New Dishwasher Time

S

Shann

Joined
Sep 2, 2004
Messages
5,250
We've had our dishwasher for about 15 years. Its leaking these days. Our repairman said that there is a little rust around the door.

Oh well, we got a good 12-15 years out of it. Best investment ever! I always hated doing dishes.

I just quickly jumped online and there are dishwashers from $399 to over $1,500! Consumer Reports seem to like Bosh and Kenmore, but there are so many options, the mind boggles.

Does anyone who knows anything about dishwashers have any advice?

There are only two of us living there now, and we really don't have any fine china or anything. There is also no food grinder\disposal in our sink, I think when I bought one years ago that made a difference.

Thanks!
 
I bought a new dishwasher this past summer to replace one that was about 20 years old. I didn't do a lot of shopping other than to check consumer reports and some reviews at places like Home Depot and Lowes. Bosch and Kitchen Aid are probably the top two. I purchased a Kitchen Aid which retails for about $850 (Model KDFE304DBL) with a few extras on it.... All stainless steel in the inside; no or little plastic like the cheaper models.

I got it at Lowes as it was a new model that was returned and repaired. Probably ran once. I bought it for about their cost if you can believe them at $575. But they had another $100 in it for a small repair. I like it. It is much quieter with more options than the old model which probably cost $150 when it was installed in my house. Basically you chose heavy wash, regular wash, or pots & pans in the old one (of course heated dry or not too). This one has a choice called "Pro Wash" that is supposed to adjust to the load... I don't know but the dishes come out clean. They want you to use a rinsing agent in these new models.... another expense. Didn't even know what that was until I wandered around Walmart and did some reading.

I really did not investigate much other than I wanted something a bit higher end than what I had which was a very basic model (and noisy). Sometimes I can't even tell this new one is running. A blue light comes on when it is finished. Otherwise, I would probably not notice when it finished. It is slower though or seems to be. But I usually wash dishes over night anyway and I guess on holidays when there may be a lot of dishes used and we need some for the next meal.

I also replaced my garbage disposal in the sink at the same time. This is what started the whole deal as it was "dead". I think if you rinse your dishes which we do before placing in the dishwasher, there is no need for a in-sink garbage disposal. But I do like my garbage disposal as it comes in handy. Never had a clogged kitchen sink.
 
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We just replaced ours with a stainless Kenmore. Check around for price. The local Sears had this one mark down from 989.00 to 5 something. The inside is also stainless and much more room than our old one.
 
Yes, the new dishwashers have more room and more stacking options than the old basic models like I was used to. Stainless steel inside is the first thing you will notice as the big difference between the lower priced and higher priced models. Also, I negotiated the final price with them.
 
Just installed my new Maytag MDB 6949 after Xmas. It was our Christmas / anniversary present to each other. On sale at Lowes for $539, under 600 with tax ,delivered. We wanted VERY quiet as our old one required the TV to be twice the normal volume to hear. This is 47db which is half the perceived volume as 50db.
It has basic cycles and heated dry option. I don't need 8 wash cycles or a 48 hour delay before washing. Very energy efficient so it takes 2+ hours to wash.
Check all the specs and options. You should be able to get one under $800.
 
My father-in-law just decided to replace his very high end two-drawer Miele after only about 8 years of ownership - the pump motor burnt out, and his service guy wanted close to $900 to replace it. I suggested looking on the internet for parts, but he doesn't want to deal with it. He's probably going to buy a Bosch.

I replaced the POS that came with our house 6 years ago, and haven't regretted the $800 at all: I got a stainless-tub Kenmore. Got it at the local Sears "Scratch & Dent" store. IMHO, either stainless or plastic is the way to go, but the plastic tub models are usually budget models, and noisy. The Kenmore is so quiet you could sleep in the kitchen next to it (you know, if wifey kicks you out for buying too many knives.).

One downside I've discovered is that even though the tub is all stainless, the racks are not. One spot has chipped the coating and is rusting. I don't like this at all. Not sure if MFGs disclose the material of the racks in their sales literature. I see a stainless fab project in my future in about 3 years.
 
If you guys are makers buying new Dishwashers? Save the Baskets out of the old one.

They are great to hand by the grinder to put the tooling switch out tools in because they won't collect the grinding dust.
 
New Dishwasher Time

Ya, told the wife I'm leaving or getting a new wife, she nixed the idea and bought me a new pair of gloves for washing dishes. :D

Bosch, the best & quietest washer we have ever owned.
 
The well water here is very good and has been easy on the plumbing. Life would not be possible without the dishwasher. It's a Kenmore that goes back over 32 years ago when I bought the house. It keeps chugging away obedient and happy about doing the work.
 
You should ask the same man who diagnosed your current washer which are the better ones to buy for reliability and cost. He'll know as he sees them and repairs them all the time. Asking repair technicians keeps you from having to discern the hype from the truth when shopping around. I did that when I replaced mine and saved a ton of money by doing so. We ended up with a Whirlpool Quiet Partner II, but that was a few years ago. Who knows - might get a different recommendation today.
 
+1 for Bosch. 3 years in with a base model. Very Quiet and reliable. Only niggle is that it doesnt always dry as well as it might but not bothered.
 
We owned an appliance repair business for 40 years. My brother finally ran the business into the ground.

Whirlpool bought KitchenAid and put the Whirlpool name on the cock-strong KitchenAid. Shouldda been other way around! The Whirlpool machines were better than most but, couldn't hang with the KitchenAid. The higher-end Bosch's are great machines and are, like many here have said, quiet.

If noise were the only issue, you can accomplish noise reduction dramatically by wrapping batt insulation over the dishwasher prior to installation. You can't imagine how much more some manufacturers charged for just more insulation! The noise from a dishwasher comes mostly from the water spraying against the tub.

But, I believe you might get better mechanical parts (hinges, stainless interior, heavily coated racks...) with some of the upper-end machines.

I must admit it has been years since I've done repair work and not very familiar with the latest models.
 
Thanks for the info. I was surprised that noise is one of the biggest issues. We generally just run it at night after we go to bed and if we can hear it at all upstairs, its just a faint whirr.
 
I never thought noise was a big deal either and I probably welcomed the noise as I knew exactly when the dishwasher was running. With the higher end machines, you automatically get quieter and I generally like the lower noise level. I wonder if Whirlpool is making the Kenmore stuff now? With appliances, I always tended to go to Sears in the past, but not this time. Not strong reason actually.
 
My experience as a landlord has been that Whirlpool is the one. I did OK with Kitchen Aid and Maytag, but only had one of each. Buy Kenmore for yourself if you can afford it.

Consumer Reports should quit testing cameras, computers and liquor, but it seems reliable enough on large and small appliances.

The easy way to drain a dishwasher is through the garbage disposal. Don't do it! Disposals are not designed to survive dishwasher detergents.

If you have calcium hard water, use something like this as needed. For us it's once every two or three months.

Finish-Dishwasher-Cleaner-Into-Washer.jpg
 
555 said:
New Dishwasher Time

Ya, told the wife I'm leaving or getting a new wife, she nixed the idea and bought me a new pair of gloves for washing dishes. :D

Bosch, the best & quietest washer we have ever owned.
Click to expand...

I don't use no wimpy gloves.

Our dishwasher is typing this. There are only two of us. How many dirty dishes can we make? Our dishwasher has not been used since we moved into our
house 11 years ago, so it is in new condition. Besides all that, I try not to pump toxic chemicals into our septic tank.
 
Also Gentleman,
NEVER put your knives in a Dish washer, It's a dish washer, not a knife washer. The hot water over time will destroy any wooden handles and even worse, the detergent is so strong that it will microscopically frost the edges and dull your knives in just a couple of washings.
 
Rhinoknives1 said:
Also Gentleman,
NEVER put your knives in a Dish washer, It's a dish washer, not a knife washer. The hot water over time will destroy any wooden handles and even worse, the detergent is so strong that it will microscopically frost the edges and dull your knives in just a couple of washings.
Click to expand...

Try explaining that to your wives. :rolleyes:
 
I have a septic tank and trying to tell my wife to minimize the use of chlorox or bleach is like trying to explain to your pet that even though you feed them at 7:00AM, today it will 7:00PM. Honestly, we hand wash about 75% of the time anyway since there aren't that many dishes normally. I don't see hand washing as a big inconvenience.
 
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