DIY Chronicles: The Dishwasher

I realize a dishwasher isn't a necessity, but they sure are nice; even an old, beat up, noisy dishwasher.  So, when I went to start the dishwasher and couldn't get the latch to completely close, I was not happy.  (No closed latch = no dish washing.)  But, I figured it should be fairly easy to fix.  Maybe not right then, at 11:00 p.m., but surely, a little jiggling the next evening and everything would be okay.  

Ha!  Yeah, right.  A little jiggling wasn't terribly effective. But, I knew it was a simple mechanical problem, as opposed to plumbing or electrical, which I will not attempt.  So I got my screw driver and took apart the door.  (Side note, taking apart the door of an old dishwasher in an unsealed rental house is not for the faint of heart.)

Once I got the latch out, I could see it was a pretty simple problem.  Simple enough to diagnose; not so simple to repair.  Eventually, with lots of "help" from four nosy dogs.  (Petey was outside. The girls, on the other hand, couldn't wait to help.) I figured out the latch and managed to reassemble the door.  Except right before I got everything realigned a thin metal bar, approximately 24" long, fell from....somewhere.  So, the entire project was abandoned again.  

The next night, I gamely made a third attempt, but I could not, for the life of me, figure out where the bar went. After a very frustrating hour I got the door back together, the latch in place and functioning.  The dishwasher works beautifully.  The metal bar?  Well, it's sitting on the cabinet.  So far, it doesn't appear to have been critical.

Things I Learned Today

Even industrial strength "Backwoods Off" does not deter fire ants. AT ALL.

My weed eater has an edging setting. (Wish I'd realized that at the beginning of the evening's festivities!)

My sidewalk is twice as wide as it originally appeared.

The City of Houston-approved lawn bags SUCK! (Okay, I already knew that, but still....)

Me Do It Myself!

The other night I was doing laundry and when I pulled the dog bed out of the dryer I discovered it had a hole in it allowing cedar chips to escape. Somehow wood chips and extreme heat did not sound like a good combination. Most normal people probably would have called a repairman. But not me. It seemed like a pretty easy task; get the vacuum and use the hose to suck the cedar chips out. Unfortunately, I discovered that the opening to the lint trap was too narrow to effectively maneuver the vacuum hose, then I heard a little pop followed by a clank. Great. Now instead of just wood chips in my dryer I've added a piece of the vacuum.

(I know it's a little hard to see, but that's the attachment at the bottom and wood chips all down the side)



It looked like it would be pretty easy to remove the lint screen guard, giving me lots of room, so I removed one screw, only that didn't do anything. (At this point, any sane human being would have called a repair man) But, I wasn't ready to give up. I knew all I needed to do was remove "this" screw.... So, I removed that one and then another and another.... By the time I was able to squeeze my hand in to retrieve the attachment and get at the chips the dryer looked like this.

Fortunately, after a few false starts and some assistance from my brother, the dryer was wood chip free and .... TA DA! Back together. Even used all the parts.

Why didn't I just wait till morning and call a repair man. Well, I might have a tiny problem with patience (or lack there of). I wanted to finish my laundry.