sorry you don't love yours. Do you have the tall tub on top? I have no problem fitting everything in mine that I used to fit in my Bosch.

I am also sorry that it isn't cleaning for you correctly. Mine is so great, I just "tested" it on Easter--I made homemade scalloped potatoes in a 9x13 dish. I scraped out the leftovers, but left on all the burnt on cheese, and ran it like that. PRobably used the HEavy cycle, and it was sparkling clean.

And you are correct about taking your largest plate with you to the store. I have done that with whatever dishwasher I'm shopping for. Sometimes bowls don't nest the way you want, or cups fall down. So absolutely, people should take some dishes with them.

-Bee

Did you see this post from long ago with all the great pictures of the drawers loaded?

I did take One of my plates along to be sure it fit.

You'll get used to it. I would have 2 top drawers if I could.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dish drawers

Thanks, Bee. I do love it. But kind of hate it, too. I just think anyone with a family should very carefully assess the space. And i don't mean "does your plate fit"? I mean, see how much of a normal load in a regular d/w fits.

Thanks, prill! Notice something about the loads. For us, after dinner, we would probably have 6-7 large plates, one bowl, five glasses and 15 pieces of flatware. Add that to miscellaneous knives, bowls and glasses, especially from the rest of the day. That will not all fit in the top tub. Notice how many loads they dont even show flatware, they have it removed. Now, normally how often would you do a load and not do flatware? In one shot, they have what looks like a normal load of dinner dishes, with flatware ,,,, but i dont see any tall glasses?

For this reason, I often fill the top, and half fill the bottom.

Again, Id still buy them again.

I've been using mine for about a year now. I have a double tall and a single tall. I have never rinsed, only scraped my dishes and haven't had any trouble at all with the dishes getting cleaned. Just recently, I noticed an odd noise when I would open the door and add dishes. Every time during the day, I would hear it and was worried something was going wrong. Well, we found inside a new horse mug my daughter had recently gotten and it whinnied every time the door was opened. The cycle was run and the horse whinnies no more.

I love my dishdrawers. :)

Once you have an Asko, you have a good dishwasher. Have had ours for 8 years. Needed one repair so far. Cleans very very well. very quiet.

we throw everything in there - fine china, cutlery... We have run it 5 times in a day when we have parties. On an average it has run once per day for 8 years!

When this one dies, guess what will we get?

Thanks so much for sharing. I've contemplated someday switching to dish drawers. I rarely fill up a dishwasher with one day's worth of dishes (since there are only two of us in the hosuehold). Not to mention, we often don't empty the dishwasher immediately after washing, so sometimes dishes end up piling up the sink anyway. But, it sounds like if I do switch, I need to follow your suggestion and bring dishes with me to do a test drive! Love the idea.

I also love your comment regarding the filling of the dishwasher requiring an engineering degree. My significant other insists that he is incapable of filling our dishwasher "correctly" and that I will only "have to do it over again". I simply cannot comprehend why this would be impossible for him.... except that I do in fact have an engineering degree and he does not. Maybe your assessment is correct for our dishwasher as well!

Thanks so much for sharing.

Country - duly noted. : )

Pharaoh - funnily enough, I think it is Akso, not Asko. It really SHOULD be Asko, silly Dutch I think? Just like Jeld Wen, which we all know should be Jen Weld. Yes, I agree it cleans very well never gave it a thought.

Prickly -funny, we all feign incompetence to mask laziness sometimes. I'm sure people will look at you crazy if you haul a box of dishes into the store, but IMHO testing one plate is not telling.

I moved Friday and once again am without dish drawers. Fortunately this thing sounds like it's going to explode soon so I can replace it. Dish drawers, of course. It really is easier to throw in a cup when you don't have to go through the process of opening the big door and wheeling out the rack. I've enjoyed the liberty of being able to put giant things in the dishwasher, but I'll be glad to trade it back for simple ease of use and unbruised shins.

I think my third dish drawer will have the tall tub, even though I've never actually tried to fit anything in my standard drawer that didn't go.

A while back someone (Alku maybe?) had some loading pictures with cookie sheets in the drawers. Now that's just crazy! :)

I scrape, don't rinse. Clean enough. Not the quietest but quiet enough. And apparently when you don't empty out that cup all the way before putting it in a regular dishwasher, you get coffee splatters ALL OVER!

I put in a full-size Asko and one (deep) FP dish drawer. One dw didn't seem quite enough and two would have required me to give up too much drawer space.

I bought a mid-range Asko (D5233). I (currently, given my limited knowledge due to limited experimentation with detergent/rinse aids) find that the Asko cleans slightly better, but it also makes more noise than I thought it would. It is definitely louder than the FP. Someone from the appliance store came in to check about installation, etc., and he thought the noise level was normal. I would run the FP in the kitchen while being in there with no problem, but I wait to run the Asko until we are out of the kitchen. It's not a big deal.

The amount of dishwasher capacity is perfect for us though. I can get one rack worth of dirty dishes into the FP, two into the Asko.

Dishdrawers appear to be like rubbing your nose and patting your belly. It sounds easy. You try, and it is hard! You persist, and after a while, it is easy. That's the pattern in the threads on dishdrawers, anyway - there seems to be a learning curve. Now, it is a sad commentary on the complexities of modern life that there should be a learning curve on a dishwasher, but there you are.

We can't fit our nice dishes in any dishwasher (too large) and can't put our silver in any dishwasher (cause it's silver) so I am personally pretty ambivalent about this particular appliance.

Pharaoh - funnily enough, I think it is Akso, not Asko.

Asko, I think, would be surprised to hear they've been spelling it wrong! ;-)

Helpful report on dish drawers. I have never had those, but would think it a pain to have to decide where to find room for something and keep having to open and shut the 2 drawers to figure it out? I also didn't know they had different sizes (tall and not) I love learning new things about appliances, even though I don't have them. And in case you think I'm being sarcastic, I'm not. I'm always curious about the great things out there I didn't choose, so live vicariously through some here, and enjoy reports like this.

Here is a link that might be useful: Asko USA

LOL sheesh i should have checked! i may be confusing them with someone else

O.T. A reminder that putting sound-absorbing insulation into the DW niche really does help dampen the vibration of the cabs. It can be retrofit.

"eDead" is the product and it's vended from Iowa. Comes in 1-foot wide lengths and has self-adhesive.

Rhome, you don't qualify for dish drawers--something about that TEN. :) With 4 people here, two kids who somehow require many many dishes, we could do okay with a standard DW. But it's so much easier to load and does hold more than a normal dishwasher (as long as it's nothing big).

But it's easy to decide which one dishes go in--the dirty one. And they come out of the clean one. And if you hate unloading the dishwasher, you can spread the task out. Run a delicate cycle while doing a heavy pot cycle. (No, I don't really do that.)

Anyone who thinks drawers are better than pullouts on cabinetry should realize how dish drawers are an extension of that same principle!

I remember someone saying the way to get cookie sheets in is across the top.

Fori, we might come around to a "one dirty, one clean" mo but for now I mostly use the top drawer and do smaller more frequent loads. If the drawers were the same size it might be different.

My question about what goes where was in the event I had put in two sets. Not sure what paradigm I'd use for four drawers.

OT- Florantha, thanks for the edead advice - think I'll give it a try!

On topic: I just started using powdered dish detergent (cascade complete) in the FP drawer, and I think it cleaned much better. I was using Method Smarty dish tabs before.

Thanks, maybe I will switch

I don't think you are supposed to use tabs in the dish drawers. I think the manual says powder only and a very small amount at that.

Threebees, I think that may vary by model year. Before I used it, I bought liquid detergent and a plastic squeeze ketchup bottle (kwim) because I was certain I'd read somewhere that that was the best way to make sure you didn't use too much detergent in your FP.

I get home and read the manual, they show a special shelf where you put the tablets?! So I'm using tablets

OT clafouti: Worth a try. We put this stuff around our vent above rangehood also. Not sure how much this helped but it can't hurt. Not only that, but the backing on the eDead might help prevent steam damage on underside of countertops.

We spent less than $100 for both applications--buy more than enough because it's the shipping that adds up--we bought 3 times I think and sometimes there was a shipping delay that delayed other parts of the project.

We get compliments about how quiet dishwasher is (old Whirlpool). I can understand radio and t.v. and most voices while it's running and I'm partially deaf.

Johnliu: I put silverplated flatware and sterling flatware into dishwasher. But I need to do so right after use; otherwise I have to soak it first so food does not begin the pitting process while I wait for a full load. Many times it's just easier to handwash.

I use energysaver setting and airdry. And minimal soap. And remove promptly and wipe off any residual whatevers.

I looked in the manual for the newer models regarding the tabs because I would really rather use them than powder. Here's what I found:

Removable tablet tray
If you are using dishwasher tablets, place them on the removable tablet tray, as shown.
See also �Using tablets� for more information.

We do not recommend using tablets in USA and Canada models. The pre-wash cycle in these
models would dissolve the tablet, reducing the cleaning power left for the main wash.

I've had my FP DDs for 4 years now and do really like them. Back then, there was no option of a tall drawer, so all of my drawers are the same size. I have two double stacks- we wanted two uppers, but it turned out that it was less expensive to get two doubles once we factored in the cost of the custom cabinets to go under two uppers.

Here's one thing I picked up on...You stated "For this reason, I often fill the top, and half fill the bottom." Two DDs hold as much, or a bit more than a regular DW. However, one DD will NOT hold as much as a regular DW. There are items that do not load as efficiently in a DD (bowls, plastic storage containers etc) but those don't load efficiently in any DW.

Something that really helps is to play with the rack configurations. We typically have a drawer with racks removed which configures it nicely for pots. When we have lots of glasses, we use two of the angled racks. For lots of plates, two plate racks. Also, if you have plates that are a bit too tall, try loading them facing the back of the drawer. This angles them more and helps them to fit.

Fori thought I was the one that loaded pictures of cookie sheets in my DDs..It wasn't me, but I do load cookie sheets and trays by laying them across the top of a full load. That also works well to anchor in lightweight items that may get flipped over (cooking utensils work well for that as well).

My manual specifically stated not to use liquid or tablet detergent, but keep in mind, I have the 4-yr old ones. We use Cascade Complete and measure in 2 teaspoons, and 1-1/2 teaspoon in the prewash, and it works quite well.

We have 5.5 year old KA dishdrawers from back when they were made by F&P. They are extremely noisey, don't clean well, have been serviced several times and often have standing water left in the bottom after a load is complete.

Do I love dish drawers more than a standard DW. YES! Would I ever buy a KA appliance again. NO!

HomeAgain, water left in a drawer or appearing later is 99% of the time caused by incorrect arrangement of the drain hoses. Check your installation and make sure the drain hoses are looped up high as possible under the sink before they connect to the plumbing. If one or both hoses sag down below the drain connection level, water from draining the sink can backflow "downhill" into the unit, or water draining from one drawer can backflow into the other. My F&P unit is 7 years 9 months old, I've never had backflow or standing water in it. No repairs of any kind thus far.

mtnrdredux and others: All the DD instruction manuals I've seen up to now have advised that only powder detergent is to be used. I checked a current manual online a few mins ago. It still instructs that liquids/gels are not to be used. Tablets are not recommended but can be used (not placed in the detergent dispenser, of course), with a warning that performance may suffer. I personally would not use tablets in any dishwasher. There's no way to control the dose. There's risk the whole thing would either dissolve in the prewash and/or prerinse leaving no detergent for the main wash ... or on a shorter/low-temp cycle the tablet may not dissolve fully in the main wash, leaving detergent exposure in the rinse.

Not only that, but the backing on the eDead might help prevent steam damage on underside of countertops.

DH came up with the idea to use Bituthene (which is a roof material used in valleys, etc to prevent leaking) underneath our island counter (antique pine) as a protector from steam/heat. We already had a roll since we were building.

you know what? i think no matter how extensive our research, there is truly no way to determine how any appliance will work for us. as i visit my new build in progress and marvel at my beautious kitchen and tell myself how in LOVE i am with my capital and my mieles and my thermador columns, i may not feel that way when i'm actually using them.

but we take chances in life and deal with the consequences. i'd say, although you are not thrilled, there are worse things in life. i am happy you say you'd still buy them again, so that's something!

enjoy you're beautiful kitchen!

Thanks, Kate!

Dadoes - my manual does not advise against tablets, and the machine in fact has a special little rack for it. Since we dont prerinse, dosage is not an issue

Alku - i can see where rack positioining is key, but that is also where it starts to feel like I am trying to pack too much luggage into a trunk. You know where you put one piece in, take one out, move two over, then try again? who wants to do all that rack and dish maneuvering that with dirty dishes? blech

Yes, one top drawer does not = one normal dishwasher. But if you typically fill one dishwasher, then that means you typically will use both drawers. and if you are using both drawers, bending down to use the second seems like the-all-too-familiar inconvenience of a regular D/W! That's why id recommend two top drawers.

Anyway, it's like boyfriend who you know is not the most practical choice but you can't help but like just the same. Id buy them again.

My parents have 2 double Fishers...they love them. We just had ours installed in our new build, haven't used it yet since were not quite moved in. Had double drawer in previous home. Love them. This time around we went with integrated. Too bad my panels are wrong size and have to be reordered. My current top drawer "panel" is a piece of maple plywood my Contractor McGuyvered so I could at least use it till new panels arrive. And it has a shiny gold knob. It looks really amazing next to my cream cabinets, LOL.

hi mtnrdredux...

we are getting set to order a fp dishdrawer (just a single).

but i just realized today that the inside is plastic!

the last time i looked at a display model, it was stainless.

are your dishdrawer innards plastic, too? do you think there is any downside to this?

thanks.

DishDrawers have *never* been produced with stainless tubs, unless there's an unusual model of which I'm not aware. Wondering where you got that idea. My unit is 7 years old, third-generation design, one-piece molded plastic drawers/tubs. I have service manuals for models back to the first generation DD601 ... all plastic tubs.

The racks (not the foldable side shelves) are metal coated with nylon or plastic of some ilk for cushioning the dishes & glassware, as are the racks on virtually all dishwashers of all brands and models far as I'm aware. The side shelves are molded plastic. There were some household brands/models many years ago (1950s and possibly 1960s) that had stainless steel racks.

sorry my mistake!! please disregard my post. :\

i replied to dadoes on the dumb thread i started. apologies.

didn't want to get yelled at for a hijack, that's all.

mtnrdredux,

The manual I look at online showed the special little holder for the dishwasher tab but right under that it said:

"We do not recommend using tablets in USA and Canada models. The pre-wash cycle in these models would dissolve the tablet, reducing the cleaning power left for the main wash."

It sounds like the wash quality might suffer.

Hi,

I haven't been on here in a while, but I just had a new DD24 installed, replacing an 8-year-old (or thereabouts) DD603 and found this thread when I was looking for advice on using Cascade Complete packets (got that, thank you).

There was no way I could go back to a regular, non-drawer dishwasher. When we've rented vacation houses, I'm always annoyed by the regular dishwashers, even when they're good brands. I'm also a fan of F&P, with a washer I've had since 2000 and a top-loading dryer since, er, maybe 2009.

I got the two same-size drawers again, since I never had a problem with things fitting in the old model.

We have friends who don't have any kids who bought one a few years ago. They never bother to put dishes away; they just take out clean dishes as needed and when that drawer is empty, they start loading it with dirty, and so on. No way I can get away with that in my house. ;)