Dishwashers last long but you can’t use them forever. You will one day want an advanced dishwasher, or need to replace a broken one or tired one, and you’ll have to worry about what to do with the old dishwasher. How do you dispose of it? Is it still useful? Can you just throw it somewhere?
If you are in this situation, then you need answers fast. We have provided all these answers and also explained them in a simple and helpful way.
You will learn what to do with your old dishwashers, whether they are new or old, learn how to recycle them for cash, and also teach creative ways of repurposing them if you are not ready to let go.
What to Do with an Old Dishwasher?
1- Sell Working Parts
Whether your old dishwasher is still working or not, don’t be quick to discard it as useless because you now have a new one. You can still get money from it by selling it in parts to repair shops.
Contact repair shops that deal with dishwashers and tell them you have a dishwasher you are no longer in need of and you want to sell its working parts. Some will come over and check the dishwasher for themselves, disassemble it, and see if there’s anything worth buying.
You will get more money if you can disassemble it yourself and salvage the useful parts. Just call repair shops and tell them the parts you have for sale and how much you want for them.
You might also want to keep these parts for later use.
2- Exchange for a New One
Before replacing your dishwasher or any appliance, some factors should inform your decision of where to shop. Some appliance stores have customer service that involves helping you haul away your old appliance while delivering a new one.
They may have a few policies about that and walk you through the process and what you need to. Once this is done, and you’re in agreement, they just deliver a new one and haul the old away.
So ask questions before purchasing a new dishwasher, get a retailer that offers this service and you’ll have less to worry about. The dishwasher won’t be your problem anymore.
3- Sell it
Many people would love to enjoy the ease that a dishwasher brings but can’t afford a new one. Getting an old one like yours for a reasonable price will feel like heaven to them.
If you stay in an area where college students reside, you are even luckier. College students moving into a house won’t likely be able to afford to buy new appliances so they will enquire for old ones in the neighborhood they can afford.
You can put pictures of the dishwasher on a social media group in your community, tell neighbors and friends and also put it on Craiglist.
You can also sell to thrift stores around you or people that sell used appliances. You won’t get as much as you would if you sell directly to people that need it, but you will get the dishwasher off your hands faster this way.
4- Give It Out
The faster way to get an old dishwasher that still works off your hands is to give it out at no price at all.
People love free things. Just inform people around you, that you are looking to gift an old dishwasher out and you will definitely get calls about it. You can also contact charity organizations, homes, etc. to do this.
If it’s not working, you can give it to training centers so their students can use it to train. Some repair centers deal with appliances and train people in the craft. Gifting them your old dishwasher will help their students to train better.
You can also give it to junk removals. They will probably scrap it or do something else with it, but that’s not your problem. The dishwasher will be off your hands. They will charge you for removing the appliance though but it should be a small fee.
5- Recycle Dishwasher for Cash
There are local appliance recycling centers and energy companies that collect old appliances, pay you in cash for them, and recycle them safely later on.
This is of benefit to you and the environment if the dishwasher you want to get rid of isn’t working. Instead of throwing it away and filling up the landfills and polluting the environment, you give it to these companies and still make money. What you will get depends on the company and sometimes the size of the dishwasher but they’ll definitely pay you.
Dishwashers sometimes contain chemicals and materials that shouldn’t be exposed to the environment carelessly, which is why throwing them away anyhow, isn’t advised. These recycling companies are experts at getting useful materials out of appliances and safely discarding harmful materials and chemicals.
You can contact local waste management companies in your area and they’ll refer you to recycling companies in your state if they don’t recycle.
Your old dishwasher can be disassembled for the parts or the metals it contains. Dishwashers are made of metals like aluminum, and copper which are valuable. So your dishwasher can be scrapped for this metal and it will be recycled to produce other things.
6- Reuse the Old Dishwasher
Yes, you can. Your old dishwasher can be converted and used as something else if you wish, especially if it has stopped working.
You can remove the dish racks and use the metal box as storage. Pots, pans, books, dirty dishes, and dirty laundry can be kept in it. If you are not ready to do your dishes, instead of leaving them in the sink or on the counter, you can safely tuck them away in the dishwasher box.
You could also remove the door, cut out the back and place it on its back for planting. The back becomes the bottom. Place it in your garden, fill it with fertile soil, and there’s nothing you can’t plant.
The dishwasher racks aren’t useless too. They can be reused in several ways. You can attach them to the walls in your store and hang your tools, aprons, and gloves. You can use them to store books and magazines in your bedroom. You can also use them to keep videotapes, and CDs. Just spray paint the racks before you use them.
7- Use the Dishwasher Motor
A few things. You can scrap the motor for some useful materials and sell it. Valuable materials like copper and insulated wire can be gotten out of dishwasher motors and sold. Some very old ones also contain stainless steel. You can open the motor yourself to salvage these materials or get someone knowledgeable to do it for you.
You can also repurpose a dishwasher motor to make a fan. You’ll need a propeller and cage. You can hire someone who knows what they are doing to do it for you or find out how you can do it yourself.
Be careful so you don’t hurt yourself.
A dishwasher motor can also be used to make a generator. It will require patience, time, and some knowledge but it is doable.
Final Thoughts!
Old dishwashers can be disposed of in many ways and some will even bring you some cool cash. We have discussed several ways of getting rid of your old dishwashers so just choose the one you prefer or that looks easy to you.
Instead of getting rid of them, you can also repurpose them. The metal box, dish racks, motors, etc. can be used for other things the manufacturers never intended or thought of. But they would all the same be creative uses for your old dishwashers. Some of these have been mentioned and explained.
