One of those good news/bad news stories.

The bad news: Came down one morning to find the 10-year-old Kenmore dishwasher light blinking and the dishwasher full of dirty dishes. Unplugging/replugging, filter cleaning, pushing buttons at random all failed to wake the hamster.

The good news: We're not flat broke at the moment and, while there are things we'd rather indulge in than a new dishwasher, we could at least afford to order a replacement. Checked Consumer Reports ratings, examined the budget, and got the local Lowes to order the model we wanted.

Wait two and a half weeks, doing dishes by hand.

The good news: Last Friday the installation service called- machine in ABQ, they can install Wednesday morning, does that work for us? Hell, yes, YAY!

The bad news: Installer pulls out the old machine and the area behind it is way grody and crusty. Eeeyew! We ask humbly, can he leave the new machine in the middle of the kitchen floor, go and do his other in-town installations, and come back to complete the installation, giving us time to fix?

The good (?) news: Installer's cool about it, unloads new machine, starts unwrapping it, and DAYUM, if there isn't a ginormous DENT in the back of the machine. He finished unwrapping, looks inside, yep, it's busted the seal.

Much phone calling ensues- is there another of this model within reach?

The bad news: Nope, has to be special-ordered again, will be at least two weeks.

The good news: Once the old machine and all its works are gone and we poke around in the cavity we realize the "grodiness" is NASTY mold and crumbling drywall, plus rust stains on the floor tiles, which will need major cleanup, definitely. So we have two weeks to prep the cavity and let everything dry out before the replacement machine arrives.

Ain't life weird?

Here's what I'm planning to do:

I ordered a nice Vogmask which should be delivered tomorrow. I also have a HEPA vacuum cleaner.

First thing I'll do is tape plastic around the cabinets beside the opening and on the counter atop.

Don mask and hand-sweep larger debris on floor, then vacuum any loose detritus on wall surfaces.

Mix a cup of borax with a gallon of water.

Don heavy rubber gloves and wipe and scrub moldy parts of wall, and wipe down cabinet sides with disposable scrubbie-sided sponges. And soft-bristle brush, if necessary.

Whink rust stains on floor with disposable sponges.

Mix fresh borax/water. Generously wipe down everything with it.

Let it all dry over a couple of days.

Evaluate the state of the drywall. My suspicion is, we'll have to patch, but it's a difficult spot and I'm not sure there are conveniently placed studs. If we can get away with it, it will be a narrow patch along the bottom to the floor where the drywall is obviously deteriorated and crumbly, and caulking. But possibly we'll have to cut out a larger chunk and improvise some way to patch it in.

Again, let it all dry over a couple of days.

Paint the wall with Kilz Max.

Let it dry.

Hopefully be all sparkly clean when the replacement machine arrives.

Any comments or suggestions from experienced dealers-with-similar issues?

hopefully,
Bright