DIshwasher---I need a new workhorse plain jane one

[Ottakee]

What brands/models would you suggest looking at for a new dishwasher. I am bucking the trends and going with white as our stove and fridge are white and I really don't like stainless steel anyway.

 

I need a plain jane model that is a work horse that has a large capacity and will get the dishes CLEAN. I have no use for special settings, timers, or other fancy things. Durable and dependable is what I want.

 

Any ideas or hints on what to look for or stay away from?

[Miss Marple]

I just had to do this recently.  I, too, just needed a good washer - not a lot of cycles.  After looking around and browsing internet forums, I decided on the Bosch.  When I went to purchase it, though, I discovered that there is quite a bit of difference among the ones offered in that brand.  I was advised (multiple sources) to get one that was actually made in Germany.  Apparently the lower end of the Bosch line is produced in America and they don't have as good of a reputation. So I got the lowest end of the German produced.  It's been fantastic.  I cannot put as much in it as I did in my old KitchenAid, but my family size has shrunk a bit so that's fine.  It came with some bells and whistles that I probably won't use, but to get the quality, I got the options.

 

FWIW, my sister bought a lower end American made Bosch and has not had any trouble with it. She only has 2 people in her household, though, so it isn't used much.

 

Also, a point in favor of the Bosch over a couple others I looked at (Asko and another) was that Bosch is becoming a well known brand and service is readily available even in our small town here.  Apparently getting an Asko or other little used brands serviced in Tulsa (our nearby big city) is a problem.

[Plateau Mama]

If you want large capacity Miele is the way to go. I can put every plate, bowl, glass I own in one wash. I can also wash every piece of silverware.

 

The above poster is right, if you go Bosch you do not want one made in the US. They have the highest repair rate of any dishwasher.

[Ellie]

I have a midline Whirlpool. l.o.v.e. i.t. I plan always to have a Whirlpool. :-) This one is over eight years old; I've never had a single problem, and I am very satisfied with how well it cleans. I had a Whirlpool in my last house, and it was over 10 years old when we moved; that one was great, too.

 

FTR, my Whirlpool is much larger inside than my dd's Bosch.

[skimomma]

We had to replace our not-old-enough dishwasher last year and I was determined to NOT end up with another clunker.  I also wanted white and no-frills.  We have a one-man independent appliance store nearby and the "one man" knows everything appliances.  He also has been in the repair business for 30 years.  He gave me a 2 hour tutorial on all things dishwasher.  I walked in with my mind set on a Bosch or a KitchenAid.  He talked me into a base model Samsung, which cost about half the price as the dishwashers I thought I would want.  He said from his experience selling and fixing the machines, most dishwashers made now have a working life of five years, max.  Their motors are largely underpowered.  Samsung has been more like 15 years in his experience.  I cannot verify that any of that is true but I can say I love the new dishwasher and it works far better than the last two we had.

 

As a side note, he also said almost 75% of the repairs he calls on are the result of user error and not mechanical issues.  He said the new environmentally friendly dish powders are not shelf-stable and once open, degrade quickly, which leaves films on the sensors and messes up the functioning of the machine.  Liquid too.  He suggest the tablets (cheap is fine) and always use rinse aid....not to make the dishes pretty and spot-free, but to protect the sensors.  He said he would be out of the repair business if people would jus carefully read the manual before using the machines.

[PeterPan]

http://www.consumersearch.com/dishwasher-reviews  This is where I start when I research stuff.  They compile results from all over.  Another little trick, try here.  http://www.repairclinic.com  This site is AWESOME for finding parts for your stuff.  They have videos on how to diagnose your problems and install the new parts.  I just repaired our aging but awesome KitchenAid with using it.  My dh was going to give up and buy a new one (after all it's, um, at least 12 years old!), but I convinced him to give it a try.  What pushed us over was that the wash cycles on many of the new dw's are now 4 hours.  That's just not what we need in our house.  Even if you don't want to repair your current unit, the site is still interesting, because you can see what brands share/overlap with parts.  For instance you'll see KA, kenmore, whirlpool, etc. all using the same parts.  I think that ConsumerSearch site recommended a particular Whirlpool if you weren't keen on the Bosch.  I have 3 KA dw's, so obviously I like them a lot, lol.  I assumed I would buy another, but after seeing how much the parts overlap I'd probably look at that Whirlpool Gold as well.  The Kenmore knockoff of the KA, I wasn't confident on.  Then when I heard about the long wash cycles (because they've axed the water use to almost nothing?), I gave up and suggested we just repair what we had.  

 

For us KA has been really good.  12+ years on the one, and 6 years on the other 2.  We might have a small family, but we're very dirty, lol.  They've changed it now on most nice models, but on my models you have to disassemble to get to the food grinder.  I clean that once or twice a year.  Now when you go to the store you'll see you can just lift up a thing and get to it, no tools, no nothing.  Definitely go for that.  And while you think  you don't want special stuff, I like having the extra cycles like the sanirinse, high temp scrub, and turbo jets in the back.  The turbo lets you put a nasty pan facing it and gets it clean.  I'm no good with adjustable racks that go up and down, so to me that's not a selling point.  (not mechanical enough to get them to work?)  I do really like it when the racks glide smoothly.  That's actually why I bought a KA in the first place, because the Kenmore gave you more features but the KA was nicer (smoother gliding rack, nice handle to pull out, etc.).  And I like to think that by going up in models we also got better quality because, like I said, they've been pretty good for us.  The repair we had to make was because a door gasket wore out after 12 years.  It's rubber, so that's not shocking.  The dumb thing was we saw signs it was happening and didn't realize.  Ended up having to replace the front touchpad panel of the door.  It's a rather pricey repair, but on the other hand my dw has a wash cycle 1/4 of the length of the current machines.  When you want to party or wash after breakfast and have them ready by lunch, that really matters!  

 

Have fun buying your dw.  It's a good Christmas present.  :)

 

 

[gardenmom5]

bosch has inexpensive models.

I dislike the kitchenaid I just bought - the dishes have to be cleaned before I put them in the dishwasher and I have to use a rinse agent.  My builder's special GE did a better job. (as did my last GE profile)

[PeterPan]

We had to replace our not-old-enough dishwasher last year and I was determined to NOT end up with another clunker.  I also wanted white and no-frills.  We have a one-man independent appliance store nearby and the "one man" knows everything appliances.  He also has been in the repair business for 30 years.  He gave me a 2 hour tutorial on all things dishwasher.  I walked in with my mind set on a Bosch or a KitchenAid.  He talked me into a base model Samsung, which cost about half the price as the dishwashers I thought I would want.  He said from his experience selling and fixing the machines, most dishwashers made now have a working life of five years, max.  Their motors are largely underpowered.  Samsung has been more like 15 years in his experience.  I cannot verify that any of that is true but I can say I love the new dishwasher and it works far better than the last two we had.

 

As a side note, he also said almost 75% of the repairs he calls on are the result of user error and not mechanical issues.  He said the new environmentally friendly dish powders are not shelf-stable and once open, degrade quickly, which leaves films on the sensors and messes up the functioning of the machine.  Liquid too.  He suggest the tablets (cheap is fine) and always use rinse aid....not to make the dishes pretty and spot-free, but to protect the sensors.  He said he would be out of the repair business if people would jus carefully read the manual before using the machines.

That's fascinating!  I use DW tabs, like you say, and I buy the ones with the rinse built in.  I run Lemmi-Shine through them on occasion, to remove hard water build-up. 

[PeterPan]

bosch has inexpensive models.

I dislike the kitchenaid I just bought - the dishes have to be cleaned before I put them in the dishwasher and I have to use a rinse agent.  My builder's special GE did a better job. (as did my last GE profile)

See that's what I've been concerned about.  After I bought my machines they dropped the standards on water usage.  The whole thing blows my mind.  So you're right there's no guarantee that a new model is as good as one that is 7 or 12 years old.  Now just for my own trivia, can you tell which model you have?  Does it have the new style of spray arms (multiple rotating, planetary) or the regular?  I haven't kept in the loop on it, but maybe the planetary arms were to combat the poor cleaning you get with the low water amounts?  Don't know, like I said I finally gave up and repaired mine that I know works.

[Ellie]

 

As a side note, he also said almost 75% of the repairs he calls on are the result of user error and not mechanical issues.  He said the new environmentally friendly dish powders are not shelf-stable and once open, degrade quickly, which leaves films on the sensors and messes up the functioning of the machine.  Liquid too.  He suggest the tablets (cheap is fine) and always use rinse aid....not to make the dishes pretty and spot-free, but to protect the sensors.  He said he would be out of the repair business if people would jus carefully read the manual before using the machines.

 

I have been using Amway's dishwasher detergent since 1987 and have no plans to ever use something else. Yes, I sell the stuff, but if it didn't do the job, I wouldn't buy it or sell it. And it is the environmentally friendly stuff. :-) Dishes are clean, the dishwasher itself is clean, I've never had a repairman out, the product is economical.

[skimomma]

I have been using Amway's dishwasher detergent since 1987 and have no plans to ever use something else. Yes, I sell the stuff, but if it didn't do the job, I wouldn't buy it or sell it. And it is the environmentally friendly stuff. :-) Dishes are clean, the dishwasher itself is clean, I've never had a repairman out, the product is economical.

 

The chemistry between your water, your machine (specifically how much water it uses and how hot it is), and the soap/rinse aid used are all factors.  Many people do not have any of these problems.  But if you are having problems, either with a new machine that does not seem to be performing well, or a machine that dies well before its time, detergent/rinse aid can be the culprit.  If it works, don't mess with it!  In our situation, the water in our municipality combined with loose powder detergent wrecks machines.  Quickly.  

[Pawz4me]

We have a mid-range GE dishwasher that's working just fine and it's a little over seven years old.  No problems, no odors, cleans well.  I've always had good luck with GE dishwashers.  I use either powder (Cascade) or tablets/gel packs, and I fill the rinse aid thingie when I think about it.  But our water is pretty good, not overly hard or soft, I don't think.  I'm sure that makes a difference.

[PeterPan]

The chemistry between your water, your machine (specifically how much water it uses and how hot it is), and the soap/rinse aid used are all factors.  Many people do not have any of these problems.  But if you are having problems, either with a new machine that does not seem to be performing well, or a machine that dies well before its time, detergent/rinse aid can be the culprit.  If it works, don't mess with it!  In our situation, the water in our municipality combined with loose powder detergent wrecks machines.  Quickly.  

Yup, with our well water, Electrasol (now Quantum) is good and Cascade (which is otherwise an exceptionally good brand) is horrible, leaving a film and spots.  My mother is on city water, and the water ruins her faucets, her washer, everything.  She doesn't have a dw, but I can't imagine how many problems the water would cause if she did.  

[Jackie]

I've had two Bosch dishwashers (different houses, not because one broke) and loved them more than any other kitchen appliance I've ever owned. They were quiet, I never had to rinse anything, and it was very rare that any item didn't come out absolutely clean. And my favorite feature was the "quick clean" cycle, which is the cycle I used at least 90% of the time - it is meant for things that are less dirty and completes the entire cycle in 30 minutes. It was perfect for plates, cups, and most pans. I could bake in the late afternoon, run the dishwasher and have everything clean and put away before time to make dinner. I just used the heavier-duty cycles for when I had pans that I probably should have been scrubbing, but the Bosch always got them clean so why scrub?

 

I'm renting now and I still miss my dishwasher. My rental actually has a KitchenAid and it is nice but it doesn't scrub my pans clean for me, and I really miss my quick cycle.

 

I also once owned a GE, but it was miserable. Half of each load didn't come clean and it was loud. I replaced that with a Bosch as soon as I could afford to after buying the house despite the GE being almost brand new.

[itsheresomewhere]

Do not get one with a food grinder.  That is why they are breaking/not cleaning according to several repairmen, several repair sites and even the salesman that sold the last one to me.  My next dishwasher will be a Miele.  

[momacacia]

Don't get a Kenmore, whatever you do. (Not to be negative or anything :-)

[Alice]

We have had two Bosch dishwashers and love them both. The first one didn’t break, we moved and had to leave it behind. We got the current one at Sears, they have a “scratch and dent†section. It was brand-new but has a small dent on the front that made it considerably cheaper. 

[momacacia]

Don't get a Kenmore, whatever you do. (Not to be negative or anything :-)

[Ellie]

The chemistry between your water, your machine (specifically how much water it uses and how hot it is), and the soap/rinse aid used are all factors.  Many people do not have any of these problems.  But if you are having problems, either with a new machine that does not seem to be performing well, or a machine that dies well before its time, detergent/rinse aid can be the culprit.  If it works, don't mess with it!  In our situation, the water in our municipality combined with loose powder detergent wrecks machines.  Quickly.  

 

This is true. My experience with Amway dishwasher detergent, in two different states, with three different brands of dishwashers and different water chemistry, has been positive. It is why I recommend it. :-)

 

FTR, Amway makes dishwasher tablets as well as powder. :-)

[Miss Marple]

I absolutely loved the Miele DW I looked at.  But according to the dealer it can be hard to find repair people for Miele.  If you are in a large metro area you probably wouldn't have problems.  I loved the way the interior was set up in comparison to my Bosch.  The KitchenAid I replaced was a nightmare once it started having problems.  I think I got a lemon, though. All the repairmen said it is the one they would have picked if they could have afforded it.  It took over a year to diagnose the problem.  It was an odd problem - the wiring harness shorted out. But the diagnostic  codes kept telling them to replace the electronics board.  After 5 boards they finally got the right repairman out who had seen the problem one other time in his career.  

[TrixieB]

Don't get a Kenmore, whatever you do. (Not to be negative or anything :-)

 

Yep.  We have one now, and it's the WORST DISHWASHER EVER. 

 

Not to mention the installation guy punched a hole through my countertop laminate while installing the dishwasher, then put the instruction guide there to cover the hole.  I was not home when this happened, and dh never thought to pick up the instruction guide till after the guy left.  The hole was small, and they sent someone to fix it, but it's still very visible.  And on top of that, the dishwasher is just plain lousy.  Oh, wait, I already said that...

[fairfarmhand]

My whirlpool is 12 years old and still does fairly well for a 12 yo dishwasher. I took it apart not too long ago and cleaned it really well and that seemed to have helped the performance.

[Pippen]

bosch has inexpensive models.

I dislike the kitchenaid I just bought - the dishes have to be cleaned before I put them in the dishwasher and I have to use a rinse agent.  My builder's special GE did a better job. (as did my last GE profile)

 

My new GE cleans way better than the Bosch we had before this one.

[Plateau Mama]

I absolutely loved the Miele DW I looked at.  But according to the dealer it can be hard to find repair people for Miele.  If you are in a large metro area you probably wouldn't have problems.  I loved the way the interior was set up in comparison to my Bosch.  The KitchenAid I replaced was a nightmare once it started having problems.  I think I got a lemon, though. All the repairmen said it is the one they would have picked if they could have afforded it.  

 

I hate my MIL's kitchen aid. The interior is setup in such a way that hardly any dishes fit. It breaks down all the time. She has 2 dishwashers in her kitchen. She has been thru 4 dishwashers in the time it took my piece of crap Asko to die.

[catz]

We have a Miele also. It fits at least 2X as much as any dishwasher I've ever owned and it gets silverware really clean because you put each piece individually and not just thrown in a basket. It hasn't been repaired once in the 8 years we've owned it. You do need to clean out the baskets/gaskets occasionally.

[JustEm]

this post came at the perfect time.  We will be getting a new dishwasher over dh's Christmas vacation.  i haven't started research but this has helped me know where to start

[*lifeoftheparty*]

I am also in the market for a dishwasher!

 

I think I'm going to get the Whirlpool that that consumer research site recommends- thanks whoever posted that :)

 

We just put in a Whirlpool microwave (over the stove/hood) and I really want everything to "match". We'll need a fridge after the dishwasher.

 

We'll be renting this house out in 2-3 years, so I don't want anything too fancy :)

[zoobie]

Don't get a Kenmore, whatever you do. (Not to be negative or anything :-)

Kenmore doesn't manufacture anything. Sears sticks a Kenmore label on lots of other brands. If you google your model and year, you should be able to find out who made it so you can hate it more effectively. ;)

 

We've been screwed by Maytag and Whirlpool. The house we bought had Bosch. I don't know what we will replace it with when the time comes (hopefully not soon, knock wood! Kitchen renovation is not happening anytime in the near future). It's fine, but really loud!

[Mommyfaithe]

I have a brand new Bosch sitting in my doorway waiting to be installed!!! I have not had a dishwasher in 9'years and I am beside myself with joy!!!!! Merry Christmas to me!!

[Ottakee]

I went looking today. Slight wrinkle in that some won't fit in our opening as our floor has been built up another 1/4 inch. UGGG. If you EVER build a house, design it to fit standard appliances.

[Susan C.]

I just bought a Whirlpool Gold white DW at Home Depot. It was on sale for $399 during November. It has controls on the top of the door, and just a white handle visible. I'm fairly happy with it..... it doesn't seem to dry as well as I would like, but I think they are all that way because of energy requirements. It is so quiet, I love that. I actually had the installers add the insulation from my old DW to what came with the new one, and it is so quiet we can run it whenever we want to. That helps with the long cycles.

 

Things to look for:

- short wash option

- nylon tines

- if you use rinse only, they don't all have it

 

One thing I didn't get was rinse only, so there is no way to rinse yucky dishes and leave them for more to run a whole load. But then you need a food disposal unit (noisier), rather than a filter. I can just run a short wash and just wash instead. So not that bad. I also have top rack wash only with movable tines, so I can work with it.

 

I also got the 5 year service contract for only $100 since supposedly dishwashers aren't as good as they used to be.

 

***save your silverware rack from the old dishwasher for extra silverware room!!***

[Laurie4b]

Dh just purchased a new dw for us. I don't even know the brand name. I don't like it.

 

Two things I would suggest: Take some of your dishes in with you to the store and see how they fit in the dishwasher. Sometimes it can look like there are a lot of options and there aren't really with your particular bowls, glasses, etc. In our case, the dishwasher has moveable parts so that you can change where the little pointy things stick up, supposedly creating more options. But what happens is that they collapse a lot and for some reason the row that is supposed to be for dinner plates makes them all tip forward kind of into each other.

 

The other thing I don't like is that it is an energy efficient model (that's okay) that doesn't use a heating cycle, but a blowing cycle. Well, one cycle takes over 2 hours! And there is no way to know when it's done rinsing, for instance, so that I can just open it up.

 

Dh tried his best and I wasn't available to help pick, but that's what i learned from this round! Hope you can put the info to good use.

[bettyandbob]

We did not have dishwasher for a couple of years because of some financial issues. Dh, thinking he was being helpful, bought one we could afford at the time. It is a Kenmore. This Kenmore is now 3 years old and it stinks. It is now having timing issues and I called for repair and the repair told me the cost of parts and said it wasn't worth it. He said to keep using the machine until it breaks entirely. I expect to be without a dishwasher again in a couple years. Besides the timing thing one of the Rollie's on the top shelf broke. The roller assembly would cost $180.

 

Kenmore is awful, awful, awful

[Halcyon]

we need a new dishwasher too. ours came with the house when we bought it, and I think it's 10 years old. Everything comes out dirty, speckled glasses. It's a Kenmore Elite and we had it serviced last year but it still stinks. 

 

We want to get something amaze-balls but under 800 bucks. 

[amyco]

Another thing to consider...we have a Whirlpool and the racks are coated metal, and the tines started rusting and breaking off not even a year after we got it.  I ordered a repair kit and now occasionally have to "paint" the rusted parts with the stinky vinyl paint.   It cleans fine, and holds enough, but is way louder than I'd like. 

 

So I recommend nylon racks, not coated metal ones. 

 

Most higher end dw's have this already.

[gardenmom5]

See that's what I've been concerned about.  After I bought my machines they dropped the standards on water usage.  The whole thing blows my mind.  So you're right there's no guarantee that a new model is as good as one that is 7 or 12 years old.  Now just for my own trivia, can you tell which model you have?  Does it have the new style of spray arms (multiple rotating, planetary) or the regular?  I haven't kept in the loop on it, but maybe the planetary arms were to combat the poor cleaning you get with the low water amounts?  Don't know, like I said I finally gave up and repaired mine that I know works.

 

my GE profile had three arms. bottom, middle, top. it cleaned well, but wasn't quiet. it also had extremly flexible racks (which I miss.)  this one is a top of the line kitchen-aid with the third-rack (waste of space). don't remember the model. I hate it more and more every day. dh even said he wanted to replace it (we bought it in april) and then sell it.  there are two things I like.  it is *very* quiet (we don't notice it's running, and will open it to put things in.) and the filter is very easy to clean. (cleaning it makes little difference for how clean the dishes are. my glasses are often cloudy - with a rinse agent - and I'm noticing a coating on other things as well.  i hate this dishwasher.)

 

[Halcyon]

anyone have this one? http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_02216433000P

[LizzyBee]

We have the cheapest Bosch.  It doesn't have bells and whistles, but it's quiet and it cleans the dishes.  We've had it somewhere between 6-8 years and haven't had any problems whatsoever.  It's so quiet that I sometimes ask dh to turn it on, after he already has.

 

Before we bought our house, we had an apartment that had a GE profile and it was a piece of junk.  Didn't clean anything and it was very noisy.  But in our house in Baltimore, we had a high end GE and it was awesome.  But that was quite a while ago, so I don't know whether the high end GEs are still good or not.

 

Our stove and fridge are both Whirlpool Gold and we're happy with them.  Don't know about their dishwashers though.