Update: On Dec. 21, 2009, A.T. (Southeast Regional Field Service Manager for Bosch Home Appliances Corp.) Tested the Failed Bosch Dishwasher

After many follow-up calls to J.H. of HDI-Gerling America Insurance Company in Chicago, we finally heard from and scheduled an appointment with A.T. of Bosch Home Appliances Corporation. A.T. is the Southeast Regional Field Service Manager for Bosch Home Appliances in Huntington Beach, California.

He arrived at our home on December 21, 2009. We had scheduled a test of the failed dishwasher with him on our patio.This arrangement was the only way we could have both the water and the electricity required to power the many tests involved in determining the cause of the dishwasher failure we had experienced. This unique testing arrangement actually worked out very well.

After plugging in the electrical outlet on our patio, A.T. hooked up a water line from our exterior water spigot to the dishwasher. Everything worked, so testing could begin.

The tests were thorough and professionally done. He conducted a number of tests, and explained some of them to us. At all times, A.T. was courteous, professional and knowledgeable.

He questioned my husband closely about what the dishwasher looked like when my husband first discovered it was flooding. My husband said, as he has from the beginning, that when he first saw it, the dishwasher was spewing water from all sides, but especially from the upper right corner. Evidently the pressure of the water had breached the seals around the door and allowed the water to come out.

First A.T. tested the drain carrying water from the dishwasher. This was on the right side of the dishwasher. There was no crystalization from water deposits in the pan, meaning that no water had been present in that area. Otherwise the evaporation would have left crystals from the water.

Next he tested the left side of the dishwasher and the intake pump and valve, as well as the anti-flooding feature.

After a while, he told us that, based on what he had observed, the failure was "on our side," and that "Bosch owned it." We were not at fault and we were not responsible for the flooding of May 27, 2009. No operator error.

Apparently, the pump failed and overwhelmed the anti-flooding feature. You can see from the photos that even during the tests, the water began flowing out of the dishwasher onto the concrete of the patio. And the testing did not take very long, compared to running a full load of dishes or compared to the amount of water that could come out during the night. Res ipsa loquitur.

A.T. also said that after the insurance company had settled with us, Bosch would ship the dishwasher to one of its facilities for examination and further testing. This is a good idea, because I don't want anyone to go through what we have gone through.

He said the would file his report to J.H. at Gerling that afternoon, and to let him know if I had not heard from her within a week. That was six weeks ago, and I have not heard a word from anyone at Bosch or Gerling.

On January 8, 2010, as he requested, I called A.T. because I had not heard from J.H. two weeks after the testing. He told me to be patient because these things take time, and we're almost there, and the insurance people have to look at all the laws for my state to see what their liability is. If I didn't know better, I would suspect stalling, delays, and excuses. The old runaround. Videbimus.


Below are some of the photos I took of the testing process and the final results: