FWIW, I've had WP dishwashers at several locations for more than twenty years. They've all worked fine....as do the machines of every other brand....unless something's not working right.

Have you always been dissatisfied with this machine or is this something recent?

Miele Futura Classic Series G4225SS $999

You don't need a special outlet. It comes with a regular plug instead of just wires to hardwire. You can cut the plug and hardwire to the house electric system if you want to but there is no need. Sometimes there is no plug in the dishwasher area and an electrician needs to install one but this is cheap to do, particularly if doing other electrical work already.

You don't need an air gap like most dishwashers but you can install one if your locality mandates it.

It is best that you scrape but NOT RINSE.

Modern day detergents use enzymes.

Enzymes need something to work against if not they can damage finishes on dishes.

My casserole dishes with burnt cheese and potatoes come out perfectly clean in my Miele dishwasher in the pots and pans setting.

BTW The water/electricity hog dishwashers from WP and other American brands from 20 years ago have little to nothing in common with todays low water low electricity use dishwashers.

This post was edited by deeageaux on Tue, Mar 11, 14 at 15:37

FWIW...one of my WP's is two years old. It works fine, too. OP's machine is less than two years old...and something's apparently wrong with it. I doubt OP's complaint has to do with old-tech vs. new-tech.

Regardless, new machines are always nice.

my model wdf530ply does not clean well. i have tried different kinds of detergent with no real improvement. 2 days ago it emitted a burning electrical smell. now after searching online i am seeing other whirlpool,ka and kenmore washers are catching on fire! i am definitely not using it again. i will call whirlpool tomorrow but looks like they are not doing much and since it'
out of warranty, i am not paying to fix it.

I doubt OP's complaint has to do with old-tech vs. new-tech.

I doubt OP would have complaint if it was a new 1975 WP machine.

Old WP used a lot of water and electricity but cleaned really well, cleaned quickly and did not catch fire.

Some will insist that the cheapest of WP new dishwashers clean extremely well. That has not been my experience.

Old WP used a lot of water and electricity but cleaned really well, cleaned quickly and did not catch fire. Any electrical appliance can catch fire under the right conditions.