How can I secure my dishwasher now that it is fixed?
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Every time I shut the door, it moves backward because there's no way I can get to the screws that were holding it in in the first place.
Is it normal for a dishwasher to be screwed in at the top & then tiled over?
There are two screws which I had to forcefully wrip out of the plastic of the top of the dishwasher to work on the dishwasher to unclog the solenoid filter screen.
It seems that whoever put the dishwasher in, screwed the dishwasher to the counter from the plywood at the top of the counter BEFORE the tiles were put in and then tiled over the screws.
The only way I could move the dishwasher was to tear the screws out of the top of the dishwasher.
Now that the dishwasher is repaired, I have no way to rescrew the screws.
HOW am I supposed to keep the dishwasher from moving back and forth every time I shut the door?
With any luck, the screws protrude slightly from the bottom of the countertop wood. Try using a visegrips or other strong pliers to unscrew them.
If that fails, you could locate the dishwasher lightly forward or back from the orignal location, and put in a couple new screws. Get some tough, stainless steel screws so they don't snap.
Absolutely not. There should be a scre or an "L" shaped bracket on the frront of the DW that gets screwed into the top. Do you still have the original installation instructions? Or have you tried downloading a copy of a similar model?
No, you are missing the under-counter flange or bracket. It's a piece (or pieces) of metal that is attached to the top of the dishwasher where your screws were and it sticks out. This lets you screw up into the bottom of the counter to attach the washer.
Here is a link to a photo showing how one looks, this guy had straps instead of a single flange but it's the same idea.
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If you can't find the appropriate part, you could probably fashion something out of sheet metal or steel straps fairly easily.
What is the model of your dishwasher? Some like mine have side mounting screw locations in the event you can't mount it at the top. For example, if you have granite countertops.
Purists should skip the following thought experiement:
If all other alternatives are impossible, you could put a screw through the body of the dishwasher!
I'd go through the top - less chance of hitting wires - with the correct length of screw. Then slather a wad of silicone sealant over the exposed screw head.
An appliance store. Look in the phone book, best bet is to find a local mom & pop place, sometimes they even have some junk units you can get stuff from. You might also try a hardware store, just find some sort of bracket that you can bend into the shape you need.
If you know the model number of your appliance and exactly what part you need, I recommend
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They have an enormous selection and superb customer service. For me this usually beats phoning or running all over town looking for the occasional appliance repair part. No connection except as a satisfied customer.
If you have granite over wood, then yes you can still top mount it. But if you just have 1 1/4" granite with no wood underneath, it makes the side mounting option a good choice. The GE's like mine have these side holes.
I'm not sure you need to buy brackets meant for the dishwasher. Any piece of metal maybe an inch wide by two inches long, depending on your situation, might work.
Just pull the dishwasher out a little and see if you can find traces of the original brackets. I'd be suprised if you ripped off the old brackets entirely, without noticing that.
In my case, I haven't looked at the other end, but there are two pieces of sheet metal coming out 3/4" at the top, sliding against the wood counter right above the dishwasher. One screw go up though each of those pieces of metal to hold the machine in place. There isn't a lot of force on these screws and they don't have to be longer than 1/2 inch, with a head big enough that it won't go through the hole. Or a small head with a washer, to keep the head from going through.
Mostly the dishwasher doesn't fall over, but it needs to be fixed in place so that you don't push the whole thing further in, and so it doesn't tip over when the racks are sitting on the door and the weight of the dishes or your leaning on it might make it tip. 1/2 inch screws are enough for that, but the counter is probably thick enough
3/4 also. If you have to drill a hole in the counter, wrap some black plastic tape around the drill bit, leaving only the hole depth showing, so you can tell how far in you have drilled and stop at the right depth. Don't drill through the plastic part on top. :)
You can make the bracket out of any piece of metal you're about to throw away, or anything you see on the street that is metal. You can use the top of a can of corn. Use tin snips to cut it to fit, or use gloves to fold it over and a hammer to make the bend nice and flat. Drill two holes, one to attach it to the dishwasher and one to go up into the counter top.
Just make sure that where you attach it to the dishwasher, you don't screw through the top into the "water chamber", where the washing is done.
You say something about plastic. IfIf there were screws in the plastic but now the screw holes are real big, maybe thicker screws of the same length will do it.
If none of this seems likely to work, post back with more details.
posting from alt.home.repair.
Picture 2. It lookks like it is still rubber covered and the rust is from something that was sitting in the rack. If so, using the machine a few times might wash away the rust, and if not, maybe a gentle use of Bon Ami cleanser, of Sof-Scrub, I'm not sure which is better.
If not that, maybe draw a sharp knife with the blade resting on the rusty stuff, but pulling AWAY from the blade, NOT cutting into the vinyl. The idea is for the pressure of the blade to bend the rubber/vinyl and cause the rust, which doesn't bend, to fall off. Why I think the knife needs to be sharp, I don't know. This method takes time because one has to make many passes at different angles to get the whole circumference of the wire.
Any big apartment projects near you? They consider dishwashers disposable- when one craps out they just swap it out like a light bulb, and chuck the old one in the dumpster. If you are too shy to dumpster dive, cruise around and spot the maintenance guy- for the promise of a
10-spot, he would likely hold the next one on his truck and call you to come fetch it. If it is an entry-level dishwasher, there aren't that many factories making them, no matter the brand name. Decent odds you will be able to find one with the same basic design, including the plastic-covered wire baskets to replace your rusty ones.
Attempting to cut the screws ruined my wire cutters! Did I use the wrong type?
I tried returning this broken wire cutter to Sears but they didn't have the EXACT same number ... what good is that supposed "lifetime" warranty!
Anyway, the screws don't seem to do anything now that the plastic in the top of the dishwasher is broken where they did go in.
Apparently what happened before we bought the house is that the remodelers screwed the dishwasher in from the top of the then-wood counter before tiling over the countertop, sealing the top of the screws.
When I lowered the legs of the dishwasher to get it out of its cubbyhole, the dead weight downward ripped the screws out of the plastic in the top of the dishwasher leaving ragged holes but no other damage.
So, at this point, the screws don't do anything. I will try to find the bracket and put that in to hold the dishwasher. That seems like the best approach recommended.
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