There’s nothing like a broken appliance to make your life harder. It’s especially true if it’s a major appliance. Thus far, this year, we’ve had four of them develop difficulties.
Dishwashers: Yes, I could ignore this one and just hand wash, but I hate hand washing. On top of that, it means I have to stand for a long period of time…I like to cook…and my knee can’t handle that anymore.
This particular problem isn’t major, but it did require a genius (my husband) and a screwdriver. The problem is with the door latch. It latches just fine, but it doesn’t unlatch. A little pry with a screwdriver does the job. I’m worried about the screwdriver and the cabinet, but at least I can still use my dishwasher.
Oven: As mentioned, I like to cook. Being without an oven is a traumatic experience, especially with winter coming along, when baking is more comfortable. For the most part, I can get around the problem.
My microwave is also a convection oven. Not only can I still bake stuff, I can do it in half the time. With the exception of its small size, I wouldn’t even really require a new oven. My roasting pan just doesn’t fit in the microwave.
Refrigerator: We were lucky in this, too. If it had been discovered more quickly, I might not have lost as much food (lots and lots of ice chests from our family camping days). We were also lucky that it was the cheap fix. It cost us about $90 (parts plus repair guy). The other fix would have been about the same price as a new refrigerator.
If your fridge or freezer does go out, remember to grab the ice chests so you can protect the food. It won’t work forever, but it may work until you can fix or replace.
Washer: This is the third time we’ve had to repair the washer (I say we, it’s all my husband). This time, we may end up replacing it. However, we’ve had it for 20 years. The only work around for this problem has been a Laundromat.
If your washer is a newer model, go on-line and see if someone has mentioned the problem and how to fix it. You may not need a new washer, just a $5 part.
It’s easy to take our appliances for granted. I think for us, it’ll be a few years before that happens again. Four in one year is enough to remind anyone that these conveniences can and do break.