There's a hole in my kitchen...

There's a sad-looking gap in our kitchen at present:


Those familiar with the layout will spot that it's where the dishwasher usually sits. I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that it was running much too hot - washing the dishes very effectively, but at such a hot temperature that it has to cool down for about half an hour - at least - before I'm comfortable removing them.

In addition to probably using a lot of extra electricity heating the water so much, it made us concerned about safety so we were no longer running the dishwasher overnight, or while out. Not a huge problem.. but a concern.

So, yesterday Richard went to talk to our friendly white goods shop, where we bought the dishwasher four-and-a-half years ago. They mended the controller a few months ago - the first thing that had gone wrong since we bought it. But when Richard described the problem, they said they'd have to take it away to be checked.

The engineer arrived late morning yesterday, just as the dishwasher was finishing a full load. Good timing, really, since he could see - and feel - immediately what the problem was, since I opened it and a gush of steam came out of the top. He didn't have a whole lot of English, but agreed with me that it was indeed 'too hot'.

Of course, not such good timing in that I had to remove everything while it was still burning to the touch.

The engineer unwired and unplumbed the dishwasher, and then wheeled it down our outside steps on one of those ingenious sack trolleys whose wheels go down step by step, rather like an overgrown Slinky toy. He said that he would call when he had any news.

I did take the opportunity of cleaning the square on the floor where the dishwasher had stood all this time, before taking the photo. It was rather disgustingly gunky. A friend who called in to return some books said that everyone has gunk under large appliances. I suppose she's right.

No news from the dishwasher hospital to date. So I've been re-discovering the art of washing up dishes in the sink. Perhaps I had started taking the dishwasher for granted too much...