Steve, as you have probably found out by now, that was a wax motor that opened and closed the vent flap in your KA and it could have been replaced without too much trauma. The only thing about not having it closed during the wash/rinse part of the cycle is that if you had a wood counter above, the extra water vapor would not do the wood any good. It might make a few drops of condensation near the vent on the underside of the solid counter, but probably won't harm anything.