Seese 1, Dishwasher 0

Or maybe dishwasher 1/2...

This post has nothing to do with writing, since there are a few things in life (very few, in my mind) which do not involve writing.

We bought a new dishwasher nearly three years ago. Over the course of that first year, it would behave "badly." Specifically, sporadically the lid to the soap container would not open during the course of the wash cycle. I assumed it was just sticking, since the next time it would open.

In hindsight, as it neared the one-year (read: warranty expiration) mark, I suppose I should have called for a service tech. But I didn't want to say, "I guess we'll have to run a complete cycle, and see if it opens. If it doesn't, we'll just have to try again."

I probably should have done that, though, because some time after year one, it stopped opening entirely. The pre-rinse soap still made it into the cycle. But the main rinse has been water only since then.

I stopped at a parts store last winter, and described what I needed. But the only thing that he had cost $150, and could not be returned once opened. And, he really wasn't sure that what he pulled off the shelf truly was what I was asking for. Since I was periodically getting those "extend your warranty" letters--and it cost about $120--I started considering that.

Sometime over the summer, I took it all apart, took OUT the offending piece, and lubricated everything in the hope that would fix it. No dice. But I at least had the foresight to write down the part number.

Last week, while cleaning my desk, I came across the piece of paper with the part number on it. I Googled that number, and the first website returned had it for $31, plus taxes and shipping. The part arrived two days later. I put it in yesterday, and ran the dishes overnight. (Our washer has a "four-hour" delay feature, which I think is really cool.)

AND IT WORKED!

Damn, I'm good!