So about a week ago, my dishwasher decided that it was no longer going to drain. This was a minor inconvience at the time, as it still washed dishes… it just didn’t drain. It turns out that you can only do a few loads before to water is no longer fit to drain into the public sewer system, let alone come in contact with your dishes.
Google told me that the most likely problem was the piston and nut assembly. Upon inspecting it, the washer/gaskey on the piston was severely worn. For around $15+shipping I could get a whole new assembly. But I didn’t need a new assembly… just the washer.
So I called my local dishwasher repair dudes. They also would not sell me a single washer thinggie, but wanted a completely new piston and nut assembly… for $30.
I went to Lowes hoping that maybe they sold some sort of generic thinggie that might work. The high school kid there told me they didn’t sell appliance parts and that I should contact an appliance repair person.
After wandering a bit, I found myself in the plumbing section. I was eyeing the faucet gaskgets. The 1/2L gasket looked like an awfully close fit.
I pulled out my pocket knife in the middle of the store and cut the old gasket off the piston and nut assembly. I then cracked open the package for the new gasket. After a little bit of gental massaging, it fit almost perfectly. It is slightly larger in diamater than the old gasket and thusly wont let the piston fully compress. For less than a dollar I was willing to give it a shot.
I took it home, put all my screens and filters back in and ran an empty cycle. Within minutes I could hear the machine draining.
If you have the same problem, don’t spend $20+ on a complete new assembly. Go to your local hardware store and get a faucet washer/gasket.. 1/2L for less than a $1 and spend the rest on some beer and kick back and relax!
