Amber vs. Dishwasher Installation

I had absolutely no idea how to install a dishwasher. But since I was replacing an existing dishwasher with a new one, I figured all the hard work has been done and I just need to pay attention to how the old one is hooked up and mimic that for the new one.

I now know how to install a dishwasher; next time I will pay to have someone do it for me.

After updating my kitchen cabinets last month, I decided a new stainless steel dishwasher would look much nicer than my existing black one. Plus it gets moldy inside. That could be because the dishwasher is old, or it could be because there's no air gap (what's an air gap?) through the sink which I found out from Home Depot is required in California. Luckily by installing my new kitchen faucet along with the dishwasher, there is now an air vent because I no longer need a hole for the pull out sprayer.

Old dishwasher and faucet

I did a lot of looking around at all the major appliance websites, Sears, Sears Outlet, Home Depot, Lowe's, and looked at the websites for several local dent & ding wholesales places. I ended up returning to Home Depot to buy the first dishwasher I saw and liked that was near my $500 budget. There are really nice ones if you can pay a few hundred dollars more, but I'm single and don't even run my dishwasher once a week, so I don't need a mega-washer. I did however want one with a stainless interior. Just as extra precaution against mold and stink on the inside.

I bought the GE Adora Dishwasher in stainless steel because I liked that it had hidden controls and a stainless interior. It was on internet special over Labor Day weekend for $538 (from $699), plus they have free delivery and haul away. The Adora series is exclusive to Home Depot and pretty new so there weren't many reviews, but my research enthusiast friend Sara checked with her Consumer Reports subscription and confirmed GEs have good reviews and I liked them better than the Maytags I looked at in the store (those tend to be the two brands that offer a lot of models in the lower-end price range).

How To Install a Dishwasher
First, let me state that the paragraphs above were written 6 weeks ago. I only now have just completed installing my dishwasher - and not because I procrastinated! I've literally had to do this in phases every 5-6 days and have probably spent about 10 hours on this project if you include all the trips to home depot. Knowing what I know now, I wish I had paid the $80-100 to have a professional do this. But there was something in me that wanted to prove I could be handy. What I'm wondering now, is just who I wanted to prove that to? My cat Jackson? There's nobody in this house who cares if I do things myself or pay someone to do it.

 My cat Jackson. Not impressed by my handiwork, but a fan of the new area rug he can lounge and scratch on.

That being said, here's how you install a dishwasher, assuming you are replacing an existing one:


Removing the Old Dishwasher
The only tool you should need is a screwdriver and possibly a wrench. You'll also need a bowl.

1. First, pay attention to how things are hooked up (I took pictures, which is good since I worked on this for so long, I forgot how it was originally set up)
2. Turn off the water supply to the house
3. Unplug dishwasher from the outlet (assuming yours has a plug and is not hard wired)
4. Place a bucket or bowl under the areas where you'll be disconnecting pipes.
5. Disconnect the drain tube (mine was attached to the garbage disposal, but if your dishwasher is hooked up properly, yours should be attached to the air gap up by the faucet holes)
6. Disconnect the waterline (on newer dishwashers, this will be a flexible tube; on older models, like mine, it will be a thin copper pipe). If this is connected extremely tight, you may need a wrench to loosen. A little water will come out. 
7. Grab your screwdriver and unscrew the bracket mounts from under the countertop. These are located above the door.
8. Pull the dishwasher out from under the cabinet. 

I think step 8 is supposed to be easy but in my case this is where one of my big hangups was. I tugged and pulled and the dishwasher wouldn't come out. I thought maybe it was stuck b/c it was lower than the tile on the kitchen floor. Then after letting it sit for a few days, I realized I might be able to tilt it back a little bit so I could lift the front legs over the tile lip. Well, I could tilt it, then I was able to adjust the height of the front legs and was able to pull the dishwasher out. I did a jig, then used my He-Man muscles to carry the dishwasher outside.


Installing the New Dishwasher
So the manual with your dishwasher will explain how to do all this. It will arrive screwed on a pallet to keep it stable which you'll need to remove before installing.

1. Test the door and adjust the springs if it is too stiff or loose
2. Remove the dishwasher from the pallette (you'll need a wrench)
3. Attach the water line and drain hose
4. Attach the electrical cord. I had to buy the GE standard electrical kit (about $5) and connect the electrical wires to a cord with a 3 prong outlet. Apparently dishwashers can be hardwired into the wall.
5. Adjust the dishwasher legs if necessary so you can slide the dishwasher into the cabinets
6. Your dishwasher cabinet should have two holes into the sink area - one for the water line and drain hose and a second to run the power cord through. Thread everything through the appropriate holes and slide the dishwasher in (haha...I wish it had been that easy for me! Much fiddling and fighting with the leg heights
7. Once in, use a level to make sure it's level from front to back and side to side
8. Now connect your water line to the hot water pipe under your sink
9. The drain hose should connect to your air gap (many YouTube videos on this) and then you need to connect the airgap to your garbage disposal with a heavy duty black rubber pipe (I don't know what it's called, but if you don't already have it from your old dishwasher, they'll point you in the right direction at the hardware store. It was about $4). You'll probably have to cut the pipe down (another hangup for me).
10. Now you're done. Turn the water supply back on, filler 'er up and cross your fingers that nothing leaks when you press start!

Reading this, you'll see the steps are relatively simple. I just kept running into small issues along the way and getting fed up and taking 4 day breaks. BUT, I now have a new dishwasher that is so much quieter than my old one that was at least 10 years old. I can listen to the tv without having to crank the volume and close the door to the kitchen (In two years, I only washed dishes while I as at home twice because it was so loud; typically I ran it when I left for work).

Final Before & After
This is my kitchen the day I moved in:

And here is my kitchen today:

I'm still impressed that just changing the cabinet color suddenly made the peach counter and backsplash cute. Or maybe my mind is just playing a trick on me so I don't try and update that too.