dishwasher nightmare

Get the details. What part are they waiting for? Get the specific part number and then search for it on the internet. If you find it, inform your landlord it's readily available on the internet and tell them the site you found it on. Also check with the manufacture and confirm the part is on back order.

If you live in a high end building and are paying "market rent" and you're not in arrears, they should give you a new D/W. If you're a rent stablized tenant, they really don't care that much and probably want you out.

I wouldn't withhold rent without speaking to a real estate attorney.

Thanks RENY. I pay market rent and I know for a fact that the building is struggling to keep/attract tenants. It is extraordinarily poor service that I am receiving.

When you said 'dishwasher nightmare' I was reminded of the time I accidentally put regular liquid soap into the washer... The entire kitchen was awash in bubbles and they just kept on growing and growing and growing...

Sorry for the OT--carry on.

Thats what I was thinking! Only I was thinking of the brady bunch episode with Oliver...

I suppose I should consider filling the cursed appliance with regular liquid soap and letting it rip...

Never mind the part, why can't they replace the dishwasher? I would write them a letter asking for a reduction in the rent charged or an immediate replacement. If they have empty apartments, they can wait for a part on their own time. Cheap-o!

OMG that is so crazy. I know this woman who had a broken ...

I've lived for 41 years without using a dishwasher.

What's YOUR problem, Princess? Afraid to chip a nail?

do you have an indoor toilet?

New dishwashers cost $300 +/-. Once mine are over five years old I replace them whenever they need
substantial repair because the cost of repair often exceeds 50% of replacement cost. Your story is odd.

A dishwasher is a luxury, not a necessity. Unless it's specifically included in the lease, the landlord has no obligation to repair or replace it.

Buy some latex gloves and some good old-fashioned Palmolive, Princess, and get scrubbing!

Is a toilet a luxury?

NYCMatt: Dishwashers aren't just about work; they're also about (i) saving time, and (ii) achieving a level of cleanliness in excess of what is achieved by hand washing. Regardless, when one rents a luxury apartment, one is paying for all sorts of luxuries that exceed the level of bare necessities and it seems reasonable to insist on receiving either the luxuries that one is paying for or a reduction in rent. Or, do you somehow think that renters aren't entitled to even the things that they pay rent for?

JohnDoe -- Hand-washing dishes, even after hosting a dinner party for 12, takes less than 20 minutes. It takes at least that much time to "pre-rinse", load, and unload the dishwasher. And antibacterial soap and a good scrub brush removes more germs and debris than any dishwasher just *splashing* soapy water on your dishes.

And since there is no legal definition for "luxury apartment", it's open to anyone's interpretation what such amenities a "luxury apartment" should or should not include. For some it's a gold-plated bidet. For others it's indoor plumbing and a stove that ignites without use of a match.

"Hand-washing dishes, even after hosting a dinner party for 12, takes less than 20 minutes. It takes at least that much time to "pre-rinse", load, and unload the dishwasher. And antibacterial soap and a good scrub brush removes more germs and debris than any dishwasher just *splashing* soapy water on your dishes."

This reminds me again: this guy believes, seriously believes, the government planted the times square bomber.

As someone who has both hand-washed and used a dishwasher, I've found that it's considerably quicker when I use a dishwasher; perhaps I'm just missing some set of skills you've got, Matt. As for the entitlement to a dishwasher, you seem confused about what I was saying. The reason midtownrenter should be entitled to a dishwasher isn't because he's renting a "luxury apartment;" rather, it's because his rent was presumably agreed to on the assumption that he would have a dishwasher (not merely four walls and whatever else would be required to make the apartment meet some minimal standard of inhabitability.)

"A dishwasher is a luxury, not a necessity."

Says the guy who still has a 25 inch CRT TV.

And uses paper plates, plastic utensils and dixie cups.

I thought it was TV dinners? I can just see Matt sitting in his crushed velvet LaZboy, with his microwaveable TV dinner on a tray. Who needs a dishwasher, when you can have a microwave and a large trash can?

Dishwashers also use water much more efficiently than hand washing. But to the topic at hand, I believe that you are entitled to some sort of reduction in the rent given that an amenity you have paid for is not available to you - though how you would quantify that amount is beyond me. You might try searching the NYTimes archives in the Real Estate Q&A column - they frequently have similar questions.

"Says the guy who still has a 25 inch CRT TV."

Why would I replace a perfectly good working television set? That wouldn't be very environmentally responsible.

*****

"And uses paper plates, plastic utensils and dixie cups."

Using disposable flatware and plates is also not environmentally responsible. I use real silverware (sterling) because silver (unlike stainless steel) has active anti-microbial qualities; unlike stainless steel, which creates a sterile and hostile environment for germs, causing them to die naturally on its surface, the silver ions on the surface of sterling flatware actually KILL bacteria, viruses, and fungi. And over the course of eating, many of these silver ions are transferred into the food and when ingested, become an internal anti-disease and healing agent.

*****

"I thought it was TV dinners? I can just see Matt sitting in his crushed velvet LaZboy, with his microwaveable TV dinner on a tray. Who needs a dishwasher, when you can have a microwave and a large trash can?"

I do not consume anything cooked in a microwave, nor anything containing artificial ingredients, nor have I owned any piece of furniture that has been advertised on late night television.

what about the times square bomber plant?

What about it?

Can you update us on how the government plant of the times square bomber is going? As I recall, that was your quite certain view. You're not backing away from it are you?

The government hasn't given me any updates to share with you. Sorry.