Duct Tape

I have now fixed a major appliance with duct tape. Hooray!

The washing machine wasn't draining, and, in desperation I lay my head down on the dasher inside (what the kids call the 'chugger') to bemoan my fate before looking for a free washer on craigslist when I noticed a bit of metal poking down. A little exploration revealed that the switch that indicates the washer door is closed was mounted with plastic screw mounts. Washers vibrate when they work, and apparently the vibration had slowly cracked the plastic screw mounts, and they broke off, dropping the switch too low for the door to trigger it. I duct taped it back up and once again am in the race to keep up with the mounds of dirty laundry.

It's not a permanent fix. The moisture in the washer loosens the duct tape, and I have to tighten it before every load. Meanwhile, I'm trying to figure out a way to wire the thing up using the screw holes. A plastic cable tie might be just the thing, and I think I have a few around here somewhere.

I am cursing Kenmore, though, for using a cheap plastic part. Whatever happened to the good old-fashioned nuts-and-bolts technology? Sure those sometimes worked themselves loose over the years--but then all you had to do was tighten them up and you're good to go!

Meanwhile, I'm still struggling with the dishwasher. I can't wash by hand because it hurts me terribly to stand in one place for very long, and it hurts to hold my arms up to wash dishes, and my hands lock up while I'm holding the dishes, both painful and annoying, as well as a claustrophobic experience. So we HAVE to have a dishwasher that gets the dishes clean. And mine sometimes does. But the water jets get plugged so often that I've come to the conclusion that, to keep the thing quiet, the water pressure inside isn't powerful enough--it certainly doesn't spray sauce off dishes. I think if I can fix the float somehow to make it so more water comes into the dishwasher, that might help. The water level does seem rather low. But this is one of those dang new-fangled, computer-driven dishwashers, and I don't know where the float is, or if it even has one! I am seriously considering moving to a run-of-the-mill, no-fancy-schmanzy-parts portable dishwasher. You know, the kind that you hook up to the faucet, and all you have to worry about breaking is the belt? I've always had good luck with those.