How I Painted My Dishwasher

Welcome to post #2 of the big Kitchen Reveal week here at 1915 House! If you missed the first post, you can read it here. Our house came with a really old dishwasher. Really old. As in, it was purchased and installed in the mid 80’s. Which – as you’ve probably already figured – makes it approximately 30 years old. Pretty old for an appliance.

You’re probably thinking, “That dishwasher needed to be replaced when you replaced your fridge!” And maybe you’re right, but here’s the thing…I love this old dishwasher. I really do! It’s a little noisy and I’m sure it’s not an energy & water efficient model – and it’s an ugly beige color. (blech) But boy, does it do a great job on our dishes!

Our dishwasher story

In our farmhouse, before we moved here, we went through two newer dishwashers. They were quieter, and more energy & water efficient- and prettier, but they did a horrible job getting dishes clean. We basically had to pre-wash all the dishes before loading the dishwasher. Which, if you have to do that, what’s the point, right? My thoughts exactly.

I remember looking at this old dishwasher when we were going through the house on our final walk through and asking the previous owner if “that thing” still worked, fully expecting him to say that they hadn’t used it in years, and was mildly surprised when he said that it had worked for them when they were still in the house. (They had been out of the house for 9 months by that time). I basically just nodded, smiled and moved on – thinking that we’d be replacing it within a few weeks of moving – I was sure it was going to function as badly as it looked.

*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you choose to make a purchase through one of my links, I receive a small percentage (at no additional cost to you) – thank you for supporting my coffee habit, which is the fuel behind all my projects and DIYs* 🙂

Old, ugly dishwasher…Time for a facelift!

(please extend grace for the blurry, yucky picture here – honestly, I completely forgot to take a “real” before pic for you) #newbloggerprobs

I’m so happy to say I was WRONG! This machine, as ugly as it is, does a fantastic job and so we’ve kept it and used it 1-2 times a day for the past year. When I painted our kitchen cabinets, the beige dishwasher stood out like a sore thumb even more (if that was possible). So I gave it the same treatment I gave our thrifted refrigerator. I cleaned it up really well {affiliate links in pink –>)  using this amazing stuff, roughed up the surface with a scratchy pad (is that what it’s actually called??) and I painted it (with leftover appliance paint we used for the fridge)!! Of course I did. Are you surprised? 😉

Hello, newly painted dishwasher!

Now, while it is still far from looking like a new machine (I do realize this), it DOES look better than it did in it’s dingy beige color. And it still runs like a dream and cleans our dishes so I don’t have to. 😀 And THAT makes me happy.

Don’t forget to pin and share, if you found this helpful- 🙂 Have you ever painted an appliance before? I’d love to hear in the comments below!