Looking for Dishwasher Opinions

[MaryJ]

Hi,

We are thinking about replacing our 14+ year old dishwasher. I know I do not want a Whirlpool as I can't stand having the silverware rack in the door! My daughter has one and I don't like having to close the lower rack to put in three spoons, then open the rack to load a plate, close it again when a fork mysteriously shows up, etc.

My biggest question involves whether or not to get a dishwasher with a food disposer in it or not. Our last two have had them, but the salesman at one of the stores I went to said that the disposal is what causes the decibel levels to go up. DH would really like to have a quieter dishwasher this time, so for those of you that DON'T have a disposer, how much of a pain is it to clean the filter (or whatever it's called) once in a while. Also, for those of you that have a Bosch, it doesn't have a heated drying option. Do your dishes always come out wet?

TIA!

 

[MaryJ]

Bump

 

[Binnie]

I recently replaced an old GE with a Kenmore. It has the disposal, but it's sooooo very much quieter than our old one, I wouldn't be able to tell if it were a little louder because of it.

My silverware rack isn't in the door (I could see that being annoying!), but it is at the rear of the washer so I have to pull the bottom rack out to get anything in, but I can live with that. The only major downside to this one is that I can't put any tall implements in the silverware rack, which I could with the old one. They have to go in the upper rack.

When I was researching I was convinced I wanted a Bosch because of how quiet they are. But the trade-off for the quiet is that they're a little smaller than others when you see them in person.

 

[Nelfamily]

We just went a few days ago to look at new dishwashers. The one we have is leaking water at the motor and soaking the floor.

We were told that the ones with the disposer, you shouldn't pre-rinse your dishes due to the dishwasher is designed to wash your dishes with the food still on them so it sprays harder and could etch your dishes if they are cleaned prior to your wash cycle. Not sure how that's supposed to work, but that's what we were told. The wife says that cleaning the filter is a pain in the butt. They also said that you will spend more water rinsing the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher vs. the amount of water your dishwasher will use doing the same thing. Also, the difference in the tubs, metal vs. plastic can make a difference whether your dishes might be slightly wet after the drying cycle. The metal tubs will hold heat in better and dry the dishes more thoroughly than the plastic tub machines. Basically what we found out was the middle of the road machines, about $400 to $700, is where we want to be as far as water usage and noise levels. There are some higher end washers that will occasionally spray steam on your dishes to keep the food particles from becoming cement on your dishes until the washer cycle is started. Sounds really cool to me but with two kids, the dishwasher is filled fairly quickly so we would run it before the need for the steam function would become necessary. They also said with the newer machines, the noise levels are reduced more than the older ones but I would expect that the insulation would be improved over the years. They also said that the more you want to spend on a machine, the quieter it is.

I'm sure there is alot more information out there that I wouldn't even know about. Hope this helps some. The wife went to the Consumer Reports web site and said that it was very helpful.

 

[tvguy]

I have an entry level Bosch. It has a heated dry cycle built in to the "regular wash" cycle. It has a "Rinse and Hold" cycle, I assume it doesn't use heat then, I don't know, I've never used that cycle.

 

[elgerber]

I can't answer the second question, but I have a Whirlpool, and while my silverware rack can go in the door, it can also hook onto the lower rack instead. It still ends up in the same cutout space in the door, but it's attached to the rack. We never put it in the door.

 

[jama]

I recently bought a Samsung...b/c of the quietness factor...however I don't recommend it..it takes 3 hours for regular wash and it has a disposal but it doesn't work well..I clean the dishes before loading and they still don't come out clean..have had repair person out twice...they just clean out the filter thing..

 

[Molliday]

I don't know about food disposers in dishwashers, but if I can steer just one person away from buying a Frigidaire Professional series dishwasher, then I can die in peace.

The top rack repeatedly comes off of the rail, and the sprayer at the top of the dishwasher spins itself loose constantly - one time falling to the bottom and landing on the heating element, where it burned.

We called and complained numerous times, but apparently there's no fix to either problem.

 

[mom2aandj]

we have a Bosch; it is a little smaller than our previous Kitchenaid, SO incredibly quiet, and the dishes and silverware come out completely dry, but plastic, like Tupperware, is a little wet.

 

[Abbie]

It's so funny how people want different things! Our old dishwasher had the silverware rack on the door and I liked that. Our new one has the basket on the bottom rack and I HATE that! I have to pull the bottom rack all the way out just to shove in a utensil. Plus it takes up way too much space on the rack. Wish it were on the door.

We got a Bosch and while I did a little research, I just wanted to be done with it so we just went and got it. The dishes do NOT dry. I don't mind that too much because we generally try to let them air dry anyway but it's a pain. The bottom rack has the rungs very slanted and I still can't figure out the best way to load it. The only good part is that I can run an abbreviated wash, so it can be totally done in less than an hour and it's extremely quiet.

Google reviews of what you're looking at so you can get an idea of pros/cons! The Bosch is known for the non-drying issue and I should have paid more attention to it.

 

[RNMOM]

I have a Kenmore and it is made by Whirlpool. I wanted a Whirlpool as one I had years ago was very much better than the old Maytag our house came with and the Frigidaire we replaced that one with. I HATED the Frigidaire. Never again.

Mine has a stainless inside and has the disposal. It is very quiet. My complaint is the detergent. Since they have taken the phosphates out of it my dishes have been all spotty and have residue on them. We have had to beging using the sani wash which heats the water to 140 degrees and uses more energy. Defeats the purpose of having an efficient machine. I guess we can't win. BTW I do use a rinse aid and Cascade detergent.

Try going on Sears or Lowes and doing a search for the features you want. They will give you some options and might help you decide. Remember, it is impossible to compare from store to store as the numbers are all jumbled and they put different features on machines for different stores. it is really rediculous.

 

[golfgal]

We have a Kenmore and it works great. The silverware rack can be placed on any of the sides of the bottom rack, which is a nice feature but we usually keep it in the front. It takes up about 3/4ths of the width of the rack so there is room for long pans, etc. as well. Loading this dishwasher is nice too, lots of room to get everything in. It isn't the quietest though. We bought it not quite a year ago and didn't want to spend much on it because we are planning on redoing our kitchen in the next couple years and didn't know what we would use for appliances then. My parents have a Kitchen Aid that you can't even tell is running unless you look at the lights on the control panel.

 

[formill]

We have a Kenmore with disposal and really like it. It is our second Kenmore and had a GE in between that we hated- dishes were never clean-got rid of it after only a year it was that bad. We always make sure there is lots of wash levels- and this one has turbo wash- things at back where water can shoot out into a pot you put on bottom rack-you can select to use it or not. We have rented places where the dishwasher had only one spot on the bottom of the dishwasher for the water to come out- not sure how the top was ever supposed to get clean. This Kenmore has water very top, middle, bottom and the turbo at back. It is not very noisy but it has delay anyway so we usually set it to run in the night. Sears always showed on their website the noise levels of each dishwasher-standard to best.