Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
brightm

Which Miele DW? Or FP Drawers?

brightm
9 years ago

I've heard such good things about Miele DW's, but I'm a little overwhelmed by all the choices. Anyone have one that's new-ish that they love and would recommend or ideas on features that are musts or ok-to-do-withouts?

I'm also not sure if they'll be changing in July like the Speed Ovens.

Long version: Our kitchen reno will start in July. We've got most appliances on order. We're holding out to see about the new Miele speed oven.

The plan had been to keep the not-so-old Samsung DW. Then we thought we'd get FP Dish Drawers. That's the current plan. But I've read so much negative stuff about them, I'm getting scared. They seem like a good fit for us. Just the two of us. Would be nice to run just one more often than waiting for full DW to fill.

Then again, if I can wash more stuff in DW and less by hand, maybe I can run a full DW more often? And I've read such good stuff about Miele DWs that it seems like it'd be a big improvement over the Samsung.

Comments (19)

  • xc60
    9 years ago

    We have the (DCS) FP dishdrawers in our new home and they are simply amazing! We have only been using them just under two months so no long term experience with them but we are so happy we got them. It is so nice to do a quick load, no longer having to always bend way down to load, unload... And our dishes have never been so clean. As long as FP keeps making the dishdrawers they will always be in our homes, it would be hard to go back to the regular style now.

    The Mieles are also great dishwashers so you can't go wrong either way.

  • sas95
    9 years ago

    We have a Miele that we bought recently when our 2-1/2 year old KA died. We have the base model with no bells and whistles. But we did get the cutlery rack, which I love. I highly recommend Miele. I don't miss the extra features, but our KA was loaded with features we never used. The desire/need for features is such an individual thing. I was concerned at first that this model did not have a glassware/crystal cycle, but I have run my reasonably good wine glasses and other drinkware on the regular cycle with no issues.

    Another thing I like about the Miele is that it is a bit smaller than standard American branded dishwashers. We are a two-person household as well. The KA fit much more, but because of this we only ran it twice a week or so. We fill and run the Miele much more frequently, and I prefer not having the dirty dishes sitting in there all week.

  • Fori
    9 years ago

    Miele probably cleans better and quieter.

    I'm on my 3rd set of DDs (they didn't die--I moved) and won't go back to a shinbanging dishwasher door again.

  • dodge59
    9 years ago

    See how many Negative Miele DW reviews you can find, (Hint they are hard to find).

    See how many negative F&P DW negative reviews you can find~~~~(Now wasn't that much easier)?????

    That should answer your question?ÿ?

    Gary

  • hvtech42
    9 years ago

    If you do go Miele, the choices certainly can be overwhelming... I was seriously considering them not too long ago. First you have to decide whether you want front or top controls. That knocks off half the models to choose from. I wanted front controls so I could monitor the cycle, I could care less whether or not the dishwasher blends into the cabinets 100%. Then you decide whether you want a factory applied color or integration into your cabinetry. Knocks off a bunch more models. Then you look at features. I ended up going with another brand, but from my research, it seemed like you got the most for your dollar in Miele by stepping one above the bottom of the line (still staying in the "Classic" series). The only difference between that model and the bottom of the line is the addition of a cutlery tray. None of the bells and whistles like self opening door, self closing door, lighted interior, or 50 different cycles, but you get the core Miele features, build quality, reliability, and performance.

  • nycbluedevil
    9 years ago

    I got the Miele Diamond. It was a last minute upgrade and I am glad I did it. I love the LED lights and the auto close feature. And of course the 3D cutlery rack, but you can get that on the Dimension, which is one model below. Before this, I had another Miele for 13 years. It never gave me a day of trouble. The only thing I didn't like on the old one were the front controls because the buttons were hard to keep clean.

    What is new about the Miele speed oven, other than it now coming in white? Have I missed somethng?

  • brightm
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks all.

    My understanding is that the US will be getting the new Pure Line and Contour Line appliances that were released to the rest of the world last fall/winter.

    I've looked at the speed ovens on both the UK and Canada sites. I guess I'll do that for DW's too.

    We're likely going to a Miele design center tomorrow. We'll see what we can find out.

    ETA: Canada seems to have the same DW as the US right now, but UK has 6000 models. Hmmm.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Miele UK Speed Oven (microwave combination)

    This post was edited by cal_quail on Fri, Jun 13, 14 at 21:50

  • fauguy
    9 years ago

    I believe the US is going to get the 6000 series later this year.

  • brightm
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    The woman at the Miele center said she didn't think we were getting new DWs here. I don't really believe her since there is a pic of the new DW in the line overview brochure we got.

    I have a good idea of the differences between the current different models now.

    I'm not sure what we'll do. We're currently thinking Dimension. It looks like the handle will be similar enough to the new Contour line that I'd be good with it. The only thing that would make me sad is if we paid for the Dimension and later the new models came out and a lower model had the extra features for less.

    This post was edited by cal_quail on Sat, Jun 14, 14 at 21:55

  • zwizzle
    9 years ago

    I'm afraid I can't help you with your question since I'm another convert to the Dish Drawers. I've had mine for almost 4 years now and as Fori noted above, the ergonomics of loading and unloading from the drawer are so superior to having the single large drop-down door, aka "shinbanger"

    I was a bit hesitant to get the drawers since I'd read so many negative reviews, but the dealer who sold and had them installed said he has 2 sets in his own home and that most of the problems are with incorrect installation or improper use.

    Pros: Mine are very quiet and the dishes and flatware come out clean, clean, clean. Perfect solution for a two-person household. I don't put my cookware in the drawers so I don't mind that huge items don't fit (many of them didn't fit in my old dishwasher either)

    Cons: Bottom drawer is not convenient. If I had the space and layout, I would split the drawers rather than stack them so that both open at countertop level.

  • sjhockeyfan325
    9 years ago

    I had the dish drawers in my previous home - installed in 2006. I assume they've come a long way since then, but mine were extremely problematic (constantly breaking). . I promised myself I'd never get a regular dishwasher again because of the superior ergonomics of [at least the top] drawers. However, I now have a new 800 series Bosch, and while I still hate bending down, this dishwasher is far far better - it cleans better, it's quieter and it holds tons more than the dish drawers (which I thought held pretty much nothing).

  • dadoes
    9 years ago

    The latest DishDrawer revision has much improved racking with fold-down tines and the four side shelves are height-adjustable.

    My DD603 dates to August 2003. No repairs thus far. The backlight on the upper drawer's LCD panel went out within the past month but that doesn't prevent the unit from working. I haven't yet decided if I'll replace the part.

    As was stated above, much of the "chronic" trouble some people have with DishDrawers comes from installation errors (the two-hose drain connector must be oriented properly to ward-off backflow) and to a smaller degree from usage errors (such as items blocking the drawer lid from sealing).

    That being said, they aren't suitable for everyone's "dishwasher lifestyle" but are quite nice when the match is appropriate.

  • jeff_999
    9 years ago

    The FP Dishdrawer is a fantastic concept, especially if you install two drawers under counter instead of stacking them. However the product is junk, and I recommend that you stack them, and include an extra inch of space in the width of the install, because they are slightly narrower than a conventional dishwasher, and if you change your mind you can't replace the side by side installation with a regular d/w.

    I bought a double dishdrawer unit, loved it for 6 months. Then it started breaking, despite proper use on my part. Repairs were expensive and continued long after I was out of warranty. After $1500 of repairs I gave up and bought a mid range Miele, which is so quiet I have to look at he lights to see if it's on, and it cleans dishes really really well.

    If you get the FP be sure to install it so that you will be able to switch to Miele once you're sick of repair costs.

    Or just get a Miele, I think that they're the best dishwashers out there by far.

  • brightm
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks all. We've settled on the Miele. Haven't ordered it yet (will over the next couple days).

  • schicksal
    9 years ago

    This may sound nuts... Depending on what you want to do with pulls, if you absolutely want none at all, not even a wide finger pull, I would be tempted to find pretty much any dishwasher and install it for temporary use until the ones with knock to open arrive. We're doing finger pulls and just installed a wider one on the dishwasher, but there are some out there who want none anywhere and a dishwasher can get in the way of that.

    Otherwise, changes to the layout and features seem to be quite minor compared to the current models and I'd recommend just buying one of those.

  • brightm
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I saw the knock to open on the UK site (I think). It's pretty cool, but we're just doing stainless and it'll go well enough with the new speed oven, it appears.

    We're planning on going with Dimension. I can't recall all the reasons why. I think only that and Diamond have the hard water deal, but we didn't see any extra features we had to have on Diamond.

    That being said, I think we'll visit Miele in San Francisco this weekend and see what they have to say about the new models.

    We could definitely wait. We're giving the Samsung and several appliances to MIL/FIL. They moved this past year and aren't ready for a full kitchen reno yet, but what we're not using is better than what they've got. And their dishwasher doesn't work at all. So we could delay giving it to them. If it was the fridge, washer or dryer, I could see waiting because theirs work. But with it being the dishwasher which doesn't...I feel weird keeping it longer. And I want everything new in my kitchen at once.

    They'll have to really wow me. :)

  • fillmoe
    9 years ago

    We bought a Miele DW last year because it both fit our limited vertical opening and it was white. The machine is blissfully quiet and does an excellent job cleaning - when the water can get to the surface of the dish.

    This is my issue: The racks are configured for plates and short cups, such as those used for small European cups of coffee. We use lots of deep soup and dessert bowls and tallish coffee mugs. When we load, we lose a lot of valuable rack space because the bowls have to be spread out instead of loaded consecutively in racks.

    Oh well, we still couldn't get the Miele into the space and ended up getting new counters, which I had raised up higher than the old ones, so we'll manage with this one and will have more choices if we buy another DW.

  • saeyedoc
    9 years ago

    Ordered a Dimension G5675SCSF today, dummy salesman didn't mention that I had to use their Concierge installation to get an extra 4 years warranty until I asked about it. Got the clean touch steel, went with the integrated since we can switch to panel if we decide to go that way when we do our remodel. Needed it now, the old one died.
    Nice thing is that while I was in there, I found they have a demo Eurodesign Steam Combi and 30" oven that I was able to get for 30% off to make room for the new ones coming in. Won't be able to use them for close to a year, but they said they'll hold onto them for us.

  • saeyedoc
    9 years ago

    Oh, forgot to mention, that I asked about new dishwashers, and they said they weren't getting any new models, just the ovens.