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Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Dishwasher Silverware Basket Repair…For Pennies

Hi everyone! I wanted to share an idea I came up with this past Sunday after years of frustration with my dishwasher…the silverware basket actually.

I know I shouldn't complain, I do have a dishwasher after all. However, I'm sure I'm not the only one who has this problem…holes in the basket causing the silverware to fall through, preventing the rack from rolling in or out.

dishwasher basket repair

Come on in and see how easy the fix is for only a few cents.

Here's the problem…pictured from the top of the basket. Parts of the plastic grid broke away.

dishwasher basket repair

This is a view from the bottom.

dishwasher basket repair

I outlined the culprit.

dishwasher basket repair

More than one piece of silverware slips through this hole and we can't roll the rack in or out. Not to mention the silverware that I've bent from this.

dishwasher basket repair

Here's the fix. My favorite zip ties.

dishwasher basket repair

Find a secure part of the grid in the basket and thread the zip tie through.

dishwasher basket repair

With your hand inside the basket, push the end up through another secure part of the grid.

dishwasher basket repair

Lock the zip tie and pull tight until it's snug.

dishwasher basket repair

It will look like this.

dishwasher basket repair

Snip off the left over end of the zip tie.

dishwasher basket repair

I added one more horizontal tie and then finished with one vertical one. Yours might be different according to your basket or how big your hole is.

dishwasher basket repair

This is the view from the inside of the basket.

dishwasher basket repair

All silverware up and in the basket with nothing slipping through. Woo Hoo!!

I have a feeling this picture will spark something in the comment section whether silverware should be up or down in the basket. Lol

I'm an "up" person, but at this point, I'm just happy my family gets it "IN" the dishwasher…up or down!

dishwasher basket repair

I'm hoping this will be helpful for anyone who has the same problem. It's a quick fix for next to nothing.

Thanks for stopping by,
~Karen~

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57 comments:

  1. AHHHH....great idea...I was just thinking to myself on Saturday...how can one buy just this part? THANK YOU..

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  2. "UP" for me too! Thanks for the tip. My basket is falling apart too!
    Esther
    esthersipatchandquilt at yahoo com
    ipatchandquilt dot wordpress dot com

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  3. I did this to mine and it's held up a long time! Love your ideas. As to up or down, I just get them in and it doesn't matter which way!

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  4. Great idea, Karen. I've been living with a hole for a few months now, I've just been leaving that square empty. I'm happy I can fix it now. (And I'm a cutlery facing up person too).

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  5. Great Idea. I did this for the lid on my section. I needed to run the frosting decorator tips through a hot wash but the lid won't stay down. Of course, mine was just a one time fix. I too am just happy if someone else will load it, but I must admit - mine are up (tines on fork don't get bent, spoons don't spoon and come out dirty), but I also put like with like and in the order they go into the drawer. Is that a bit OCD?

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  6. Great idea TFS! I put mine up too except for the sharp knives [they go down].

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  7. Thanks for this great tip Karen, I am a "up" person. There was a debate on a radio station the other day about this, if you read the directions that come with your dishwasher they recommend up.
    Happy days.
    Bev.

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  8. We just bought a new dishwasher, and the instruction booklet says at one page that the silverware should be down, at another page all silverware should be up. We decided it didn't matter.

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  9. Up for me! Thank you I have been suffering from the hole in the basket thingy for some time now - Now I can fix!! xx

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  10. I don't have a dishwasher, but what a great idea! :0)

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  11. OMG I have this exact same issue and it is driving me crazy. Thanks for the idea Karen!

    We put the cutlery up ion our house and have a Scrabble tile "CLEAN/DIRTY" magnet which we spin so the other person knows whether to load or unload :-)

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  12. Up there for lateral thinking, good job!

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  13. Genius!! I'll be fixing mine when I get home tonight.

    Hubby is a 'down' and I'm an 'up', but he loads the dishwasher so he can put them any way he chooses. I don't care enough to battle over that.

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  14. Our silverware basket actually melted in spots at bottom.we bought a new one as it was only 4 years old but now we have moved it to the back of the dishwasher so it does not have so much element under it ,also the cutlery does not catch and scratch.

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  15. Wish I had seen this before, I am on basket #4 ! I kept the old ones and are using them upstairs in my sewing room to hold things. Mine were all covered under my warranty. Now I know what to do when the next one breaks! I also put my silverware facing up. Thanks for the post!!!

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  16. Not long ago, I added some mesh shelf liner squares cut to fit to the bottom of mine - not because it was broken but because I needed to hold things that are thinner than the square openings on the silverware basket. And your silverware basket looks terribly familiar - might you have a Sears Kenmore dishwasher? I know you love zip ties and here's another awesome chance to prove it! Good work. You are always so good at thinking outside the box.

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  17. I knew if I waited long enough that you would post a solution for this ... I should have just emailed you to begin with! Great idea Karen. And as for cutlery UP or DOWN, I'm going back to up...you have inspired me once again (LOL!).

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  18. What an ingenious idea! I'm an up and/or down person, sharp knives go down, everything else up. Would a set of 5-6 spoons, facing down, even get clean?! However, I'm like you, if they'll just put it in there, I'm happy! :)

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  19. Now that was SIMPLY BRILLIANT! I would like to "pin this" onto my simply brilliant pinterest board. :)

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  20. Aren't you clever! I'll remember this the next time I visit my daughter, with 4 teenagers, she has a few broken areas in her baskets.
    I'm an up person too!

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  21. Brilliant idea. Now how about the ones that sit in the door and are just too small>

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  22. Urecka! You have to be the most brilliant woman on earth. We have been dealing with this problem on three of the silverware chambers for two years now. Hubby gets home at noon and guess what he's doing this afternoon :) As for the silverware being up or down,,.who cares, as long as I don't have to handwash lol THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS FIX ...YOU MUST KNOW YODA, THE WISE ONE :)

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  23. Very clever! I will use this idea when this happens to my silverware rack. Thanks so much.

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  24. I was thinking of using plastic canvas, cut to fit.
    Most of our silverware goes in working part up. But some of handles on my table knives won't fit thru the top grid that way. The top grid helps to keep pieces from "spooning" and scratching. I like it. Sharp knives go in blade down. Safer.
    linsquilts.blogspot.com

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  25. Thank You. I have the same basket and it drives me crazy. Why didn't I think of that? Cuz we have you. LOL

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  26. AH! Another zip tie to the rescue! I just used some in the laundry room. The over the door shelf had come loose and a clip that holds the long pieces together got lost. A call to the company (and me BEGGING to send a picture of what I needed) yielding...MORE long pieces and no clips! Zip ties solved my problem. Just wish it had not taken me 3 months to figure out they would work! (and I doubt I will use that brand of shelving again!)

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  27. I tried doing this with wire and it didn't work so thank you for sharing your method which is much better...brilliant ! Marion x

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  28. THIS DRIVES ME NUTS! I have two broken spots in my silverware basket! THANKS!!

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  29. My dishwasher is broken and can't be fixed with a zip tie. But, I am filing this idea away for when the machine is fixed and the basket is broken. thanks.

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  30. I used this idea to fix my dishwasher utensil basket also. Worked great but the holes kept multiplying and eventually I did have to replace it but I was able to delay that purchase for about 2 years. When you do have to eventually replace the basket, remember that it may be cheaper to buy from a third party parts company rather than from the manufacturer. I found the price difference (for the same part - same quality) to be amazing.

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  31. Up , down, in the basket is what counts...
    Love the FIX!
    thank you

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  32. I don't have this problem yet, but I may some day. This is a fantastic fix. And my husband has all colors of these ties. He loves them so much. Thanks for this great idea. I will definitely keep it in mind.

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  33. I am so glad you posted this! I thought I was the only crazy person trying to use a broken dishwasher basket.......lol! :) Ours isn't actually missing any pieces, it has just separated, so this is the perfect fix! Thank You!!

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  34. Up. And, this is brilliant! Thanks! I lucked out and found a basket at Goodwill otherwise I'd be in the kitchen right NOW, threading zip ties!!! ;)

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  35. Up for most things, down for knives. I cut my hand pretty bad on a butter knife once, so I always put those down now! Also, this is a genius fix!

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  36. Another "now why didn't I think of that?" moment! Thank you - and my silverware goes down.

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  37. You are hands down a genius! Thanks once again Karen.

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  38. You can also use the gridded plastic sheets that crafters use to weave yarn thru. Just cut a piece with scissors that fits down inside and make sure it's a tight fit.

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  39. I fell into my dishwasher when it was open. Bent the door and had to buy a new one. I scratched up myself in the process. I have learned that I need to look down near the dishwasher.

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  40. I've been using plastic canvas for years. Cheap, cuts easy and lasts and lasts.

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  41. Down for knives, up for the rest. The knives do poke through sometimes - even though my basket doesn't have any non-built-in holes! - but 93% of the time it's the 5 year old unloading, and life's just safer that way.

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  42. Have exactly the same problem! Thanks for sharing this easy answer!

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  43. What a great idea. My husband and I debate the up or down. I say up because you can get more in and in ours the tines of the forks poke thru. He says down so you don't handle the part of the silverware you eat with. As long as he loads the dishwasher....he gets his choice. I 'let him' win.

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  44. Great minds think alike!!! After trying hot glue and then plastic canvas, I too came up with wire ties!!!

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  45. Thank you. I have the same problem. Now I have a solution that is better than what I am doing now!

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  46. This post made me smile since it is exactly how I fixed my basket! I love zip ties!

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  47. We just moved, and the new house had this exact problem. I was about to spend almost $20 on a new basket before I found this. One zip tie later and we're good to go. And I'm actually a "mixed" loader--that way the silverware doesn't nest together and prevent cleaning.

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  48. Smart! This is the exact basket I have; with the same problem! Thanks for the quick fix!

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  49. Very clever> My basket is broken just like this and now instead of avoiding that part of the basket I will fix it and go on with my life. :<)"

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  50. Thank you, I really needed this tip - love Google for bringing me to your site so I could save nearly $50 not having to buy a new silverware basket. :)

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  51. Am I overthinking this? Who knows what chemicals are in tie wraps? There was a big outcry about BPA in cups. Here, you are heating the plastic too.

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  52. Hi, just came across this post today looking for a fix for my second basket which has much bigger holes than yours. But I wanted to also let you know that a bigger problem is that the broken pieces from the basket will get down in the dishwasher mechanism and cause it to not clean as well after a while because they clog the drain system. If you notice that glasses, etc. are not getting very clean then you can take apart the dishwasher and get the pieces and other junk out. Here is a good video for that. Yours looks like my Kenmore/ Whirlpool. http://www.handyguyspodcast.com/462/episode-73-fixing-a-kenmore-elite-dishwasher-that-is-not-cleaning-dishes/

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  53. Thank you Karen. Great idea. You saved me from having to buy a replacement basket. Will fix mine tonight.

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  54. Great idea - thanks! Also checking out the plastic canvas suggestion too as our cutlery rack is in a serious state of damage. Probably caused by sharp knives I reckon... :-)

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  55. great tip. Thanks

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Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment...I just love hearing from you!