I hate it. It sucks up so much of my free time and energy and just plain drives me crazy. To further compound matters, one of my machines that I rely heavily on is not currently working and it is taking another slice of time and energy that I do not feel I can spare.
My dishwasher. It currently is nothing more than a white door filling up a large hole under the counter. It should make my life easier. It should free up my time in the kitchen. I have fought this beast for almost a year and I am now waving the white flag of defeat. The beast has won. My aggravation is compounded by the fact that because I am merely renting my townhouse, I am at the mercy of the management company and one particular person and when he "can get around to it."
I tried to up the ante last week by calling the Management office and speaking with the maintenance coordinator directly but then I started getting calls again from D any way. He did come out and fix the light in my kitchen that quit working. But he told me that he would be calling Sears to come out and look at the dishwasher. It has now been over two weeks since I called in my complaint. I have been washing all of my dishes by hand since that time, occasionally glaring at my dishwasher sitting smugly on the floor, empty and useless.
This man D either accused me or insinuated that I was using laundry soap and thus my dishwasher was not going to work. He did not listen to me even though I assured him I am not "that stupid" and do know the difference between the two. I have been washing dishes by and in a machine, as well as doing laundry since I was 8 years old. I know the difference between all the soaps. He then admitted that his wife buys the soap. I then realized he was looking for an excuse to not be responsible for the problem with the dishwasher.
I could tell him the problem. It's a cheap piece of junk!
He did send Sears out and they did all sorts of tests and ran a load with 1 cup. And told me that everything was fine. It spins, it sprays, it heats up water. But seriously, who ever washes just 1 cup? And if you have read my blog, you would know that I have been known to wash an entire load of just cups!
So, in preparation for whenever D "gets around to it", I have written a list that I will tack onto my dishwasher door:
The Problem with the Dishwasher is:
It does not dissolve the soap even after running it for 3 cycles. Please note the soap still in the dispenser, dried onto the door and down in the bottom of the machine. That is after 3 full cycles.
The dishes come out dirtier than they went in. They have a soapy residue that has to be washed off. The worst is the glasses that foam when you put water in them because of the soap.
The items in the top rack do not appear to get any water on them as they are usually dry and still look dirty.
What I have done to Resolve or Work with the Problem:
Run half loads.
Space the dishes out so that no dish touches the other and water can easily get through
Tried powdered detergent, liquid detergent, different brands
Ran the dishwasher with a dishwasher cleaner
Hopefully this note will be clear enough for the repair man to make an assessment. I really do not like complaining but I don't have a lot of time to do the things I already do and to have to add washing dishes by hand after every meal is adding a fair amount of stress to my day and my life in general.
I am trying to get my children more involved with cleaning. I used to have them switch jobs every week but one day it hit me that while this does give them variety, it is not giving them mastery nor is it giving them ownership. So, for the time being and I am seriously considering a period of 6 months, they have one area that is their responsibility to keep clean and to thoroughly clean each week.
I'm getting a bit of grumbling and it is not always done to my satisfaction. However, it does provide me with opportunities to instruct each child in the things they are doing well and then the areas that they need to work harder at. I am hoping that the more they have to clean their assigned area, the more they will begin to care about it and will begin to see the messes and take care of them before they get bad.
It is funny when I hear some complaining. My favorite is from BB who says, "Why do we have to clean on Saturday. That's our day off."
I remind him that the Bible says God worked for 6 days and rested on the 7th. I also tell him that Saturday is also my day off and while I would love to just sit around and do fun stuff, there are things that have to be done and the sooner we get them done, the more time we have left to do fun stuff.
While my house is not perfect by any means, it is looking a lot tidier except in certain "Kid only" areas. And I will work on those one at a time. The organization I started last week is really helping me keep on top of paper that comes into the house. It is more clear to the kids where things are supposed to go. It does not mean they always do it but with a quick reminder, they usually will put their coat away or their backpack. This is doing wonders for my stress level. There is a lot to be said for coming home to a house that is picked up and the kitchen is clean.
It is just a never ending job. I read a quote in a magazine the other day that is very appropriate. It made me chuckle. "Cleaning your house when you have children at home is like shoveling when it is still snowing."
No comments:
Post a Comment