have re-added water and applied suction again to make sure loose bits come out as well.
Second, considering when to replace. I check to see how much the energy efficiencies have improved since the date my appliance was manufactured. This is more significant with cooling appliances, but finding a more energy efficient new model may help tip the scale towards purchase.
posted by tronec at 10:14 AM on December 12

Make sure the drain pipe isn't clogged. I hate waste, and my dishwasher does not have an electronic panel. Since my appliances w/ electronic panels have failed recently, likely due to power surges from my incompetent power company, I'd consider repair.
posted by theora55 at 10:15 AM on December 12

I am not someone who generally tries to take on home repairs like this. I would call an appliance repair person. It may be they can do some repair and cleanup that will give you another few years or more. It's true that modern appliances are built to break; this is the intent of the manufacturers. That doesn't mean, however, it's not worth calling a repair person at least once. There might be a relatively simple repair they can do that will save you the disgusting work of cleaning it out every time and fix the current problem.

It's totally fine that you are reluctant to do this work yourself. A competent appliance repair person can do a lot more and do it more quickly than you can.
posted by bluedaisy at 12:00 PM on December 12

As a result, I'm afraid of making it worse!

It doesn't work properly now and you're considering tossing it entirely. So it can't really get any worse. Go forth and take it apart without fear! At worst, you're out a little time and a bit of a learning experience.
posted by ssg at 1:43 PM on December 12 [4 favorites]

I wouldn't pay someone to fix an 8-year-old dishwasher because, as distasteful as it is, the machine is near or past its designed lifespan. But I would definitely try to fix it myself, with some help from the University of Youtube.

It might be difficult for a machine of that age, but pretty much every single part can be purchased online. I strongly recommend you don't purchase any parts online though, without first removing and noting the part number of what is broken, because parts vary even in what looks like the same model. The serial number of the machine can also be useful at times. Search using the part number and compare photos of the part for sale with the one you are holding in your hand, because unique part numbers are not 100% unique (maybe 99.9).

Of all the household machines, dishwashers are one of the most simple and there's really no way to make things worse, short of electrocuting yourself (so pull that plug out before you open the case!). It seems like you're definitely looking at something mechanical at fault here, so you can always just work your way through parts and clean them all out, looking for anything broken as you go. But Youtube will almost certainly have a walk-through of exactly what you need to do, which might extend beyond your dishwasher into the plumbing it connects to.
posted by dg at 4:10 PM on December 12

(I'll note that everyone keeps telling this person how to repair the dishwasher when they have clearly said they will be calling a repair person. Some people just aren't up for DIYing this kind of thing.)
posted by bluedaisy at 4:26 PM on December 12

Are you running your sink water til it gets hot before you start the dishwasher?
https://youtu.be/jHP942Livy0?si=t1fDO8SgNg86v6yw
Technology Connections, “Your Dishwasher is Better Than You Think
posted by at at 6:16 PM on December 12

Today's FDOTM is timely.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 10:12 PM on December 12