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golddust

Dishwasher. Do you love yours?

golddust
10 years ago

I don't. I have a stupid Viking. The upper rack is missing whatever part keeps it from falling on the lower rack. Tines are broken on the lower rack. It is well past time for another and it has only been 9 years.

What dishwasher do you have? Would you recommend I buy one?
What dishwasher are you planning to buy when yours goes south?

I'm leaning toward a Bosch but nothing is perfect. I've read some poor reviews about them all - which is why I still have my terrible Viking. It's getting ridiculous now and I need to buy something.

Please tell me about your dishwasher.


What about the drawer kind? Any info will help.

Comments (49)

  • nanny2a
    10 years ago

    I have a mid-line Kitchenaid that I bought last year when my other one, (a GE Profile), went south after only 3 years. I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this machine, it works perfectly, handles all kinds of yucky, baked on crud, and cleans everything to a shine.

  • trailrunner
    10 years ago

    I have the Bosch ...SHU66. I love it ! It is now 7 yrs old and always works perfectly. It is quiet..not completely silent at the end when the water goes out of the drain you can hear a gurgle...but I don't need anything as pricey as the Miele. All items are clean and I run it at night and in the AM everything is perfectly dry..all plastic too. All things are clean and I have never had any issues with it ever. I can definitely recommend it. c..oh and it has the internal water heater so it gets to the 165 degree without needing your regular water heater turned up..

  • roarah
    10 years ago

    I have kitchenaid dish drawers with a grinder and there is not a day that has gone by since I purchased them 2 years ago that I do not say to myself how much I love my dishdrawers! I do not rinse and barely even scrape and my dishes come out nicely and the drawers are so much easier on my back! I love, love, love my dishwsher:)

  • lascatx
    10 years ago

    Mine is Bosch and I'm very happy (except when DH loads so that water can't reach some of the dishes). About the time I got mine, Bosch also entered the budget DW market,and folks who buy less expensive models tend to be less happy with them. I think the best bang for the buck (quality, quiet operation, variety of cycles, etc) tends to be upper mid level to mid upper level. The very top tends to be pricey bells and whistles almost no one really needs other than to have the top of the line model.

  • Tmnca
    10 years ago

    I LOVE my Bosch! We had a fondue party last night and the baked-on cheese goo all went in there, came our sparkling clean this morning. No soaking pre-rinsing or scrubbing for us. It's also very quiet and water/energy efficient. Ours is a basic model from Best Buy, we paid about $600.

  • glaserberl
    10 years ago

    Bosch here too. Not sure which model because it is about 15 years old. Has not have a single repair and still works great.

  • gsciencechick
    10 years ago

    We have an LG with the hidden controls in SS. Model something like 6920. We've had NO problems in about 4 years, but Consumer Reports rates LG poorly, so not sure I'd recommend it overall.

    It cleans great and is quiet.

  • porkandham
    10 years ago

    We've had a Bosch for 9-10 years or so. Quiet. Cleans well. No issues. (Knock on wood!)

  • maire_cate
    10 years ago

    We've had our GE Profile with stainless tub for 7 years. Cleans beautifully and is so quiet that you have to put your ear next to the door to hear it run.

  • Fun2BHere
    10 years ago

    I have an 8-year-old Bosch. I don't know the model. It is quiet, but it doesn't do that good of a job cleaning, the labels for the hidden controls have rubbed off, and it takes forever to dry. My mother has a KitchenAid that heats the water, cleans everything and dries so hot that you can't touch the dishes right away. I like it much better than the Bosch.

  • erinsean
    10 years ago

    MIne is a Whirlpool....love it. I tried different dishwasher soap/detergents and found the Finish Gelcaps 4 in 1 work great.

  • erinsean
    10 years ago

    MIne is a Whirlpool....love it. I tried different dishwasher soap/detergents and found the Finish Gelcaps 4 in 1 work very good....dishes sparkle..

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    10 years ago

    At the old house, we had a whirlpool which I really liked except it wasn't as quiet as I'd like.

    We now have an electrolux and it works and seems halfway decent, but I don't like the shelf arrangement...somehow it seems you should be able to put in more dishes than you can. But it's been working fine so I'm thankful for that.

    We got one with the matching cabinet front and the controls on the door edge so our choice was more limited than if we got one with a regular panel.

  • dedtired
    10 years ago

    I could cut and pate what porkandham says. I love my 10 year old Bosch. Not one bit of trouble in all those years (knock,knock). I just scrape the dishes, barely rinse and the dishes come out squeaky clean. Same for casserole dishes,mixing bowls, etc. It is so quiet you can barely hear it.

  • hhireno
    10 years ago

    We had a 25 yo kitchenaide that was great, so when it was time to replace it, I bought another KA. I convinced my husband to spend the money, it was much more than many other brands, because the first one lasted so long. The 2nd one only lasted 8-10 years. And the 2nd one wasn't as quiet as the first one.

    The newest dw is a Miele, that I was able to get on clearance and with some extras thrown in (no tax, free delivery, free installation, free haul away). It is so quiet more than once someone (not me) opened the door to add something because they didn't know it was running.

    Check out the appliance forum, there are many helpful, knowledgable people over there.

  • Suzi AKA DesertDance So CA Zone 9b
    10 years ago

    Mine is a 10 year old Whirlpool, and I never had any problems with it until Cascade took the phosphates out of their detergent. I thought I'd try the little gel paks, but they work terrible! All my glasses have a fog on them, so I'm going back to the powder.

    New house will have a Kitchen Aid.

  • suero
    10 years ago

    Whatever you get, try it with your dishes to make sure they'll fit. I was thinking of getting a Bosch, but the tines are so close together that most of my dishes wouldn't fit. I got a KitchenAid because it has very flexible racks and my dishes fit. However, it doesn't clean as well as I would like. I would have gotten the high end model, which has concealed controls, but an appliance repairman warned against them because water tends to drip on the controls and shorts out the board. Replacing the board is expensive.

  • lynninnewmexico
    10 years ago

    We got a KitchenAid 6 years ago when we had our total kitchen gut and remodel . . . and we HATE, hate, hate it!!! We have the one with all the bells and whistles and feel it was a total waste of money. It has the top third rack, on which nothing gets cleaned. The food just bakes onto whatever you put up there. The racks started rusting ~badly~ after only 3 years. I've already replaced the rack inserts once, at a great expense, but the entire lower 2 main racks needs replacing because of rust issues. I will never, ever buy another KitchenAid dishwasher and would totally NOT recommend buying one.
    Lynn

  • nosoccermom
    10 years ago

    I have a 5-year old Maytag that's noisy, which I don't mind too much, but it also does a lousy job of cleaning, not to mention the gross goo that accumulates in the bottom. It's impossible to clean. And if you're grossed out easily, please don't read the next part.

    [Out dog precleans the dishes, or I wash by hand.]

  • Faux68
    10 years ago

    Kenmore Elite from Sears. We love it. I don't pre-wash. I use the hour cycle most often. They come out sparkling clean even on a quick cycle.

  • badgergal
    10 years ago

    Just posted this a little while ago on the kitchen forum so I am copying it here.
    I had a Bosch dishwasher in my previous home (after going through 2 Whirlpool ones within 10 years). When we moved into our current house we immediately changed out the previous owner's dishwasher for a new Bosch. Fast forward 10 years and we gave that Bosch dishwasher to a friend and installed a new panel ready 500 series Bosch in our remodeled kitchen. So in the past 18 plus years we have used 3 Bosch dishwasher and never had a problem or service call with any of them. I have had no issues with smells, condensation or anything else. They have all been super quiet, dishes have come out sparkling clean, no problems with drying and no concerns with the filter. I may be just extremely lucky but I love Bosch dishwashers.

  • funnygirl
    10 years ago

    Bosch. Four years old. Love. Quiet and cleans well. I don't rinse my dishes thoroughly (salespeople we talked to when shopping discouraged rinsing but it's in my DNA to rinse at least a little!) and am never disappointed.

    I considered the drawers, too. Read all the pros and cons and decided not to chance making a mistake with the unknown. However, I suspect I would have been happy with them too.

  • runninginplace
    10 years ago

    I have a Bosch too, which was an upgrade from the husband brand I had before...yes, I lived the first 20+ years in my house with no dishwasher.

    As others have said, it's a great machine. Very quiet, gets everything clean and my only slight complaint is the beep signal when it finishes. It repeats at intervals which is annoying. Then again if I wasn't too lazy to get out the manual and figure how to disable that, this would not be a problem.

    OT comment: my husband STILL tries to keep hand washing dishes. It irritates me because I know it is far more wasteful of hot water than the DW. So after dinner sometimes it looks like a Laurel & Hardy outtake with me grabbing plates and pans to shove in the DW while he tries to sneak over and start hand washing them. Ah, the joys of being longtime married....;)

  • awm03
    10 years ago

    I got a 3-rack Maytag ten years ago that I loved for its loading flexibility -- it would contort to hold anything & everything. It also had a terrific 28 minute express wash function, useful during parties when you need to restock the supply of clean dishes & utensils. Alas, it was not durable. There was a $5 water diverter flap that kept breaking -- it was shockingly flimsy, about like a Crackerjack toy. If the flap doesn't form a tight seal, then water doesn't come through the spray arms with enough force to clean dishes, and crud accumulates in the spray jets too. There were other mechanical problems too, but the recurring flap issue was the killer.

    When we looked for replacements, I narrowed it down to Kitchenaid & Miele, based on customer reviews. I examined the Kitchenaid, though, and it's built exactly like the old Maytag, including that problematic flap.

    So I bought the Miele -- over two years old now & zero mechanical problems, cleans beautifully. BUT I'm unhappy with the way it loads dishes. We eat from small, bulky bowls a lot, and there's very little loading space for that shape. The lower rack has a big gap in it so you can't load medium sized items lest they fall through it. Doesn't hold tall items or roasting pans unless you remove racks, then you're not left with space for dishes & glasses. Hardly any flexibility in the loading configuration. It has a flatware tray on top, which is nice. Filter requires manual cleaning. But on the whole, it's tough to load anything other than dinner plates and flatware.

    For just my husband & me, it's fine. But for a busy family, I wouldn't recommend it.

  • texanjana
    10 years ago

    Love our Bosch, very quiet.

  • Bumblebeez SC Zone 7
    10 years ago

    We are on our second Bosch in 13 years, bought the second one about 18 months ago. But they get heavy duty use, minimum of one wash each day, many times 2 or more.
    Both had/have stainless tubs and cost around a thousand on sale at Sears. They are fantastic and ultra quiet.

  • kellyeng
    10 years ago

    We have two Miele dishwashers. The very best feature is that they truly are whisper quiet. You have to strain to hear them. They are five years old and not one mechanical issue. They clean well - not fantastic, but well enough.

    Cons: The kickplates are plastic and break easily. Also, like awm03, the loading is not optimal. If you are DW loading challenged like DH, you're not going to get too many dishes is there. I do a pretty good job but sometimes I have to do some re-arranging to get the most space out of them.

  • chispa
    10 years ago

    Very happy with the Miele we installed 2 years ago. It replaced a 10 year old kitchen aid that came with the house and didn't clean too well. The Miele is the second from the top model, it lacks the auto door opening to release steam. Dishes come out clean and dry. No issues with condensation or dripping. Love the top cutlery tray.

  • sis3
    10 years ago

    Two 7 year old Bosch's here! Have had Bosch's since the 80's and none have ever needed repair. They are whisper quiet, needing a light near the floor to let you know they are on! I quickly scrape dishes but don't rinse and everything comes out sparkling clean. I had one Kitchenaid and hated it! I think that what Lascatx said is true, that it is likely to be the lower grade models of Bosch dishwashers that get the poorer results. My mother has a 'builder's model' Bosch and is not thrilled with its performance!

  • lakeaffect
    10 years ago

    We replaced a 5 year old KA in December and I was happy to see it go, it never worked well and had 6 repair calls in the 5 years. We decided to look at models with a built in softener because our well water is a little hard and we thought that might have been part of the problem with the KA, so tho I really wanted an Asko (had one before and loved it), they don't have the built in softener, so we looked at Bosch, Miele and Smeg and after looking at all 3, decided on the Smeg, partly because of the price ($950 Black Friday deal) and partly because after reading the Appliances Forum where the various brand lovers and haters spar, I felt like I wanted to get a brand that no one was fighting over.

    mr. sandyponder installed it with no problem and we have been using it since early December. It gets the dishes sparkling clean, uses softening salt sparingly and is very, very quiet. The downside is that it's small and more delicate than the KA, which was pretty much bullet proof. We have learned to gently pull the racks out, for if you yank, they come off the track easily. With any new DW learning to load is an acquired skill, and this one is no different, but I also think it is not designed for our large American bowls, those are the things that are most difficult to fit (and I guess we use a lot of them). We no longer rinse anything, just cram it all in there, run only when totally full and everything comes out squeaky clean with nary a water spot. We run it during the evening so we can open it when the drying cycle comes on, and even with no drying cycle, there is very little water on the plastic items.

    Overall I wish the bottom rack had a more sturdy track, but now that we have learned optimal dish loading techniques, its quietness and outstanding cleaning performance outweighs my annoyance at the delicate nature of the bottom rack. The design is sleek, with a nice, slim handle and stainless that does not attract fingerprints, for the $$ it's a good machine (ain't none of them perfect) and many steps above the KA.

    sandyponder

  • texasbet
    10 years ago

    I have a Whirlpool that was put in the house when it was built, almost two years ago now. I asked for an upgrade, but somehow we got our wires crossed, so I ended up with I'm sure what is a less expensive model than some Whirlpools. It is NOISY. We can barely hear TV when it is running. It does a pretty good job cleaning dishes, though, and the dryer cycle works great. Dishes are hot to touch if you get in a hurry and try to unload too soon.

    I was having trouble with spotty, filmy glasses and such regardless of what I detergent and rinse agent I used. I did finally settle on Palmolive Eco. I think the spotting is due to our extremely hard water.

    One day I put undiluted vinegar in the extra soap dispenser, and it made a big difference. My glassware came out looking better. Now I use vinegar for every wash, and my dishes look presentable again.

  • mtnrdredux_gw
    10 years ago

    We had a Asko in our last house. It was excellent and so very quiet I always had to feel it to see if it was on.

    I wanted drawers this time, so we went with Fisher Paykel. We have two drawers.

    I would never buy anything but drawers ever again. Opening the big big door and bending way down seems so ergonomically archaic to me. I love love drawers.

    That said. As others have commented, you need to learn how to load them, it is a little tricky. And I own some large trays and such that don't really fit. It cleans well, but we are pretty good at rinsing.

    Still, I will never buy a d/w again that is not drawers.

  • dakota01
    10 years ago

    Kitchenaide Superbad - I love it! So quite I have to make sure I turned it on.
    Dishes come out very, very clean and dry. I do use a drying agent and quality detergent.

  • Irish2
    10 years ago

    We also installed the Fisher Paykel dish drawers 8 yrs ago.
    I couldn't go back to a standard DW. Love my DD !

  • mdrive
    10 years ago

    another kitchenaid HATE....

    fortunately i did not pay a huge amount for it, but to echo what a previous poster stated, be sure to make certain YOUR dishes work....i could not believe it when my 'average' coffee mugs would not fit in the top rack....the top rack is a total PITA, so while i will not be rushing out to replace it, can i say that it would not pain me much when it finally dies???

  • rovo
    10 years ago

    I've seen Asko mentioned a couple of times here, and we have been thrilled with ours so far. Sparkling clean dishes, spacious, quiet, and easy to load. Got ours secondhand so it was a deal, but if I were buying brand new I might seriously consider a Miele. Rarely hear bad things about them...

  • joyce_6333
    10 years ago

    We've had our KA for 2 yrs. It's a lot noisier than the Jenn Air we had for the previous 10 yrs....we can hear it from other rooms in the house. If I set it to run after we go to bed, we can even hear it from our bedroom on the other end of the house. Couple times I've actually opened it up to see if there was something wrong. It groans really loudly, and I can even hear the water sloshing around. It's like there is no insulation at all. To get dishes clean, I have to run it on the heavy duty/extra hot cycle every time, and it does not dry at all. I had the repair guy out to look at it, and he says that is the nature of the beast. He told me to just open it up to dry. Huh?!!
    I really wanted a Bosch but didn't care for the interior layout, and it seemed really shallow.

  • suero
    10 years ago

    About opening up the dishwasher to dry the dishes: Open the door slightly. This creates a chimney effect and the water vapor whooshes off the dishes.

  • decordummy_gw
    10 years ago

    Do I love my 56 year-old dishwasher? Yes (we've been married almost 30 years).

  • golddust
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks everyone. I have read every word you wrote and am listening carefully.

    I looked at Mieles but the closest installer/repair place is an hour and a half away. If it isn't installed by Miele, the warranty is void. Similar issues with Asko. I decided I need to be aware of where I live... In the sticks! We have Bosch, Kitchenaid and Fisher Paykel close by.

    Bought a floor model DCS drawer (Fisher Paykel) last Saturday but changed my mind. There are rumors about leaking and the recent sell of FP made me nervous. I loved the idea behind the drawers but am concerned they may not hold much. I need to be prepared to cook a meal for lots of people and I generally do a load a day. Maybe six loads per week.

    I'm leaning toward the Bosch with the third rack (800 plus something) as I like how flexible the racks are. Currently they are on sale for $300. off as the new model will be here next month. I'd rather have $300, I think.

    My Sister has the Thermador (high end Bosch) and she likes it but loved her old Kitchenaid.

    I have a feeling anyone who has an older dishwasher is going to be in shock at the two gallon water use and lack of heating element now. Seems dishes can take an hour or more to wash now. Sheesh! I never use my dry cycle so that doesn't bother me.

    I've hung out on the appliance forum and read most everything. It just makes me confused. LOL.

    Thanks again!!!

  • mtnrdredux_gw
    10 years ago

    LOL, decor!

  • demifloyd
    10 years ago

    Miele--almost eight years now.

    Absolutely love it--so quiet you don't hear a thing, washes dishes great, love the removable flat utensil tray, and not ONE mechanical issue.

  • cmcg21
    10 years ago

    I love my Miele also. It is so quiet, and washes the dishes well. I also love the top cutlery shelf. It is 8 years old and has needed no repairs.

  • Tmnca
    10 years ago

    New dishwashers do not lack a heating element, they just lack heated dry. Our Bosches (old one at old home and new one here) use hot water on the final rinse and condensation drying - the dishes are totally dry after the cycle, whereas our old Whirlpool with heated dry left puddles of water everywhere after the heated dry.

  • EG3d
    10 years ago

    Bosch is good but the racks are 1 1/2" smaller in depth than the other brands. Kitchenaid is a decent dishwasher. Kenmore is good but Kenmore Elite is the best brand. The Kitchenaid, Kenmore and Kenmore Elite DO have heated dry cycle. The Kenmore Elite dw has a turbo cycle for pots and pans and have 360 degree water distribution. They are SO quiet as are some Bosch and Kitchenaid. Anything under 50 decibels is quiet but some of the new ones are at 39 or 40 or 43 decibels.
    Do consider getting a service contract with your new DW to cover any future repairs plus some companies like Sears have preventative maintenance where the service man comes over each year to do a checkup and fix things before they break. With all the hard water and everything with so many computer parts any repairs become very expensive without a service contract. Make sure your service contract is not just an extended limited manufacture warranty which many big name companies have. Good luck!

  • beekeeperswife
    10 years ago

    We have 2 single Fisher & Paykel Tall tub dish drawers. Had a double in last house, loved it so much repeated in this house, except did 2 singles, one on each side of the sink.

    The only issue I have is the dishes don't put themselves away. ;-)

    If installed correctly, loaded correctly there should be no problems. I love not having the door open across the walkway, love not bending all the way down to empty it (you know, because it is still not emptying itself).

    I love that I have it fully integrated and it looks like a bank of drawers. Maybe that's why the kids don't load it when they are home...they don't know where it is...

  • Tmnca
    10 years ago

    EG3d, the Bosch racks initially look smaller but we can fit about 20% more in this dishwasher without overloading it and affecting performance compared to the Whirlpool and Frigidaire we replaced in our last home and this one respectively.

    Also Kenmore is now the same as Whirlpool Kitchen Aide, and Frigidaire - all made by the same company with the same crappy motherboards that blow after 13 months and cost almost as much as a new DW to replace. I don't think the new Kenmores are at all comparable to the old.

    From my recent DW purchase, it's down to Meile if you can afford it, Bosch if you are on a tighter budget, and FP drawers if you really want drawers.

  • daisychain01
    10 years ago

    ASKO, but same problem with servicing as a miele depending on your area. Luckily we've never needed servicing in 8 years. I guess that's why we love it.

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