When an appliance stops working, what matters most is having someone who listens, asks the right questions, and helps you find the best solution - without pressure.

If you’ve ever called Bellingham Electric’s Service Department, there’s a good chance that voice on the other end of the line was Jim Tormey.

As Jim prepares for retirement, we want to share a bit about the approach he brought to service over the years, and how that same mindset is continuing forward as Steven steps into the role of Service Manager.

If I had to guess what the number one issue is at the core of the questions, comments, and complaints I receive through this blog, it'd be reliability. Our mortgages, rents, health care costs, and even grocery costs have increased significantly over the past 30 years - more than can be explained by inflation alone - and wages have not kept up. So people want to know whether an appliance we reviewed will last, or why their appliance got top marks but broke down within 2-3 years.

And the fact that I can't answer that very legitimate question is a source of frustration for me.

If I can't answer the real question, I'd at least like to explain WHY I can't answer it. So, let's dig in: What are the barriers to predicting appliance reliability?

"I called a local repair company about this, and they said they no longer do warranty service for [manufacturer] because they don't pay enough."

I see phrases like this quite often in comments and product reviews. Usually, people are frustrated because they haven't been able to get timely warranty service on an appliance. If your relatively new washing machine has started leaking, or food is spoiling in your 6-month-old refrigerator, finding out that you'll need to wait 2 weeks or more to get it repaired is just adding insult to injury.

But I want to clarify how appliance warranty service actually works, and why it is the way it is.

Time is valuable. If you're buying a new washer for the first time in a while and have heard about how today's washers take longer, or your last modern washer turned out to take forever to wash, you might be wondering: How long does a washing machine take to wash clothes these days? How can I make my washer wash faster? And the truly inquisitive may also want to know: Why do washing machines take longer now than they used to? Isn't that a bad thing?

There's no doubt about it: dishwashers save us a ton of time. We no longer have to spend up to an hour or more processing the day's dishes with a sink full of soapy water and a bunch of towels on hand. Washing your dishes in a dishwasher uses less water than hand washing and is also a lot more sanitary: today's dishwashers heat the water to 140°F or higher to blast away germs.

One of the most common complaints we hear about dishwashers, besides that the dishwasher is not drying (which we've also written about), is that the dishwasher runs too long. This can be frustrating if you remember the way your old dishwasher used to churn through dishes! Thankfully, some dishwasher problems are easy to fix, depending on the cause.

In general, newer dishwashers approach washing dishes with a focus on stamina and energy conservation rather than speed. These models use less water and electricity, and are also much quieter, but the result is often longer cycle times than older dishwashers had. In this article, we'll explore some of the simple reasons why your dishwasher is running too long. (If it's time for you to buy a new model, check out our dishwasher buying guide!)