Many, no doubt, would regard a dishwasher as one of life's necessities. It is, of course, a luxury item, but it's one that always used to sit at or near the top of our list of favourite labour-saving devices. When we moved to the homestead, we started fresh with new kitchen appliances, pushing the boat out to go for A+++ energy ratings all-round, with a view to saving energy and cash in the long run.
A+++ dishwashers are few and far between and the budget wouldn't stretch to the top of the range premium brand names, so we were pleased to find one available in the next tier.
Long story short, it turned out to be hideously unreliable. Never before (and may it never be repeated) have we owned an appliance in such frequent need of repair. Naturally, this behaviour only manifested just after the end of the guarantee period.
We nursed it along for another couple of years but finally enough was enough. Its latest breakdown was also its last, guaranteed.
Over the course of that dishwasher's troubled life, we decided that it would not be replaced when it died. That day arrived yesterday and so the thinking cap went on: how best to reorganise our dishwashing?
The thing is, the massive amount of cooking, baking and preserving that goes on in the RGL kitchen means a colossal pile of washing up. Here's another thing: Has anybody ever possessed a dish draining rack that they were entirely satisfied with? They're generally a bit of an eyesore, never have enough space for the larger load of dishes and always have nooks and crannies that make it absurdly difficult to keep them properly clean.
Now we have it: Possibly the world's best, and certainly the world's most expensive dish rack and board!
The racks in the dishwasher are, of course, excellent, but they're far too big and ugly to be seen anywhere else but inside the dishwasher, so here's what I've done.
First of all, I stripped out everything removable from the interior of the dishwasher and cleaned all the nooks and crannies inside (frightening). So, no more spray arms or any other clutter within. Next, I gutted the workings, recovering pumps, heating elements, etc., from which I hope to make a few quid on eBay.
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| Just look at that draining board! |
Long story short, it turned out to be hideously unreliable. Never before (and may it never be repeated) have we owned an appliance in such frequent need of repair. Naturally, this behaviour only manifested just after the end of the guarantee period.
We nursed it along for another couple of years but finally enough was enough. Its latest breakdown was also its last, guaranteed.
Over the course of that dishwasher's troubled life, we decided that it would not be replaced when it died. That day arrived yesterday and so the thinking cap went on: how best to reorganise our dishwashing?
The thing is, the massive amount of cooking, baking and preserving that goes on in the RGL kitchen means a colossal pile of washing up. Here's another thing: Has anybody ever possessed a dish draining rack that they were entirely satisfied with? They're generally a bit of an eyesore, never have enough space for the larger load of dishes and always have nooks and crannies that make it absurdly difficult to keep them properly clean.
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| Space for fully 14 place settings, with no avalanche risk. |
The racks in the dishwasher are, of course, excellent, but they're far too big and ugly to be seen anywhere else but inside the dishwasher, so here's what I've done.
First of all, I stripped out everything removable from the interior of the dishwasher and cleaned all the nooks and crannies inside (frightening). So, no more spray arms or any other clutter within. Next, I gutted the workings, recovering pumps, heating elements, etc., from which I hope to make a few quid on eBay.
This left a big hole in the middle of the wash chamber base, which I simply closed off by cutting a sheet of plastic to size and sealing it in place, creating an easily wiped, watertight, stainless steel drip tray.
The one bit of the workings I left in the machine is the fan drier element, which I may possibly reconnect, if we decide we want our dish cabinet to have warm air drying capability.
We now have vast dish rack capacity, out of sight, where the washing up may be conveniently left to drip dry. It's easily cleaned and sufficiently robust that it should last forever. Result.
As a final touch, with just a hint of maliciousness towards the manufacturer, I modified the branding on the front of the machine.
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| Remind you of anything? |
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