I'm hoping those with longer tenure as homeowners than I can help me sort through whether I'm getting BS'd by the appliance repair guys. I have an approx 4 year old Kitchenaid dishwasher that has been healthy up until about 2 months ago when it stopped drying the dishes. The dishes were clean but came out cold and wet. So we called the chain appliance store we bought from and they sent out a repairman. He said the water in our home was not hot enough to run the washer through its entire cycle and, since the water was too cool, the heating element to dry the dishes was turning itself off as a protective mechanism. Apparently it "would have to work too hard" to heat the cabinet, so it shut itself off. He opened up the circuit board, hit a reset button and left. The drying cycle worked for two days and then quit again.

Sidebar: I live in a 50's era house with no hot water heater. Water gets hot by passing through a circuit in the oil burner. We do indeed have limited hot water (it usually becomes a problem when all 4 people want to take showers back to back but we run the dishwasher at bedtime). What I don't understand: if the water is not hot enough.....why did it take 4 years to cause an issue, or is this just nonsense? My other appliances work fine, BTW.

Fast forward two weeks after the initial repair visit and now the washer doesn't even deliver water. The spray heads will not work because the pump (to pump water out) is broken, thereby telling the circuit board to withhold water. Repair guy insinuating that it's ALL related to the water temp.

Appreciate your thoughts and feedback. I've tried asking a plumber and he clammed up; doesn't want to get in the middle of an argument with the repair guys from a pretty big named appliance dealer in my part of NY.