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mountaineergirl_gw

Which dishwasher?

mountaineergirl
11 years ago

Because of (or thanks to?) a major a water leak, I am getting a new kitchen. I have been looking at dishwashers the past couple days and why does it have to be so dang hard? My current one is a Kenmore, 14 years old and works like a charm. It heats, dishes come out sparkling (and that's without a rinse agent) and I THINK it has a built-in garbage disposal. So now due to the Energy Star thing, from what I understand, its going to be hard to replace it. I'm looking for one that heat dries, has a heated temp wash/rinse, and a built-in disposal. Quite is nice, but I'm not getting hung up on the decible thing. Can anyone suggest such a dishwasher?

Oh and we have a water softener which I believe has a good deal to do with the dishes always crystal clear. Never had a film/spots on glasses.

thanks for your help!

Comments (12)

  • mydreamhome
    11 years ago

    Kitchenaid and I believe Samsung will fit the bill. On the KitchenAids, you do have to make sure the specific model you're looking at has the hard food disposer in it as some models don't (and it's not always the least expensive ones that are missing it either). We have the KA KUDC10FXSS and love it--it's even quiet! Samsung 800 series was our back up option and it's even quieter.

  • deeageaux
    11 years ago

    Whirlpool makes KitchenAid and Kenmore Elite which are roughly the same with the KE being a little better IMO. Any DW with a food disposer is going to be relatively loud.

    I would run the other way from Samsung. Appliances that use both water and electricity require much more technical know how and experience than a standard appliance. Samsung makes a decent laundry washer but they just started making dishwashers.

    If I were buying a dishwasher with disposer I would get Kenmore Elite. The top of the line KitchenAid's, Kude 50,60, and 70 don't have food dispoers but filters like European dishwashers.

    Having a whole house water softner mitigates the shortfall of phosphate free dishwasher detergent.

  • mountaineergirl
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    thanks for your comments! I looked at samsung as it was listed on some dishwasher website as being #1 based on their tests, but online reviews weren't so great. I am going to look at Kenmore Elite seriously since I had such good luck with my other Kenmore. altho as I said before, I know things are very different than 14 years ago due to this energy star stuff. I really don't care how much water it uses, or how much electricity as long as it does the job. that may make me unpopular among the green people lol!

  • friedajune
    11 years ago

    Just a question about your requirement for a disposer in your DW. This topic has been discussed before on the forum, and it seemed the consensus is that the disposer adds a lot of noise, but otherwise doesn't do much. It's not at all like a disposer in your sink. My DW does not have the disposer, and every once in a while I go into the filter tray at the bottom to clean it of any debris, but there is rarely anything in there. I don't miss the disposer whatsoever.

    I agree with the rec for the KA. My sister has one, and it's very nice. I have a Miele, and honestly, the KA compares favorably to it, and would have cost me about $800 less. You have to study carefully the KA website cause the features for their various DWs are a little confusing as to which model has what. Also be aware that the KA's stick out about 1/4"-1/2" more than other DWs. That's why they have more interior room than other DWs (besides a good layout).

    Also note that KA is often offering rebates. You can find the rebates list on the KA website. Consider ordering a DW online if you have someone to install. You will likely find the best prices online, though I understand Sears is often ready to match (or come close) to competitors' prices if you ask the salesperson. Sometimes when you go to websites selling KA's, the website says they will only sell them within a certain location, but if you phone your order, they will ship them anywhere.

  • mountaineergirl
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    thanks ak - maybe I need to let go of the garbage disposal thing :( but I would definitely want a self-cleaning filter, as I know I'm not going to mess with cleaning it out on a reg basis. Never had to before so I don't see me remembering. And in all honesty, we are empty nesters so I usually rinse stuff off anyway if the DW isn't going to be ran for a day or two.

    I really don't want to spend more than a grand on one either, Just another person wanting the best of everything for dirt cheap lol!

  • mountaineergirl
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Also wanted to add that I read somewhere that GE cafe was a good one? comments?

  • mydreamhome
    11 years ago

    Not sure on the GE Cafe. You may want to post on the Appliances forum too.

    Our KA has the disposer/hard food grinder--I really have to strain to hear my DW when it's running. We bought it in 2011, so it's a very recent one (KUDC10FXSS). I think we paid $627 for it at the Labor Day sale at Lowe's. As mentioned above, the Columbus Day sales are right around the corner. We had the Samsung as backup in case the KA was too loud (Samsung was a few decibles lower), however we found we were fine with the KA even with the open floor plan.

    I personally would not even consider a DW without the disposer. How does a DW self clean it's strainer anyway--does the debris that's in it just get dumped down the DW drain? The Bosch line does not have a disposer option--just the strainer. My DM has a Bosch DW and I find it very hard to load compared to the KA, so when you're shopping make sure you check out how the racks are designed and if they will work with your plates and stacking method.

    Hope this helps!

  • mountaineergirl
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    OK after spending a couple hours online, and having no idea what it will "feel" like in the store, I have it narrowed down to GE profile the 380VSS model. I can't seem to find much difference between it and the 480/580 models that are several hundred more. The 380 is just under $1000 and the next model up is $1350. I think I should post opinions on the appliance forum

  • jllc7
    11 years ago

    I bought a Bosch. I couldn't tell you what style it is, but it's stainless on the inside and out. It has a bunch of options like half load, power scrub, regular, etc etc. It's super quiet and a laser points on the floor when it is running. Dishes and glasses come out spotless. I think it also has the disposal option, but I'm really not sure. There's some sort of attachment for something in the middle of the bottom.

    I think this is it:

    Here is a link that might be useful: Bosch Dishwasher

  • deeageaux
    11 years ago

    I personally would not even consider a DW without the disposer. How does a DW self clean it's strainer anyway--does the debris that's in it just get dumped down the DW drain?

    I personally would not even consider a DW with a food diposer.

    The enzymes in modern dishwasher detergent dissolve 99% of debris and prevent the other 1% from emulsiying. Then every 40-60 washes you clean the filter of that 1%. It takes less than a minute.We can argue semantics about "self-clean" but there it is.

    Disposers add noise,electricty use,and repair cost.

    BTW IMO GE dishwashers are subpar. GE is building a new dishwasher plant in Kentucky for a completely new line of dishwasher next year with 60% + more scrubbing power. If they were adequate now why would they need a 60% + upgrade?

    Companies like Miele and Bosch are like Lexus and Honda. They make small continual improvements. No need for radical redesigns.

  • flyingkite
    11 years ago

    We are using Miele Optima for the last 5 years and are very happy with it. If Optima goes above you budget limit you can buy a low-end Miele and have pretty much the same quality and convenience.

    Buy Lexus, you won't regret.

  • alwaysfixin
    11 years ago

    We have the KA DW with the "40" in the model number. We like it very much. Our top-most requirement was that the DW be panel-ready. We then sought the least expensive KA DW that was panel-ready. The more expensive models have the cutlery tray, which would have been nice, but not essential, and extra sound insulation. We find ours to be quiet enough.

    We did look at Miele, but it was too expensive. We looked at Bosch, and thought it was so much smaller inside than the KA, that it was a no-brainer (at least for us) just based on that. We looked at the GE and GE Monograms, and our impression was that their racks seemed rickety compared to the KA.

    As mentioned above, some of the KAs do stick out about 1/4". We didn't care because we have 27" deep counters (instead of the standard 24" depth), so the slightly deeper KA DW was not an issue for us.

    When we were shopping, we just missed a KA rebate - it had just expired like that week to our disappointment. Then we ended up not buying the DW for 6 weeks or so, and it turns out KA had a new rebate available. Pocketed a cool $100 master card, which was a nice little gift (make sure to keep a copy of your receipt that shows you've paid in full to send with the rebate form).