That's too bad about your dishwasher - it's so sad when a quality brand like Maytag goes downhill. But I'm glad your hands are clean - its not easy getting gardening dirt out of your hands. I've been known to use foot scrub to help remove the grime.

On the weekend I was talking to a woman I know who works in Sears Appliances. She says that repairs are all to common; and that appliances last 5 years now. Wow. That's the pits considering the price of them.

Make sure you look how the glass shelves in fridges are placed nowadays. They used to have metal brackets, now they are plastic.....and now break.
Also the *glass* that covers the veggie bins are so cheap they bend. Not even plexi-glass by the sound of it.

On the bright side, the local Western Auto just delivered my new dishwasher, and our local plumber/backhoe/bulldozer guy said he'd stop by on his way home from cutting hay and install the dishwasher "if I had a cold beer in the fridge". You betcha!
Wow, jasdip, if I get a dishwasher that lasts 5 years I'll be ahead of the game!
Mcmann, foot scrub? There's actually a product that gets garden grime out of your feet? Who would have thought! Okay, I admit, I often go into the garden barefoot. I consider it my way of getting close to Mother Nature (and I don't have to scrape the mud off my boots, just hose down my feet!).

Maytag is at the top of my list of appliances NOT to buy because of their current shoddy quality. My dw only realloy worked well for about a year. I've limped several more out of it, but it's had a few expensive repairs and still doesn't work properly. Funny thing, though, I don't have a problem with Whirlpool appliances--and I believe they own Maytag these days, don't they?

So far, I'm loving my LG washer/dryer--but I've only used them for about 4 loads so far--LOL.

Stoves don't last as long either.The heating element went out in my oven b4 xmas.DS replaced it towards the end of january,i used it twice,and it went out again.So he had to replace it again last week.Everything is made in China these days and are made to self destruct a whole lot sooner than they used to!! JMHO Oh the stove is a Kenmore from sears.
Kathi

My Kenmore double oven went out in about 4 years. The repairman (who I paid $60. for a service call) said it was made by Frigiaire. The trouble was in the electrical circuit board. A new one was nearly $600. and with only a 90 day guarnatee.

I now use those ovens for storage and bake in a small counter top oven.

If I ever replace those ovens, it will be with ones with old fashioned knobs - no more push button for me.

My daughter had a huge kitchen remodel about 7 years ago with top of the line Kenmore appliances and every single one of them broke and they have all new ones now, not Kenmore. I have a Maytag dishwasher which is about 5 years old. Yikes. In fact my stovetop and oven are both Maytag. Refrig is Jenn air. My old GE refrig. lasted over 30 years.

The first was recalled because it might catch fire (an appliance that is basically a tub of water can ignite, who knew?).
GE also had a recall for fire danger in some dishwashers. It was quite a dangerous situation and a kid died because of the fire caused. I'm sure you meant it as a comment on irony but it's very important that people be aware that you should NEVER use water to try to extinguish an electrical fire. Why? Water conducts electricity and throwing water on an electrical fire can actually cause the fire to get larger. Which explains why it was/is such a dangerous situation.

Just going by brand name is problematic these days. About 15 years ago give or take, Maytag cut quality drastically and destroyed the company. Since then they were not much good. Whirlpool bought out Maytag about five years ago and many of the models are now standard Whirlpool models, however, not all have been converted so you need to watch what you buy.

The other problem is that people think Kenmore is a manufacturer of appliances. They're not. They do not make any appliances. They contract with many manufacturers to build appliances to their specifications though it's only slight differences from the manufacturers' current models. They might put an extra cycle or some small feature on there to claim to be better. Frigidaire, Whirlpool, LG, GE and others build appliances for the Kenmore name so you don't get a "Kenmore" built machine, you get one of them. Likewise, Sears/Kenmore don't make their own paint or laundry detergent either. All contracted out.

Another problem is manufacturers build for each other. For instance, the GE Harmony washer is built by LG. The Amana name formerly owned by Maytag and is now owned by Whirlpool after the buyout which included all Maytag brands like JennAir, Magic Chef, Admiral, Crosley, Performa and a bunch of other names. Amana has a front load washer built by Samsung. One of the old Neptune washers was built by Samsung back when Maytag was having all those problems years ago. And on it goes. This is why it's rather humorous to see someone say I'll never buy this brand... or I'll only buy this brand... People are often surprised.

BTW, beware of "knobs" thinking they're mechanical controls. Often they're not. Just using a knob switch to control a circuit board is no better than pushbuttons since the circuit oard is the issue just like the pushbutton circuit board so be forewarned.

Not all appliances are built in China either. Whirlpool has plants in Germany, US, Mexico and Canada. Maytag has US plants and of course their branded units would be built in the corresponding plant as Whirlpool. GE appliances are manufactured in Bloomington, IN, Decatur, AL, and Lafayette, GA among other places. LG has plants in Korea and Samsung has plants in Poland as well as other places. It's similar to where is your Ford, CHevrolet or Chrysler built??? The answer used to be easy. Not anymore.

Cynic,
Yes, I was being sarcastic with my comment about a tub of water catching fire. I often resort to sarcasm when I really want to put my foot through the appliance in question!

Face it. Sears appliances went down hill years ago.
You have to remember that Sears is now KMart, owned lock, stock and barrel by KMart....would you buy a large appliance from KMart?

Kenmore used to be a quality store brand...but they have changed sources.

I had a similar situation with my Sears Kenmore dishwasher. It was out of commision for about 3 months, from Thanksgiving to the folloWing February. Sears technicians kept trying to solve the problem. And I did tons of dishes by hand. I noticed my naILs were always clean.I sometimes used gloves. I'd slather my hands with hand cream , put on playtex gloves, then wash the dishes in very hot water. The heat gave my hands a great moisturing treatment. And I did something ridiculous. On Thanksgiving I stacked my dIrty pots and pans and baking sheets outside my side kitchen door. They were there so long some things actually rusted. My daughters were horrified but never offered to help.