Not real sure what you are talking about, I don't remember saying anything about dw venting. Which thread was it?

My dw isn't vented as far as I know. I figured it was the heat from the dw that caused my countertop to get wavy above it. Surely they wouldn't make a dw that vented under there, right?

I don't know if I've ever seen one that has steam coming out the front either. I usually open mine when it reaches the end of the cycle and the steam comes boiling out. Maybe that did it.

My laminate counter tops are just fine even after 6 years of abuse from the front venting Frigidaire DW we had. (It came with the house when we bought it and I always hated it) We just replaced it last week to one that doesn't vent to the front. It vents to the underneath which I love because I was always afraid of one of my boys burning themselves from the steam. Our DW is a Bosch and we love it. Yes they still make DW that vent to the front. They are the REALLY cheap ones that you find at a national chain store.

"I think the moist heat from the dishwasher warped the particle board counter material because the Formica feels a little wavy over it."

marti - that's from your counter top thread...

tiffany - yours vents to the bottom - so toward the floor / subfloor? not a place I'd want moisture either tho!

I don't remember 'venting' yrs ago when I had a dw.

if my dw vents and causes moisture problems, I'll VENT too!

Oh ok, Yes, I meant from opening the door. But now I am wondering where the steam goes when the door isn't opened. I don't think it goes into the house anywhere because it's never really humid in there until I open the DW.

There is something black on the sheetrock of a photo posted on the kitchens forum. I wanted to ask but didn't know how to do it tactfully. But it looks like moisture from the window, not dw.

{{!gwi}}

I've worried too about what is behind cabinets, the shower & bathtub, and water heater, but no way to know without ripping it all out, and that's just not practical.

I just asked dh and he said our dw isn't vented, but my mom's has a vent in the front, at the top by the knobs. Now I have to go start the dw and let it dry without opening, just to see if there's any steam coming out anywhere.

post back about your 'steam findings'

I worry about that stuff also. can't rip everything out but I do plan to have the toilets pulled up and reset... so we can check under / around there for any leaks. there seems to be signs of it around the bottoms of them. I don't want to put down new vinyl over bad flooring/subfloor etc.

I'll also look closely behind/to the sides of the dw when it's pulled out to be replaced.

the dark in pic above does look more like it dripped down from the window area.

Well son of a gun, there is a vent on the front of my DW. It just finished running and there is just a little condensation around it, and no visible steam. The vent is on the top left corner of the DW.

I have a 9 year old Bosch. I think "venting to the bottom" may mean that the moisture cools as the machine cools down after use, and is pumped out the drain in the bottom. We have had this machine under laminate in two houses, three different laminates, and no problems.

I try not to ever use the heat when drying, but I noticed one day that someone had punched that button. This one gets really hot when that is on. I don't use it because of the extra electricity cost though, not the heat. Maybe that was it.

nancy - that's good to hear!

I don't know if I'll want to use the heat or not - it's been a good 20 yrs since I've had a dw!

If it were just me here, I probably wouldn't have one. Even the 3 of us now don't get enough dishes dirty to fill it, but I run it every day because I like to end the day with a clean kitchen.

Even if you have laminate, there is usually a plywood base beneath it, right?

You sure have my curiosity up, so I'll go check my Kenmore Elite DW. I've had 4 of them (3 different houses, 1 killed by the hurricane), and never had any problems.

It also has a sanitizing on-board water heater in case the normal temp of the water is not hot enough to sanitize. If you think your kids might try to open it and get burned, you can engage the LOCK feature. My front load washing machine has that, and will NOT OPEN while water is in it or while the machine is spinning.

Even showers these days come equipped with an ANTI-SCALD feature, to keep us old folks and the kids from making ourselves crispy critters. Personally, I keep the water heater temp down as low as required for the DW, but no hotter. That costs a LOT of money. I really want to have an auxiliary preheat solar energy system on the metal roof we plan to install, the keep that in the summer instead of paying a high power bill. DH says he taught students to build those things once upon a time, and he can do it for us. I'm all for alternate power sources.

Sorry....I got off topic again. Drats.

Yes, laminate has a base and plywood wouldn't swell as bad as particle board, which is what is under ours.

I want to know more about this solar preheat for the water heater. Our water heater is gas, and that is the only thing being used for gas in summer, and STILL our bill is $35. Should be the minimum, IMO.

I'll probably run mine every 3 days / twice a wk just to keep stuff moving along.

I don't need a water heater in the summer - or may thru oct. the sun heats it. can't take a shower during the day either. get one before about 10 am or wait til about 2 am.

ML = you document every move he makes to put that thing together for us - ok? take pics too. that'd be good to have in the winter here. lots of sun to use for it here.

will also have to remember to put plywood under counter top first!

why can't you shower during day?

Desertsteph~
I'm sorry I can't concentrate on all the replies right now ..
I think that all laminate counters are over particleboard.
I live in a doublewide 3 yrs now .
Under the counter where the dishwasher is there is some sort of sealed wood barrier .It fills in the void from where the lip of the counter comes down.
It came that way from the manufacture.

"why can't you shower during day?"

the water is too hot - it's scalding. no cold water at that time. I don't think there is really cold water between say about midnight and about 8 am either - but it is bearable then. my water is stored in an above ground tank.

forboystoo - I'll have to check out the space for my dw when the old one is pulled out to see if mine has that.

Oh, I didn't think about that. Even here, a lot of people turn off their water heaters during the summer, and that's with underground water pipes.

We have laminate - installed 20 years ago, and have never had a problem. On the second dishwasher. Wish they lasted as long as the laminate!