Inspecting New Dishwasher

Good afternoon,

Recently had a home inspection done where the inspector did not inspect the dishwasher as it was brand new and had tags still in it. They quoted internachi guidelines and liability as to why they did not run or inspect the hookups for the dishwasher.

Wanted to verify this decision was indeed aligned to interNachi guidelines and see if there was a good reference to this decision.

For full clarity, I respect and understand why new tags could not be removed, just confused on why the connections were not observed or documented.

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And for full clarity - inspection was done in Utah

I don’t remove tags or packing or operate appliances with them. That is what warranties are for.

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Makes sense - do you inspect any of the connections if an appliance is new? Concerned about it being hooked up poorly and flooding the kitchen on run one

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I look at all visible connections under the sink to see if anything is leaking at the time of the inspection , but I do not look behind or under new dishwashers.

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Is this new construction ?

Typically the plumber that made the connection should test his work.

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Good to know - I believe with that in mind the proper work was done.

House was a flip

Yep! Flip or not, if all the paper work/manuals etc. are still attached and appears to never had been run, I pass it on to the installer who should have tested it through a complete cycle. Not up to me. If it’s a new build, it’s tested by the builder.

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Would you mind sharing those quotes?

For clarity… I DO NOT run appliances at all!
IMO… if it still has the tags applied, installation has not been completed.

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You’re plumber hooked up the dishwasher and never ran it through a cycle. This is the responsibility of the installer not the home inspector. Your home inspector was correct not running the dishwasher.

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You beat me to it. 100% correct.

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Would you check to see if the dishwasher had GFCI protection?

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Jeffrey is correct. Every dishwasher has installation instructions. The final steps of the installation instructions is to remove the tags along with shipping components and run it through a cycle. If this has not been completed the installation has not been completed. I recommend you call the plumber back to complete his installation and verify all connections are water tight.

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Yes, but different from running it.

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Andrew for clarity from a licensed plumbing contractor and home inspector, your plumber dropped the ball. The home inspector followed his Standard of Practice and did the right thing.

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It is a common practice for installers/flippers not to remove the tags, labels, and such so the listing agent could show the appliance is new and has never been used. The tags and labels are removed after the contract is signed. You should test it fully at the final walk-through before the closing. You might just find something wrong with it, but hopefully not.

In such cases, because the installation was never finalized, a home inspector is not able to properly inspect/test the appliance and thus would usually disclaim it.

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I agree, the lack of GFCI protection would be obvious without running it.

The tags are located inside of the dishwasher. How do they survive the required start up step in the manual? I’m not familiar with this contract requirement can you explain.