Help..

[zoemurr]

We need a new dishwasher. We've never bought one so I'm not even sure what features to look for. Doesn't need to be the cheapest model,but don't want to go crazy either. Anyone love theirs?

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

Love my Bosch, we didnt get the top of the line model but it still does great and was less than $400 on sale.

Actually just bought a Whirlpool dishwasher yesterday for my rental. The salespeople at 3 stores told us that Samsung is the top rated dishwasher for this year, but it was more than I wanted to spend for a rental. Whirlpool is a good, classic brand that isn't ridiculously priced. LG has a really good warranty.

If noise is important look for one that is not plastic on the inside walls. A built in disposal is great for chopping up food particles. Nylon tynes will last longer than plastic tynes.

Best Buy, HH Gregg, and Lowes are all having Labor Day weekend sales.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

I'll take a look on Consumer Reports (great bang for the buck!) if you'll tell me what you want to pay and/or what features are most important to you.

Okay, just took a peek - StitchesGr8Fan has a good idea. It looks like Consumer Reports loves the Bosch at ALL price points.

 

[drcmk]

I have been disappointed with just about every dishwasher I've owned and I find I have to replace them for one reason or another every four or five years. I've always bought moderate brands like Whirlpool or Kenmore. Next time I'm splurging on the Bosch!

Think about noise. Depending on where the dishwasher is in the house and where you spend most of your time, it can be very worthwhile to pay more for a quieter dishwasher. Also, think about the control panel. If it has any kind of decal (plastic or paper) it will start to peel off after it is exposed to the heat of the dishwasher cycle. And that looks ugly. Finally, think about the largest bowl, tray, etc, that you want to put in the dishwasher and maybe even bring it along when you shop to make sure it fits.

 

[zoemurr]

We have a Whirlpool right now. It is super quiet and I like the way it loads. No matter what we do there is always a bunch of food particles left on the dishes.

We're going to Sears tomorrow to take a look.

 

[bigbabyblues]

We got a Bosch Ascenta about eight months ago, and we love it so far. I would stay away from a Maytag. DH's grandma bought one about 18 months ago and it was always broken; she gave up and bought a Bosch. My coworker bought a Maytag less than a month ago and the repairman has been out three times and it still doesn't work right.

 

[endy]

I have a Sears Kenmore Elite that I have been very happy with. Tho the guy who installed it said it was the worse he had ever installed.
It is quiet but the feature I like best is the timer for 2,4 or 8 hours. I find I use the timer a lot. It has a pots and pans cycle, hot cycle, air dry plus several more, I mostly use normal wash and air dry. Also has the stainless interior.
Next washer I buy I hope to get with a timer so I can have the wash finished as I get home from work.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

We have a Kenmore Elite that sounds similar to the last poster's. I like that the buttons are on top of the door and don't show. It had one of the lowest decibel ratings when I bought it and it is very quiet. I had several people tell me about Bosch but the ones I looked at seemed small on the inside.

 

[luvsmickeymouse]

I have a Sears Kenmore portable dishwasher for almost 8 years now and have not had a bit of trouble with it. It does a great job on the dishes too. We are very happy with it.

 

[twinsmom]

Remember to bring a glass and plate that you use to see if yours fit in the dishwasher racks. Its amazing how sometimes the racks don't fit certain heights of plates and glasses

 

[dpswift]

The only problem that we have had with our 4 year old Kenmore is that the bottom shelf does not slide well and the cheap plastic piece that was suposed to adjust the bottom back tynes to allow for wide dishes broke and I had to ziptie the tynes up. This has actually worked well for me because I "have" to load the dishwasher one way and the back is where I put the plates. I know that I drive my family nuts, but after a few decades of loading dishwashers I have never had a broken tyne.

 

[Kellydelly]

We just bought a GE dishwasher about 9 months ago and I absolutely hate it . I did not do my homework after my previous 15 yr old GE died (which we loved). We shopped just for black dishwasher around $400. I was looking at price and the rack, mostly. Should have actually googled some reviews on the one we picked. It takes FOREVER to cycle, over 2 hrs, and it leaves the dishes sopping wet even when I pick the heated dry cycle. I thought my old cycle was long at an hr to wash. So my advice is to look at reviews for whichever one you pick, if I had done that I'd have gotten a better dishwasher . I hate the rack in my new dishwasher too. If it weren't such a pain in the butt to uninstall one and reinstall, I would have/should have returned the darn thing!

Stay away from this one....
http://products.geappliances.com/ApplProducts/Dispatcher?REQUEST=SpecPage&Sku=GDF520PGDBB

 

[Minnie116]

We just bought a GE dishwasher about 9 months ago and I absolutely hate it . I did not do my homework after my previous 15 yr old GE died (which we loved). We shopped just for black dishwasher around $400. I was looking at price and the rack, mostly. Should have actually googled some reviews on the one we picked. It takes FOREVER to cycle, over 2 hrs, and it leaves the dishes sopping wet even when I pick the heated dry cycle. I thought my old cycle was long at an hr to wash. So my advice is to look at reviews for whichever one you pick, if I had done that I'd have gotten a better dishwasher . I hate the rack in my new dishwasher too. If it weren't such a pain in the butt to uninstall one and reinstall, I would have/should have returned the darn thing!

Stay away from this one....
http://products.geappliances.com/ApplProducts/Dispatcher?REQUEST=SpecPage&Sku=GDF520PGDBB

we bought a GE very similar to this but our Model # is a 540...It is ok, but I am less than thrilled with it. Like pp said, a load takes over 2 hours and I the silverware basket keeps falling off...If I were going to do it again I probably would not re-buy this one. I wanted the Bosh but it looked soooo small.

 

[disneymomto5]

Having had many dishwashers (all of which I hated), 2 years ago we built a home and got a Kenmore dishwasher. Not the elite but the absolute must have I think is get a stainless steel inside, it does an amazing job getting the dishes clean. Also, make sure to check the sprayers inside, if they are intrusive and big it will interfere with your dishes.

 

[almostfive]

We just replaced our GE profile with a Bosch 800 series with the top silverware rack. I LOVE it.... Worth every penny. I actually have to strain to hear any noise from it while it's running. I keep testing it with things like dried on oatmeal, cream cheese, peanut butter and everything comes out sparkling. The interior is a little smaller than I'm used to but seems better organized so I can fit just as much in. My main criteria when shopping was a delay timer which the Bosch has but I have yet to use it because it is so quiet that I don't mind running it during the day.

 

[zoemurr]

We just replaced our GE profile with a Bosch 800 series with the top silverware rack. I LOVE it.... Worth every penny. I actually have to strain to hear any noise from it while it's running. I keep testing it with things like dried on oatmeal, cream cheese, peanut butter and everything comes out sparkling. The interior is a little smaller than I'm used to but seems better organized so I can fit just as much in. My main criteria when shopping was a delay timer which the Bosch has but I have yet to use it because it is so quiet that I don't mind running it during the day.

The third rack is what is selling me I think. The kids use tons of tiny glass and plastic dishes for snacks and this looks great. I did think it looked smaller than our old one.. But I sure would like to stop washing everything twice.

 

[star72232]

I love our Bosch. It's a little smaller on the inside than the old Kenmore that I had, but the Kenmore was horrible. Loud as a plane taking off (could only run it at night!), the handle broke 3 times and it didn't get things clean. Horrible.

I took my dishes with me when I was looking at dishwashers. The sales guy thought I was crazy, but a lot of them actually didn't work with my dishes!