My microwave oven, which was new when we purchased the house almost 14 years ago, is mounted above the stove. The microwave works just fine and I don’t recall that we’ve ever had a problem with the “guts” of the thing. The problem is that over the years — and this problem started not too long into its lifetime — the plastic parts that comprise the frame of the door and the control panel, the handle, and the vent above the unit have deteriorated. They’ve literally cracked and crumbled and fallen apart! Glue has been used to repair some of the fractures. Screws have been used in other areas. For months now, the handle has been hanging by one screw, and I mentioned to my husband that it would be nice to get those broken parts replaced. It doesn’t affect the functioning of the microwave and the door seal is still intact, but it’s unsightly and I hate inviting a housesitter to come in and look after the cats and have that junky-looking thing in the middle of an otherwise nice kitchen.
Dale took the front of the microwave apart today to determine all the parts he would need to replace. He then sat down at the computer and went to a major appliance parts website to order the parts. Guess what? The parts are no longer available! They’ve been discontinued by the manufacturer!
So I have a perfectly good microwave with the plastic parts falling off the outside of the it. The parts have deterioriated because of exposure to heat and grease and steam, all the exposures that one can expect when a microwave is designed to be installed over the stove! We’ll need to buy a new microwave to remedy this situation.
In the meantime, there is…..
DUCT TAPE!!
Well, it’ll do for now, I guess.
