For our wedding we were given money as presents by many of our friends and family. We therefore managed to buy a new washing machine and dishwasher from John Lewis before we got married and they were in the kitchen waiting to be fitted when we got home from our honeymoon.

The washing machine went in relatively easily. However running the first test on rinse cycle we discovered the washing machine wasn't draining, so we had to drain it via the front emergency drain hose. Disassembling the waste pipes quickly sorted that problem out.

However the dishwasher was much more of a nightmare! Both the washing machine and dishwasher were discounted seconds. They were either customer returns or ex display. However John Lewis still give them the same two year warranty and had tested them by performing 15 full wash cycles.

The dishwasher is an integral unit that fits into the kitchen. Unlike most pull down dishwashers this one has a two draw system with each draw being a separate washing machine so you can run the two halves on different wash programs, or just use one to save electric and time.

After spending half a day removing the existing kitchen cupboard we then unwrapped the dishwasher and discovered it was missing its feet! So we rang John Lewis and they eventually located them. So we had to drive to Southampton to collect them.

On returning home to tried to fit the feet. These screw in under the unit much like most kitchen appliances so you can adjust the height and level of the appliance. The right hand side front and back feet screwed in easy. However when trying to screw in the left hand front and back feet we discovered that the underside was buckled and the feet screwed in at a bent 45 degree angle to the floor which was no good and meant the dishwasher was unusable.

Instead of going to the hassle of returning the unit we decided to try and straighten the legs. So with a hammer I first tried to gently bang the legs, but this had little success. But eventually using the claw end of the hammer and managed to slowly bend each leg back straight.

So after all that hassle and then got the dishwasher in under the counter top. It then took me the rest of the day to adjust the legs to the dishwasher was level and aligned with the counter top. And then take the bottom drawer out of the unit to screw it to the adjacent cupboard. Plus a couple of hours to join up all the waste pipes (two dishwasher units meant the two waste water pipes had to be fitted into y connector that fitted together into a single waste outlet pipe).

So now it is all fitted and fits nicely flush level with the other cupboards and we have tested in and it works fine. It is however quite noisy for the first few minutes of the wash cycle and it is much noisy with grinding sounds that I've heard a dishwasher make before. I just hope it is OK and not faulty in some way after all the hassles of fitting it.

I still need to cut the kick plate and refit the wood back under the cupboards, but that can be done Sunday or next week.
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