Dishwasher Bleg
I’m thinking about upgrading my dishwasher. I don’t want to break the bank, and will probably go with a black model rather than stainless. Apart from that, I’m wide open to suggestion. I’m replacing a low-end 24″ Kenmore unit that’s extremely noisy and doesn’t work very well. It came with the house.
My only real requirements:
1) It works well.
2) It’s relatively quiet.
3) It’s energy-efficient.
4) It doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.
Any suggestions?
January 19th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
I have found that teenagers work pretty well, but they tend to be expensive and loud…
MC
January 19th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
No matter how quiet it says it is on the box, be sure to insulate the space between the cabinets and the dishwasher. Trust me, makes a huge difference.
January 19th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
We just replaced our piece of junk GE. The thing always sounded like a Saturn V at lift-off when it was running, and it finally croaked.
After a little surfing around, we ended up with a Kitchen Aide with a stainless steel liner. Bought it at Appliance Smart, along with delivery/installation/removal-of-old-one.
You should COMPLETELY ignore the “energy-efficiency” ratings of dishwashers. The vast majority of their claimed efficiency comes from their guesswork that their machines clean so well that you don’t have to rinse before putting in the dishes. Yeah, right. The other ways they boost that is to “air-dry” without adding (electrical) heat. That works great if your summers aren’t humid.
Noise is fairly important though. And if you want to spend a fortune, look at the Bosch lines. You literally can’t hear them running…but you’ll also drop $1500.
We’re very happy with ours. You can have a conversation in the kitchen with it running without having to shout over the roar of the dishwasher.
January 19th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
My suggestion?
Pick any three out of your list and run with it.
January 19th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Dr. Strangegun:
I’m afraid you’re probably right. ๐
January 19th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
I picked up one a samsung DMR57LFS from a ding/dent sale with a minor push in on one corner of the face for ~500$. It runs nicely, has lots of space, and is quiet. So far I like it. If the pushed in corner ever bugs me I will pull the face off and take the dent out.
January 19th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
We got a Kitchen Aid that was advertised as quiet.
It’s not.
STEELERS!
January 19th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
I don’t know about your experiences with Bosch dishwashers, but 2 years ago I bought a 5 series Bosch and paid $900. for it, installed. I found the receipt last night while going through other records.
Best dishwasher I’ve ever owned, and one must open it to make sure it’s really running- it’s that quiet.
Regards,
Rabbit.
January 19th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
I have replaced several in the past few years, in rental units and my own home. The all-plastic ones sold for under $450 have a life of ~3 years, maybe 4 years if you don’t use it twice a day. I have seen no lifetime differences between Maytag, Whirlpool, and Frigidaire brands at this price point. Go with the design of water sprayers and rack layout that looks best.
Get one with dual water sprayers, one below each layer of dishes. And look closely at how the dishes will go into the racks, designs vary. Apparently some folks use a lot more coffee cups than dishes, for example, and the upper rack is so shallow as to be useless for many small dishes or bowls or large iced tea glasses….
I second the idea of insulating the cabinet into which you install it. Any insulation material will deaden the sound. I have used the insulation off the broken dishwasher, added to that of the new dishwasher, to good effect. I also might suggest getting a small roll of the fiberglass insulation used for heat insulation and using it, layered loosely on the new dishwasher. Duct tape is the homeowner’s best friend.
January 19th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
I dunno. You might want to petition Obama. He ought to be good for a dishwasher. Just get the earmark added to the next “prosperity” bill. Shouldn’t be a problem. He didn’t exactly promise a chicken in every pot, but I’m pretty sure he’s on board with a dishwasher in every home. Maybe you can use it to rinse off the chickens.
January 19th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
If you are not concerned with immigration status, your local Home Depot will have some standing out in the parking lot.
January 19th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
My model has been working great for 39 years,every now and then I will get her a new wash cloth.
January 19th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
The wife?
January 19th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
Before I was able to fix our dishwasher we had ordered a Bosch. Supposed to be the quietest. We ordered one from Lowes that was around $500. The next day someone gave me a tip on something to try with the old dishwasher and I managed to finally get it running again.
My wife was actually a little disappointed that I managed to fix our old dishwasher. She really liked that Bosch. ๐
January 19th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Get a Craigslist special.
When it breaks a decade from now, get another one.
Learn to love the noise.
January 19th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
I’ll also back Les … online appliance parts vendors also tend to have extensive DIY fixit guides on their websites … these things aren’t very complicated.
I fixed my dryer with about $20 worth of parts.
January 19th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Neighbor across the street repairs appliances for a living. I asked him the same question you are asking. His answer was very quickly……. BOSCH !! Nothing else comes close. Ours ended up costing about $650 installed from lowes.
January 19th, 2009 at 4:43 pm
My current and previous houses, both new builds, came with Whirlpools. One was stainless steel, the other black. Can’t say I’ve noticed any major differences between the two, performance-wise. Neither is silent, but neither strikes me as terribly loud, for a dishwasher.
January 19th, 2009 at 5:04 pm
Easiest way to load the dishwasher is get the wife drunk ๐
Bosch and Kitchenaid are very good. Look to see if you have a Sears Appliance Outlet. Basically a scratch and dent store for sears products. Most are new w/ minor blemishes, or are last years model, and 1/2 the price of “show room”. You can find them from the Sears site, might need to cast a wide web but usually worth the drive.
January 19th, 2009 at 5:45 pm
I have a Kitchenaid for under $600.00 that works just fine for our family of three. It comes with an automatic 1-year warranty. A bearing got noisy (it still kept on working) and Sears came and replaced the assembly in two 15-minute visits within the space of a week. Black with bow-shaped Whirlpool-style handle.
I’m told that the Bosch is the quietest on the market but that my Kitchenaid is more reliable.
January 19th, 2009 at 7:06 pm
We have a Kenmore Elite (which is a Bosch). It was 300 cheaper than the same model Bosch.
I would only go with a Bosch dishwasher right now…
You do have to open it to tell it is running. No reliability issues and it is 3 years old now.
K
January 19th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
I have a Bosche, and it’s very quiet. It’s running in the kitchen, and I can’t hear it from the next room. Cleans the dishes quite nicely.
Cost around $625 IIRC. Don’t know if that qualifies as an arm/leg to you or not.
January 19th, 2009 at 11:18 pm
No, I’m willing to pay $600-700, and maybe even go a little bit above that, for a really good one. Any idea what model you have?
January 20th, 2009 at 12:03 am
The redhead………
January 20th, 2009 at 3:42 am
Holy shit. It’s a dishwasher! BFD.;