Dishwashers - besides Bosch??

[ColoradoMom!!]

I did a search and found a thread from last summer that mostly had Bosch recommendations. Anyone love a dishwasher other than Bosch? Nothing against Bosch, but we need one closer to the $500 range, and don't know if we would go with their lowest model.

 

[Phil'sFrontier]

I own a Kenmore Elite that I really like. It was 900 dollars when I got it, but I live in northern Canada so it is hard to compare prices with me.
It is white metal on the outside, buttons on the front of door. The features I like about it are....the versatility of the racks inside, the quiet runnning operation, stainless steel interior(this allows for higher water temperatures), 30 minute 'fast wash' feature, and of coarse that the dishes come out sparkling.

These are some good base features to try to find when you are shopping imho...hope this helps

 

[csharpwv]

Hey OP! GET A BOSCH!!!! You'll never regret it - READ ON!

I worked for Sears when I was in college in Electronics/Appliance sales - so I knew that very very few dishwashers on the market could rival Bosch.

When we went to remodel we wanted high end appliances, but we didn't have a high end budget - so we waited for sales and 0% financing offers.

We had everything we wanted in stainless - dual fuel range - French Door ice/water in door - convection/advantium/microwave hood - super silent garbage disposal - all 40% off - 0% for 1 year plus a $200 rebate on each appliance because it was energy star complaint. All were Kenmore Elite appliances.

Notice you didn't read about a dishwasher in that paragraph -
They didn't have what we wanted for a price we could/wanted to pay - so we waited.

And waited...

And waited till we really had to buy it for it to be installed when the kitchen was complete.

Finally - on my last trip into Sears there happened to be a Bosch dishwasher on clearance - the model right below the top of the line! It had been purchased for a very high end kitchen, BUT the owner RETURNED the appliance because it left her dishes wet! The sales person didn't tell the other customer that Bosch Dishwasher don't use a heating element to dry dishes - it's a waste of energy.

SO - at the time the dishwasher retailed for over $1,300 and we got it for.....

Don't hate me!

about $530

They wanted it off the sales floor - it's not good to have one of your top of the line appliances returned and sitting there used... for sale.

Having worked at Sears - I knew how to look for bargains -
Ask about returned items!
Ask about floor model discounts!
Ask about last year's model!
Ask if there is anything in stock that isn't on display, but is on "X" status...(that's what it's called at Sears when an item is old stock and needs to be sold before being shipped to closeout or liquidation centers... or destroyed in some cases)

Sears also has appliance clearance centers in urban areas - I recently saw a 2 drawer under counter mount fridge (VERY HIGH END) for $275 at a clearance center. They have range hoods (stainless steel and glass ones) for around $175
I'm kind of a price dork - I have a bar code scanner app on my iPhone and on my last trip to the clearance center I walked around seeing just how much the prices were off retail - I found a 60" Hitachi TV - new in box for $750 lower than any price my bar code scanner could find online anywhere. I found really high end (Kitchen aid) countertop appliances (blenders, toasters etc) for 60% off retail. They were Discontinued colors like... Almond.

GO LOOK AT CLEARANCE CENTERS! You really can find some INCREDIBLE deals.

Growing up my parents remodeled the Kitchen and bought a great higher end gas range (far better than my Dad would have every paid retail for) for way over 1/2 off becuase it had a HUGE dent in one side - it was going between two cabinets! So that dent was only seen when mom pulled the range out to clean behind it! It didn't effect the operation of the range at all!

SHOP AROUND!
Get what you want to own - but pay what you want to pay.

We LOVE.... L O V E our Bosch Dishwasher.

We have never had to rewash a load of dishes - and as far as not having a dry cycle - all you have to do is open the Dishwasher door and leave it open to let the steam out - and the dishes will be dry in a couple hours.

It is so quiet - when we go to my parent's house when the dishwasher is running we are SO thankful that our dishwasher doesn't sound like gravel in a food processor!!!

 

[Kitzka]

DH and I just got a dishwasher this past December. We looked at about 8 stores (big box chains, local stores), read reviews online, etc. Spent about 2 weeks researching. We narrowed it down to a Bosch or a kitchen aid. The things we did not like about the Bosch

-dishes are wet when it's done washing. I know a PP mentioned you could open the door and in a few hours the dishes would be dry but I want my fishes to be dry when the dishwasher is done!
-the bosch was pretty expensive compared to some of the others we looked at
-the most important reason-none of the Bosch dishwashers have a hard food filter. It's because they are European and the regulations dont allow for the hard food filter. So we don't have to completely scrap everything.

Can't recall which kitchen aid we got but we LOVE it.

Lara

 

[PatMcDuck]

I got a Samsung dishwasher last year and I love it. Matches the frig. nicely. It is very quiet too.

They do not sell many models. A tip, wait for the free installation specials at Best Buy...... they run it fairly often.

 

[shortbun]

Love my Bosch. Had a GE, then a Kitchaid at the old house. Bosch was the only one that fit in the tight area of my kitchen. It is faB! So quiet, I have to turn it off then on to see if it's running-seriously, the display has weird stuff on it so sometimes I can't tell. I've never had wet dishes at finish but maybe I'm just not fast enough getting them out.
The installer told me all the installers had them because they were easiest to work on and they cleaned best. The design is a little more sleek because there is no handle-just an indent for your hand. I bought it on sale for around $700. It was on sale. I know you can find them out there for a little less but we were in a hurry cause the one in our new house was shot and we were hand washing.

 

[tonilea]

I have been really pleased with my GE. It wasn't the cheapest nor the most expensive model GE offers. Things it had to have: Energy Star, three spray arms, and a food disposal.

 

[Cindy B]

I went to a Sears Outlet and found a Bosch for just about $500 (I think it was 530 after tax).

It was sold at a Sears Appliance outlet. This was considered a return because there was one small scratch on the side. Howeveronce you installed the dishwasher the scratch was not seen.

Keep looking, it is worth it!

 

[disneymom2003]

Another vote for Kitchen Aide. We bought our 6 years ago and have had no problems. Stainless inside and out. Couldn't be happier

 

[lucyem]

Wish I had a recommendation. My only experience with Bosch has not been a good one. Both my Bosch washing machine and dishwasher are pieces of junk. I would never buy one again.

See if you can get ahold of consumer reports at the library and see what they have to say.

 

[Frannie115]

We have had the Bosch Nexxt washing machine and gas dryer for 7 years. They have been great and I hope they last a very long time.

I wish we had gone with a Bosch dishwasher. We have a kenmore and I can't seem to get many dishes in the bottom rack. Maybe I'm stacking wrong but they seem to lay right on top of each other. Could be the size/shape of our dishes .

 

[ColoradoMom!!]

Thanks everyone! Yes, we have a Sears Outlet type place in Denver I will have to look at!

Any Model numbers on the Kitchen Aid's that people liked?

Thanks again - I just love this forum.

 

[WishIwerethere]

I was one of the people raving about my Bosch dishwasher in that old thread. For what it's worth, OP, I bought the lowest level Bosch that my H.H. Gregg carried, and I could not be happier.

 

[DawnM]

We had a Bosch in our last house and when the dishwasher died in this house (GE only 4 years old) we went to Sears to look. We found a Kenmore Elite that looked just like the Bosch inside! Found out it is a Bosch made for Kenmore.....so we bought it as we love Bosch.

We did get it for around $500 but we also bought a new fridge and stove at the same time. They were running a 25% off deal and then ON TOP of that we got another 25% off if we purchased 3 appliances at once!

Dawn

 

[bettymae1121]

We had a Bosch in our last house and when the dishwasher died in this house (GE only 4 years old) we went to Sears to look. We found a Kenmore Elite that looked just like the Bosch inside! Found out it is a Bosch made for Kenmore.....so we bought it as we love Bosch.

We did get it for around $500 but we also bought a new fridge and stove at the same time. They were running a 25% off deal and then ON TOP of that we got another 25% off if we purchased 3 appliances at once!

Dawn

That's interesting, I always thought Whirlpool made all the Kenmore appliances...guess not!

 

[Muushka]

I don't know how dishes coming out of a Bosch wet is possible? Mine are always quite hot and quite dry.

A few weeks ago we were having our kitchen remodeled. We were all 3 in the kitchen when the contractor leaned on the dishwasher. It was several minutes before I figured out was that low humming noise was! Talk about quiet!

Also, I got mine at Lowes. It was on clearance and I saved about $250.00.

 

[Mrs D]

When we remodeled our ktichen I was torn between the Bosch and a GE that matched the rest of our appliances. I went with the GE because it fit our massive dinner plates a little bit better. I started out whisper quiet like a Bosch. It's not too bad now but I can sure hear it!

 

[csharpwv]

That's interesting, I always thought Whirlpool made all the Kenmore appliances...guess not!

Having worked for Sears, I know that for a LONG time Kenmore and and Whirlpool had a nearly exclusive deal, however with the entry of Asian appliances into the American market - Sears needed to compete with Lowe's Best Buy etc etc - so Kenmore is all over the map - and frankly it's to the consumer's advantage, because Kenmore can hand pick a single company's best items from their line up - and sell them at a very competitive price point, often for less than the actual 'branded' item.

Our Kenmore Elite fridge is made by LG. When Sears introduced their He3 and He3t washers and dryers, they were made by Whirlpool - but now I am seeing more of them being made by Samsung - and others by LG.

Sears doesn't sell a 'bad' Kenmore appliance, because they don't have to.

We got our Kenmore Elite fridge for almost $800 less than its LG counterpart - and in all reality it is the same exact fridge!

Kenmore dishwashers are all over the map - but their high end products are made by the high end companies.

Best advice on buying a dishwasher, if it has a plastic tub, you can bet your buttons it's going to sounds like a blender full of gravel!

One of the reasons why a Bosch is so much quieter is becuase it doesn't have a hard food grinder/disposer - as a PP said, in Europe waste water treatment systems aren't designed to deal with food waste produced by the under sink type we have in the US - plus, composting is much bigger there than it has ever gotten here.

PLUS, because a dishwasher recycles water throughout the wash cycles, you don't want water that has all those tiny ground up food particles (it grinds it up into mush) to be 'recycled' all over your 'clean' dishes.

It's really disgusting to think about - and it explains why cheap dishwasher never do a 'great' job. They leave the food, in some form, all over your clean dishes. It's gross to think about!!!!!!!

So while some people don't care for Bosch or other high end dishwashers, because there is a small food waste basket to empty every now and again, it's better to empty that little food waste basket/strainer than to have last week's casserole ground up and invisibly smeared all over your 'clean' dishes.

It's better NOT to own a dishwasher as far as hygiene is concerned than to own a dishwasher that leaves your dishes dirty - or wastes a ton of energy by running a heat cycle that kills the germs your dishwasher just put all over your dishes.

I believe in doing things right the first time - and I think that my appliances should do the same!

 

[homedad]

we remodeled the kitchen last summer and went with all new appliances, for the dishwasher we got a Kitchen Aid with a stainless steel insdie and the bielt in disposal. Its super quiet(51 decibels I think). One thing you have to use the rinse/drying agent to get the best wash, oh and the new enery efficient models cycle much longer