I'm in the same boat - Whirlpool 18 months old the motherboard just died. It had heated dry but now doesn't work at all. Kitchen Aid is now made by Whirlpool as is Maytag... so why would I pay $900 for KA when it's basically the same as the $400 Whirlpool. I ordered a Bosch to be delivered tomorrow, but I am having second thoughts after reading the thread here about "help me love my bosch dishwasher".. I'm really concerned that I have made a bad choice now but I can't think of what other brand in my price range would be worthwhile, Samsung has similar complaints about not having a heated dry.

KA has been made by Whirlpool for as long as I've known. The only way I can compare it is to think about Toyota/Lexus or Honda/Acura. Yes, it's a dressed up Whirlpool but I do believe that the guts are different in some ways. We've had our KA for 8 or 9 years now and I will get another one when this one goes kaput. Ours has the stainless tub. It washes better than any I've ever had, dries,is quiet, and has been problem-free.

KitchenAid dishwashers were segued into Whirlpool's mechanical design in the mid 1990s. From the 1950s until then, KA was not related to Whirlpool in any way.

Unfortunately, KA seems to be the best reviewed of the American style dishwashers with the heated dry.

I feel the same way. I was so excited when Viking brought out theirs because it had every feature I wanted, including great racks and heated dry. Not so much. There's a puffer that blows warm air. There's a Miele that has something like that too. That's decidedly not heated dry. They took it back. I really hate the racks in the KA (really, in all Whirlpools) though many people like them just fine, and I had to choose something from the same store for my replacement, so ended up with the Monogram. The racks could be better and hold more, but are okay. It actually dries on Plastics cycle/Added Heat/Heated dry. But it doesn't wash all that well on Plastics and I don't recommend any GE.

Dishwashers nowadays are just danged annoying. I wish I had better info for you, but if you find something that both washes well and dries well on the same cycle I'd be glad to know of it.

We have a basic 4-cycle Monogram, ZBD6920***. I specifically wanted heated drying, and a grinder, which this model has.

Without heated dry on, it runs a fan for up to 4 hours after wash has ended. With heated dry enabled, it extends the wash time from 8 to 38 minutes depending on the cycle, and runs a fan for up to 2 hours after wash has ended.

It washes and dries my dishes without problem on the normal cycle with the heated dry option on, and it's pretty quiet. I first tried it without heated dry, and that didn't work so well. FYI- I do not wash plastics in dishwashers, so can't comment on that aspect. No reason why I don't, just never have.

When I read about people's experiences with the drying ability of various dishwashers, I wonder how much of an effect the local humidity levels might have. I would guess that an arid climate would really help the drying ability of a dishwasher.

The only thing I don't like about our dishwasher was how much it cost, but that was my choice.

We have a Kenmore Elite (not certain who actually makes it, never checked)that washes fine and dries excellent.
It was originally black but I bought a stainless door skin for it last year. We have had it at least 7-8 years without a problem.
It is very quiet also and has a stainless interior.

We have a top of the line Whirlpool which never dried a dish in it's life. I would never, ever buy another Whirlpool product because of it. We use rinse aid, the house is climate controlled and the repairman was out a number of times. Never dried dishes. I will be so glad when our remodel is done and the new Miele is in place. It was an expensive dishwasher, even buying it as a floor model, however we use the dishwasher more than anything other than the frig and I'm tired of messing around with poor results.

Good luck with your search.

Thanks for the tips so far. We currently have all 20 y.o. appliances that amazingly have worked really well to date. Just now starting to die. DW is KA Superba from back then. Reasonably quiet, washes and dries. Does streak glassware, but that is probably b/c we don't use RinseAid. Good to hear the Kenmore is working, but fear that today's products won't hold up the same as those of 7-8 yrs ago.

I never thought buying appliances would be this hard.

I am on my 5th Miele dishwasher, in all of the homes we have lived in, in the past almost 20 years! EVERY item is dried after the cycle is completed. Even plastics. The only time I will find anything wet, is if a coffee mug, or mixing bowl has a very deep indent on the bottom, and water actually pools there. I cannot say enough praise about Miele dishwashers. Quiet, reliable, no rinsing needed, everything is left polished, smooth and clean. And bone dry!!! I have the La Perla II. The La Perla III is now available.

I have a 60 series KA and it is works great. It dries even the plastics (we do use rinse aid). It is so quiet we sometimes open it by accident when a cycle is going. The glasses have never been cleaner. The only downside is the long wash/dry cycle...

The Miele system depends on rinse aid. The surfactant breaks the surface tension of the water and makes it let go of the dishes more readily. The way the Euro style work is that they use the retained heat in the metals and crockery, including the steel tub, to evaporate the water (with its broken surface tension), the tub, cooling more quickly than the middle, combined with the retained heat of the dishes, sets up a convection, where the air moves, and the steam condenses on the steel tub and drips down, or leaves through a vent. Some have fans to assist this. If there isn't enough retained heat in the dishes, however, this doesn't work, and if the dishes cool faster than the tub, the water condenses on them instead. It works really well if you use the proper chemicals (inc. rinse aid) and have the right mass. It works better on a full load, which is also more resource efficient. It doesn't not work really quickly, however, but even the heated dry machines don't work quickly anymore.

No dishwasher is going to dry the pools in the upturned lips of mugs/bowls/containers. I don't know of many people who expect them to.

Re humidity, my house is pretty neutral most of the time. (I have a hygrometer.) I can't avoid plastics, however, because my fancy Italian flatware has acrylic handles. I am not hand drying the flatware. Not. I also use plastic containers in the freezer, so often have them as well.

WARNING: Ovens nowadays are also ridiculous. It used to be that a "basic" oven would cook basic stuff normally. Nowadays, ovens, as well as dishwashers, are created for energy savings first and good operation way down the list. There are some good ones, but you also can get unworkable things like ovens that turn off as soon as you open the door to tend to the food, and thereby lose so much internal temperature that they flip into preheat mode to regain their levels, ruining the food in the process.

While there are wonderful innovations at the forward end, the broad spectrum of appliances twenty years ago was far superior in terms of just doing what they were meant to do.

I have a year old Kitchenaid that dries and I LOVE it. You can turn the drying option on or off and it's so quiet that we also frequently open it when it's running. We're doing a new build and will probably get another one for there.

I think we'll probably end up with a KA 40 series. Don't really know if it is worth spending more for the 50 or 60. Miele sounds good, but just can't justify the expense. Bosch I fear will frustrate me - lack of space (4 kids), wet plastic. And no, I definitely don't expect indented glass bottoms, etc to be dry. But we use lots of plastic for the lunch boxes -- we don't use any disposable stuff.

I can sympathize with you. I just posted my issue on what to replace my electrolux dw with. I have done so much research it is making my head spin. I reaearched Bosch and have attached a review I have read which has made my decision not to get a Bosch. K.A. Kude 70 series have side vent and does leave moisture on cabinet. So not good problem there. Meile seems the best choice as it does have a fan to aide drying and seems plastics dry fine in Meile. It is the cost that one must wirpgh out. I would say stay away from electrolux, made by Frigidaire. K.a. Is made by whirlpool. If not for side vent, that may have been a good choice. I like you am hoping to find an answer, will let you know if I find something

http://www.bosch-home.ca/en/SHX58E15UC.html?source=search

Sorry sent wrong link for bosh review as well not sure how to attach link. Have put it here but apologize if it doesn't take you there. It is found at www. appliancebuyersguide.com

http://appliancebuyersguide.com/bosch-dishwasher-review-800-series/

Not sure what you think is "iffy" about a KA. We have had the 60 series for almost a year and it is by far the best appliance I have ever bought and I have had a lot of top-of-the-line appliances. Everything comes out shining clean including burned on casseroles, dries even plastic, love the cutlery tray and would get the 60/70 series just to have that feature. We have no steam problem from the vent. I can't say enough how terrific this KA dw is. No negatives at all. It's so quiet I have to look to see if the little blue light is on to know if it is running. The drying cycle can be used or not as you choose.

We have an LG (LDF6920ST) for almost 3 years. It is rated horrible for repairs in Consumer Reports, but we've had no problems, and it cleans and dries great for us. We only have to use a dish towel on the bottoms of coffee mugs. It is all stainless tub, hidden controls (so I assume it could accept a panel), and we use a rinse aid. It holds probably 50% more dishes than our old one, and it's super quiet. Average cycles run 2 hours. We use it 2-3 times per week.

We are a family of six also and just replaced our 15 y/o Kenmore dishwasher a week after Thanksgiving. That DW was SO loud and was no longer cleaning dishes (I was practically washing them by hand b/f putting into the DW and they still didn't come out clean). I had been looking at the Kitchen Aid Kude 60/70 for a while, the one with the third rack for cutlery but wasn't sure I wanted a DW w/o a grinder after reading about having to clean the grinder of nastiness. However, a local appliance store had a door buster sale on Black Friday on a KUDE20FXSS. It was basically the same as the 60 w/o the third rack and two or three other features. I decided that the third rack and few extra features were not worth it for the $700-800 in savings I'd get with the KUDE20FXSS (the KUDE60 wasn't on sale). I had a 30 minute window to decide and decided to get it.

We've had it about 6 weeks now and I absolutely LOVE IT! I have put in stoneware with caked on dried potatoes, flatware with melted cheese on the tines, dishes with dried marinara sauce and even leaving them in the DW for more than 24 hours, they came out sparkling clean. The DW is also so quiet that I can barely tell when it's on (I usually have to look and see if the light is on). I cannot believe I waited so long to get a new dishwasher. While it would have been nice to get the DW with the cutlery rack, I am totally happy with the one I have. With a family of six, I really needed something I could rely on. Oh, I forgot to mention that I wash a lot of reusable plastics (my kids take glad ware/ziplock containers in their lunch every day) and they come out completely dry. With my old DW, they always were wet and I'd have to lay them on a towel by the sink after removing them from the DW and let them dry overnight. Soooo nice not to have to worry about wet things coming out of the DW now. As for not having a grinder, I have not had any issues with the filter being filled with yuck. I scrape the dishes (not rinse) but there hasn't been anything in the filter when I've checked so that turned out to be a nonissue).

We went with the KA KUDE10 and love them. I couldn't see paying extra $$$ for a few extra cycles, those "scrubber sprays" and a top rack cutlery tray. The 10 series has heavy duty wash, regular wash, 1 hr wash, hi-temp scrub, rinse only, heated dry option, control lockouts & they're quiet. I put everything in there on the 1 hr cycle with no prerinsing and everything comes out perfectly clean--even casserole dishes with baked on cheese. My plastics are always dry unless they have a lip along the bottom and they get set in completely flat vs. at an angle. Do note that the KAs have a vent on the side vs the front or top. Supposedly the vent doesn't open until 6hrs after the dry cycle finishes unless someone opens the door before that time (which in my house almost always happens) and then the vent will open then allowing warm moist air to escape. To help prevent condensation build up, it is wise to leave the cabinet adjacent to the vent at least slightly open to increase airflow. Good luck!

With the filter, you'll clean it about once or twice a year.

Ok. After reading everyone's input I'm feeling better about the KA. But, @weedmeister - even if I don't have to clean the filter often, what is the advantage of having it over a hard food disposer? Trying to sort that out....

I don't think I need the cutlery tray and 49 dba vs 46 dba doesn't bother me, so leaning towards the 30 series. Anyone have that?

mimi- I have a 60 series KA with the side vents and I can say I have never once seen a single drop of water on my cabinetry next to it. I have a fully integrated style with inset cabinetry, essentially the worst type of cabinet for what you would describe as moisture build up. From what I can tell those side vents might be inlet vents since there is a third vent below the front panel that allows moisture to escape. It would make sense that the air comes in from the sides and exits the bottom into the kitchen. I do not know if KA changed their design in the last few years but I would HIGHLY recommend this DW and would suggest to anyone to disregard concerns of moisture on cabinets....

I know you said Miele is out of your price range, but I will recommend it anyway in case someone else stumbles on this thread. I was worried about it not having a heating element. The worries are totally unfounded. My mom-in-law visited for Christmas and liked my new Miele dishwasher. She told me: "I hate those dishwashers that don't have a heated dry. I need that." Imagine her surprise when I told her the Miele doesn't have it. She'd been unloading the dishes for a few days and commenting on how clean, dry, and spot-free the dishes are. I live in a very dry climate, though, and I do wash a lot of china, pots, and glasses. However, even the plastic items I do wash come out bone dry.

Hi Emilner, thank you for feedback on your K.A. The moisture from vent was discussed on another thread by fivefootxero. I think the thread subject line said kitchen aid kude60.... Vs Bosch...he said he was having moisture problems from side vent and posted pictures showing etc. This really scared me away as I truly have no luck with appliances. If the ratio was set at 1 put of 1000 to have issues, I would end up with that one defective one. LOL . Which is why I try to do research before buying. On with my search. My gut feeling telling me to suck it up and buy Meile

Our Miele Optima Slimline with integrated controls was washing and drying like a champ. We used Cascade Complete and RinseAid with it and we don't have hard water. After one and a half years of happy usage, though, it just stopped working. 30 seconds into the cycle, it would stop and the Intake/Drain light would flash. We followed the troubleshooting steps for cleaning all the filters and even the water fill intake hose. No dice. A technician came this week and they need to replace the water fill switch - a $500 repair job because the part is expensive. Luckily, we purchased the extended warranty so it won't cost us. Fingers crossed, it will be repaired and working again on Tuesday. Even with this experience, I would buy a Miele again in a heartbeat but I would also buy an extended warranty. HTH.

Well I have run 3 loads in the Bosch so far and I am very happy. Dishes are completely dry after the run. I set it to the extra hot rinse (not a button but a command described in the owners manual set on or off until told otherwise) partly to help the drying and partly because we have super hard water and rinsing with hot helps prevent limescale. I use the powerscrub cycle which is the hottest wash water for the same reason. I don't open the machine until the sanitized light comes on. Only water left were a few puddles in lips of containers, concave bottom of mugs that I would always get even with the Whirlpool which had heated dry. No spots, streaks and NO food particles left at all despite no prerinse! (Whirlpool did not clean well)

@tinan -- which model of Bosch did you get. I'm waivering. Does anyone have the KA 30 or 40 series to comment on? Turns out my neighbor has a

Happy New Year
I will put in a plug for Miele also. The cost is higher but it is a good dishwasher. Our model pops open about an inch at the end of the cycle to finish the dry cycle.
I am always amazed at how much I can pack into the dishwasher 12-14 place settings (or more depending on how many glasses you put into the machine. I love the silverware tray - others don't like it - but I like the clean silverware.
You can save water by not rinsing the dishes (the manual says don't rinse and I take that literally!)
The other night - my DH left the dishes on the counter and I had dried on split pea soup and turkey gravy on everything. I just popped the dishes in the machine and everything came up clean including the pot. (OK - one fork, had one speck of dirt on it)
When I went hunting for dishwashers, I showed up at the showroom with a box of pots, plates, and serving platters to fit inside. I had no intention of purchasing a Miele but walked out with the Miele (figuratively)
We usually don't buy extended warranties but did on the dishwasher.
Be sure to have it installed by a Miele rep
Good luck!

I vote kitchenaid. Make sure you choose one that has the " ProDry " option.

We have the GE Monogram DW for a year and a half now. It's our very first DW EVER and my husband and I are very pleased with it. We don't have any odd shaped dishes, and are only 2 people. I don't know any better since this is my first DW but I'm happy enough with the racks and the way you can load everything. So far in the year and a half it has cleaned as well as I can ever hope for. It dries very well. Yes there are little puddles on the bottom sides of the coffee mugs and sometimes the tupperware does have water in the rims, but that doesn't bother me too much. I keep a towel nearby and quickly wipe the water away. It has a light inside that turns on automatically when you open the door, which I'm thankful for cause it's dark in there.We're just so glad to not have to hand was anymore and the Monogram is working as well as we'd like it too. And it looks nice.

6inthefarm, we have the SHE43P05, it has very simple options, I have been using "power scrub" because it uses the hottest water and we have very hard water and the extra-dry heat option (this is a hidden option you have to hold down cancel button and press power button to set it on, then it stays on until you turn it off so it will be on permanantly on ours).

I am very happy with the performance so far - 6 loads have been run. I am not doing ANY pre-rinse (just scrape off chunks) and the dishes are sparkling clean and dry even the glass canning jars with raw meat cat food not rinsed out, and stainless steel pots and glasses and blender that has smoothies (usually the fruit pulp was never cleaned off by the Whirlpool even if we pre-rinsed).

I was scared I would hate the no-heated dry but everything is totally dry - which is more than I could say for theWhirlpool with the heated dry on!

As for longevity, we will see - we didn't go for the extended warranty for $180 but at east parts are covered for 5 years including electronics.

Here is a link that might be useful: our model

grinder vs filter: grinder is louder. And I would also say that it doesn't care for hard items like broken glass or bone (don't ask me how I know this).

Have a five year old Bosch and really hate it. Does not clean well and the bottom rack is falling apart. I have a SHV 66Ao3UC/14 and it is really a piece of garbage. All the tines on the bottom rack fall down. We have replaced all the little bits and pieces to no avail. The only way it cleans half way decently is with the Cascade Complete packets. Replacing the bottom rack is $150. For $1100 it should be better... We should be able to load the plates in the dishwasher.

I had a Bosch that we bought in 2001 and when we moved it was my favorite thing to leave at our old house! It rarely cleaned dishes, left residue, often had standing water in bottom (yes I cleaned out the filter). And yet, when we were redoing our new kitchen I felt like everyone was pushing the Bosch. (I don't like he racking systems in the Miele as much as I have tried to during our 2 years of planning).

Today was final decision today so I went to the local high end appliance store. When our salesman found I was not married to one brand, he said that his recent (over the past year) favorite was the KitchenAid Superba 60. It felt SO much sturdier than the Bosch, Miele or Asko. NOTE: If your counters are 24" deep and you want a panel ready model, these are the only three models that will ensure a "built-in" seamless look).

He said some resist the high end KA because the want the "high end" DW brands, but he has fewer problems and more excellent reviews from the Kitchen Aid. The house we moved into has a 40 year old KA (yes, I know, they are made my entirely different companies, but still...) so we are going to give it a try. It has the three racks (my least favorite part of the Miele, but the rest of the racking system isn't as wacky), the silverware tray can be removed. The upper rack moves up and down so easily.

He also mentioned that the KUD30 was the best "value" - had the most features and was still fairly quiet. We decided on the 60 because it was quieter and we are getting two (and expect that there will be many times when both are running at the same time) and it seemed to have an upgraded drying system and a sturdier rack system.