De-stinking a Dishwasher 101
posted by peppermint at 11:09 AM
After our home inspection we had asked that the seller hire a plumber to fix a leaky valve underneath the sink, then to investigate and solve (keyword: solve!) whatever was causing the dead animal smell emanating from the dishwasher.
When we showed up at closing we were shown a copy of the plumbing bill that stated he had replaced the valve and pipe beneath the sink. Below that it said - and I'm not making this up - "De-stink the dishwasher". We had done our final walk-through two days prior and when we ran the dishwasher again it only smelled as though someone had dumped a massive amount of bleach into the machine, so we figured it was as good of time as any to voice our concern with the plumber's "destinking" method. The seller's agent told us a nice little tale about how the plumber actually pulls the entire machine out from under the counter and vacuums all around it, cleans it all up, then puts it back. Then we were told that perhaps we should try running a cycle with vinegar? Because the house had been vacant for 3 months, you know.
My first house sat vacant for 10 months before it sold, and never once did it smell as though anything had died in it. Let me just get that out into the open right now.
Last night on our way home from the home improvement store we stopped in to Guyer's Builders Supply and through a fabulous series of events - being that my step-father's brother installs their kitchen displays - we were able to procure this fabulous new dishwasher for a song. I won't say exactly how much we saved on it compared to the same model at Sears, but I will say that it rhymes with one-hundred-and-twenty dollars.
When we went to remove the old dishwasher, though, we found all the proof we needed that the plumber had, in fact, NOT de-stunk the dishwasher at all. Pulled it out and cleaned all around it?
My. Ass.
How do we know that the plumber never moved that dishwasher an inch? Because getting the dishwasher out required this very loud and highly invasive tool:
We had to unscrew the countertop from the base cabinets and cut through a large shim with the reciprocating saw just to give ourselves enough clearance to edge the dishwasher up over the tile lip and out of its nasty little home. We're not always the most observant people, but I'm pretty sure we would have noticed if someone had done these things before us.
Plus, once the dishwasher was out we unearthed the source of our little aroma problem:
And it wasn't just under the dishwasher, it was actually on the dishwasher. Embedded in the fiberglass insulation all AROUND the dishwasher.
I actually sized those down considerably just to stay within the "mildly disturbing" level of Internet sharing, because the larger-scale versions would freak your freak out. If you think you have it bad right now looking at these pictures, you should take a second and consider that someone (Tom) had to get up close and personal with this dishwasher because someone (Tom) had to disconnect the plumbing and electrical lines because someone else (Me) was taking pictures so that everyone (you!) could get in on the action.
Afterwards we hermetically sealed the entire thing with plastic and got it the hell out of our house. Then someone (Tom again!) vacuumed up all traces of animal life and we sprayed every square millimeter of the floor, cabinets and wall down with enough chemicals to kill all remaining scientifically studied life-forms. After that we took 6 showers. Each.
Tonight we'll hopefully get the new dishwasher installed and we can put this entire episode behind us, except for the nightmares which will understandably haunt us for months.
Shockingly enough the air quality in the kitchen increased by about 400% when we were done. Who would have imagined? If only someone could have suggested some sort of solution a few days ago. If only....
And in the event that any future rodents decide our house looks like a nice place to take the family out for a bite to eat, they will be greeted by our pest control specialist:
When we showed up at closing we were shown a copy of the plumbing bill that stated he had replaced the valve and pipe beneath the sink. Below that it said - and I'm not making this up - "De-stink the dishwasher". We had done our final walk-through two days prior and when we ran the dishwasher again it only smelled as though someone had dumped a massive amount of bleach into the machine, so we figured it was as good of time as any to voice our concern with the plumber's "destinking" method. The seller's agent told us a nice little tale about how the plumber actually pulls the entire machine out from under the counter and vacuums all around it, cleans it all up, then puts it back. Then we were told that perhaps we should try running a cycle with vinegar? Because the house had been vacant for 3 months, you know.
My first house sat vacant for 10 months before it sold, and never once did it smell as though anything had died in it. Let me just get that out into the open right now.
Last night on our way home from the home improvement store we stopped in to Guyer's Builders Supply and through a fabulous series of events - being that my step-father's brother installs their kitchen displays - we were able to procure this fabulous new dishwasher for a song. I won't say exactly how much we saved on it compared to the same model at Sears, but I will say that it rhymes with one-hundred-and-twenty dollars.
When we went to remove the old dishwasher, though, we found all the proof we needed that the plumber had, in fact, NOT de-stunk the dishwasher at all. Pulled it out and cleaned all around it?
My. Ass.
How do we know that the plumber never moved that dishwasher an inch? Because getting the dishwasher out required this very loud and highly invasive tool:
We had to unscrew the countertop from the base cabinets and cut through a large shim with the reciprocating saw just to give ourselves enough clearance to edge the dishwasher up over the tile lip and out of its nasty little home. We're not always the most observant people, but I'm pretty sure we would have noticed if someone had done these things before us.
Plus, once the dishwasher was out we unearthed the source of our little aroma problem:
And it wasn't just under the dishwasher, it was actually on the dishwasher. Embedded in the fiberglass insulation all AROUND the dishwasher.
I actually sized those down considerably just to stay within the "mildly disturbing" level of Internet sharing, because the larger-scale versions would freak your freak out. If you think you have it bad right now looking at these pictures, you should take a second and consider that someone (Tom) had to get up close and personal with this dishwasher because someone (Tom) had to disconnect the plumbing and electrical lines because someone else (Me) was taking pictures so that everyone (you!) could get in on the action.
Afterwards we hermetically sealed the entire thing with plastic and got it the hell out of our house. Then someone (Tom again!) vacuumed up all traces of animal life and we sprayed every square millimeter of the floor, cabinets and wall down with enough chemicals to kill all remaining scientifically studied life-forms. After that we took 6 showers. Each.
Tonight we'll hopefully get the new dishwasher installed and we can put this entire episode behind us, except for the nightmares which will understandably haunt us for months.
Shockingly enough the air quality in the kitchen increased by about 400% when we were done. Who would have imagined? If only someone could have suggested some sort of solution a few days ago. If only....
And in the event that any future rodents decide our house looks like a nice place to take the family out for a bite to eat, they will be greeted by our pest control specialist:
Labels: kitchen
1 Comments:
OH MY GOD!! GROSS!!! Pepper, I feel so bad about the gross mouse infested dishwasher!! Don't worry, I'll be sure to "mention" this little bit of info onto the lovely "seller's agent"!! I can't wait to come back and see all you have done!
Stacey
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