What is the Cost to Install a Dishwasher in 2023? What You Need To Know!
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Shea Cummings
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It’s quite possible that one of humanity’s greatest modern inventions is the dishwasher. Most people don’t enjoy doing dishes, if we’re being honest. Of course, some people find it relaxing or therapeutic. For the rest of us, give us the dishwasher soap tablet, and we’ll load the heck out of that thing!
Can a Dishwasher be Installed Anywhere?
In many homes built today, a dishwasher is an automatic addition as one of the kitchen appliances. However, this is not always the case, and there are still many homes that don’t have one. If your home falls into the dishwasher-less category, there’s good news: it doesn’t have to be that way.
Your budget determines how or where the dishwasher gets installed. If you have a reasonably large budget, any part of your kitchen can be modified to have a dishwasher. But if your budget is smaller, you can still settle for a portable dishwasher. This type of dishwasher plugs into the wall and hooks up to your sink when you’re using it. Afterward, it’s simply rolled out of the way.
How Much Does it Cost to Install a Dishwasher?
Dishwasher installation cost is a loaded answer because it hinges on a few points. For the sake of an average price, let’s assume your kitchen requires no modification. Then we will discuss how you can account for additional costs that may be involved in different situations.
- Average installation cost: $200 plus or minus around $50
- Average dishwasher cost: $300–$3,000
As you can see, that leaves you with a significant spread in your potential costs in a perfect situation. Many homeowners will be in that $500–$700 range for a new dishwasher. This depends on how fancy of an appliance you want, though. Anywhere from absolute barebones to digital Bluetooth-controlled dishwashers are on the market.
Planning for Additional Costs
Now, the above example leaves us with some questions. How often do things go according to plan? Below, we will detail a few of the potential costs that can arise—and often do.
- Removing old dishwasher: If this is a replacement, the old one has to come out and go somewhere. This isn’t a huge task, but you can expect another $60–$100 in costs.
- Delivery: Most suppliers will provide a delivery service. Sometimes, there is no charge for this with a minimum purchase amount. Other times, you can expect around a $60 fee.
- Counter modification: This is the one that will get you. Sometimes you get lucky, and the only modification is running some new plumbing. In that case, it may only add a couple of hundred bucks. However, if your counter requires serious modifications, such as taking out cabinets and changing the counter, this can quickly become a complicated renovation project. If that is the case, your best bet is to budget for a kitchen renovation to make all the changes at once.
What is the Average Life of a Dishwasher?
Installing a dishwasher isn’t always a massive project, but it has the potential to get expensive. So, it’s good to know how often you can expect to change a dishwasher. The good news is that most of the dishwashers on the market these days will last around 10 years—some even longer, depending on quality.
There are many brands to choose from, which is an important factor if you’re planning for the future. For example, if you get the least expensive appliance on the market, it likely won’t last 10 years.
One consideration regarding the life of a dishwasher is how accessible parts are for it. It will have more replaceable—and available—parts if it’s an expensive model. This gives a lot of value to the investment.
- See Also: What Is The Cost of Bricks?
Maintenance Tips and Tricks
Even a high-end dishwasher will not live up to its full potential if it’s not cared for properly. Aside from hiring an appliance technician to come service and repair the dishwasher, there are quite a few things that you can do to lengthen its life.
- Scrape off dishes: Large junks of food, bones, toothpicks, or other hard objects are not meant to go through the dishwasher’s system. These things can damage the filter and pump and cause the appliance to work harder than it has to.
- Clean the filter: Depending on how often you’re doing dishes, the filter can get dirty and clogged. Unscrewing it or popping it out is super easy. Washing the filter regularly can reduce the wear on the pump.
- Clean the dishwasher: This one is especially applicable if you have hard water where you live. You should run a dishwasher cleaner through an empty cycle. The chemicals clean the inside of the appliance and help clean the internal pump components.
- Repair racks: Most racks are either plastic or metal. If they’re plastic, you’re good to go. However, a metal rack will have a plastic coating. If that coating is damaged, the metal will rust. This could allow tiny shards of corroded metal to damage the pump. So, fixing racks quickly is a good idea.
- Full load, not over-full: Find the balance with this one. You don’t want to constantly run a half-full cycle because that is unnecessary wear on the dishwasher. Jamming the thing too full is also not good for it.
Closing Thoughts
Is it necessary to have a dishwasher? No, it’s not. But it’s darn nice, and as long as you don’t have overly expensive tastes, it can be a reasonably priced home project. If you’re handy around the house, the best way to save money will be to do the whole thing yourself. At the very least, you can have it all prepared so that the technician can slide it in, hook it up, and walk away.
Featured Image Credit: nimito, Shutterstock
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