T-Minus 368 Days: A New Dishwasher?

I have been very clear: I am not buying a new couch, bed cushion, or anything until we get to Florida. The couch can be half broken and on the floor - I don't care! I'm not buying something new only to have to pay to have it moved a thousand miles. ...and have it probably break during the move.

My wife is of a different opinion and would like to regularly replace out items. She doesn't see a problem with moving everything 1200 miles to Florida at whatever the cost. Luckily, I have been fairly passionate about this and able to keep her from buying things.

Our dishwasher sprung a leak this week.

Try to repair it? Or replace it? Of course, my wife says "Replace it!" It is a seventeen year old dishwasher and she has waited a long time for a new one.

I thought about it. It is going to take days shopping and looking for a dishwasher, and then days before it can be delivered. If the dishwasher isn't in stock, we might be waiting weeks. Not to mention: a leaky dishwasher is nothing to play with because it can do severe damage to a kitchen. With everything considered I agreed on a new dishwasher. We would go out and immediately get one ordered. However, I warned, if I get the old dishwasher pulled out and I can fix it? We'll cancel the order.

She found the dishwasher she wanted and it was only $70 more than we budgeted.

Removing a dishwasher isn't a five minute job. Someone very skilled at it can remove a dishwasher in 30 minutes. Someone like me? 3 hours. There is a little tiny area to work in, everything is crammed and stuck, and (of course) the dishwasher is hung up on the curled linoleum.

I get the dishwasher out and find the leak: there is a finger sized hole in the rubber sump pump.That's a $30 part, it'll be here in a week, half a dozen screws - and the dishwasher is fixed. Save $400. Right? Wrong.

A happy wife is a happy life. I have learned all too painfully what happens when I disagree with my wife about household appliances. How else do you think we paid a premium price for a red clothes washer? She didn't want a red clothes washer, but she got it because she wanted to pay the premium price to get even with me disagreeing with her about the clothes washer. And the refrigerator... lets not go there. Sometimes I'm a little slow to learn lessons. But I have learned. I know better than to disagree with my wife on household appliances once she has made up her mind.

We have a new dishwasher.