If you buy a new dishwasher (likely from anywhere) be aware that oftentimes they’re boxed up immediately after being tested and may be wet inside. Not just a little wet, either; extremely wet. Until you know for sure, don’t allow your spiffy new machine to be tipped or tilted face-down. Our Kenmore was DOA last week and we suspect it’s because the inside of the door was water-logged, causing the electronics to fail. Of course, we don’t know for sure, but these are the deciding factors for us: the dishwasher was soaking wet inside the box, the door was ajar, and the young man at Sears tipped the dishwasher onto its front when loading it into my truck (which seemed reasonable, given there’s no warning on the box — in any of its three languages — that it should be kept upright).
We had reason to believe the dishwasher would work once everything dried out (the panel lights returned), but being the engineer, Jon was (by then) adamant that the parts, now having been exposed to water, would rust or corrode prematurely. We prefer longevity in our appliances; I imagine most people do. We waited another week for the new replacement. We did our appliance-God appeasing rituals (Jon was feeling a bit jinxed), the new unit installed quickly and, most importantly, it runs. So far.
I should probably note here, too, that the replacement dishwasher wasn’t nearly as wet inside as the first.
May your day sparkle as much as our squeaky clean dishes!