[Boomer]

Our Maytag dishwasher is 5 years old. The latch mechanism just bit the dust. The part costs $150.00. And, yes, I know that’s a lot cheaper than a new dishwasher. And we don’t have to try to find the Maytag repairman because Mr. Boomer knows how to fix stuff. But this is about the big picture aggravation factor in the world of today’s kitchen appliances. Are these things now designed to fail?

Maytag must have designed this latch to break, sooner rather than later. The part of the latch mechanism that broke was held together by some tiny plastic nubs that broke off. What’s up with that? The latch. Used constantly. Little plastic beads under stress every time that door was opened and closed. Surely that was designed to fail. And fail it did. A hundred and fifty bucks worth.

As a kid I learned to cook on a Chambers range that had been in the kitchen for as long as I could remember and was there long after I had left the nest. My parents’ Kenmore washer and dryer, bought in 1967, lasted more than 40 years.

When Mr. B. and I were first married, somebody gave us their old dishwasher. It was a Kitchen-Aid that we rolled to the sink and hooked up to the faucet. It was 25 years old when we got it and when we moved we gave it away to someone else. It might still be out there rolling along. That made us loyal to Kitchen-Aid through three more houses, but then Kitchen-Aid dishwashers were suddenly no longer what they had always been. They just didn't seem the same. So we tried Maytag this time. Never again.

My history with kitchen appliances has been long one. And I have tried to get things that I thought would last. I realize that I can no longer expect 25 or 40 years. I am realistic about our world now. But 5 years and then the obvious design to fail starts kicking in???

I think most big appliances now are made by one company or the other. South Korea. Mexico. Cranking them out and slapping different brand names on them. It is a maze to me.

I have been noticing Electrolux everywhere lately. (I thought it was a sweeper.) Their big marketing campaign is that they have been in Europe forever. I guess that is supposed to mean something to me as a consumer, but that’s not what I care about. I just want something that is well made and will not aggravate me along the way with just plain bad engineering. Or purposely bad engineering.

Electrolux also likes to market like Saturn. The price is the price so they say. My guess is there will be some kind of deals built in somewhere. They are significantly more expensive than other appliances. Could that be part of the marketing concept, too? Or are they really that much better? (And btw, I think Electrolux and Frigidaire are now connected. Geez. No wonder I am confused.)

And you know what else I miss. I miss the little appliance store with the people who stood behind what they sold and knew their products. Now it's those big box stores full of whippersnappers who know nothing about washing machines because their moms are still doing their laundry. And all they want to do is sell you an extended warranty anyway.

Well, thanks for listening to my trials and tribulations in the world of kitchen appliances. And I really would like your opinions on what brands you like and have found to be dependable. And does anybody know anything about Electrolux? All I want is to get what I pay for. Is that even possible these days?

Dishwater Hands Boomer