Attention all Whirlpool dishwasher fans...

[gelaundry4ever]

Good afternoon, What are your favorite things about whirlpool dishwashers? What drew you close to them? I remember my baby sitter's whirlpool that she had. Hers would fill up while the tub was filling with water. The machine would vibrate, grumble and make that signature "woooooooosh" sound that I will dearly miss. Hers had a chrome dial. Now, fast forward to today. My dad has the Kenmore version of this dishwasher. I miss the PowerClean and point/voyager wash systems. I believe the Whirlpool corporation calls theirs the washright system.
What were the names of the wash systems prior to the ones we know today? I'd love to explore more on the different styles of wash systems Whirlpool has cleverly crafted.
P.S. I'm not sure if this belongs in the correct thread, but here goes nothing. I believe Whirlpool has made exceptional dishwashers over the years. I especially miss the noises the older models made. They will forever bring positive memories of my childhood.

 

[Chetlaham]

By far the best thing ever created in dish-washing was the power clean filter module. By far. Nothing else can come close.

 

[tomdawg]

Not a whirlpool fan.

It’s funny how you guys talk about the power clean dishwashers, showing pictures of before and after plus showing the amazing power it had.

I grew up thinking Maytag was superior over whirlpool. Quiet, but got anything clean. I’m finding out this might not be true. I loved the Maytag jetclean dishwasher with the stationary tower in the middle.

My Grandma had a power clean. It was super noisy and had some sweet swooshing noises you are talking about.

Her dishwasher drove me crazy. Loud enough I couldn’t hear conversations very well in the same room. (keep in mind, I have hearing loss and my hearing aids amplified those background noises) today hearing aids are way better- so maybe this would have changed my mind on dishwashers.

 

[wayupnorth]

My Whirlpool dishwasher is going on its 26th year and still works fine for me once or twice a week and it is noisy but I dont care. Back then Whirlpool had a buy 3 appliances and get them free for a year deal. Still got them all from 1995

 

[gelaundry4ever]

anybody know the name

of whirlpool's wash system before the powerClean? I loved the control panels on the powerCleans that were slightly tilted. Too bad you can't get that today. Now the point/voyager, had trouble getting the glasses cleaned in the corners. It was quieter than the powerClean models. Now we have alternating wash arms and triple filtration. Maybe it could be globalization. Whirlpool is such a huge corporation. Who knows what they will do to their maytag dishwashers? At least they have a food chopper, or at least had one.

 

[chachp]

Never had a whirlpool..

 

<span style="font-family: helvetica;">Hated the silverware on the door!  I know some love it but not me.  My sister had one and I hated loading that thing.  You couldn't take it out and put it on counter because it wouldn't stand up.  The bottom was curved.  Maybe that's changed, don't know.  </span>

 

[mark_wpduet]

I have to agree

My best dishwasher was probably a Whirlpool made Kenmore from (my best guess) is 1995. Moved into a rental in August 1996 here in Lexington. It had a Kenmore 90s powerclean (not TOL) but not BOL either. It was great. Moved to a house the next year that was 2 years old. It had the exact same dishwasher. I don't remember them being horribly noisy like the 80s dishwashers...

I once lived somewhere that there was a Magic Chef and I couldn't believe how OLD it looked. It looked straight out of the late 60s/early 70s and it was PUKE yellow and I hated that thing with pure heart.

Anyway - if I were going to buy a dishwasher right now at this moment, it would be a Maytag. My current maytag is a 2014 model and although it's not a powerclean, I still really like it! I've had zero problems with it over 6 years.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

to chachp.

What kind of dishwasher do you have? I have the Kenmore version of Whirlpool's total coverage dishwasher. I was shocked that the bottom had picked up pressure, even with the water level at the proper water level. It does us a little water, but it seems like it puts out a lot of force. I will give it credit for that.

 

[chachp]

Dishwasher

 

<span style="font-family: helvetica;">Jerome, we have a BOSCH 800 series.  My past includes mostly Kitchen Aid and Maytag dishwashers.  I had a Dacor for a while and that did a good job but I didn't like the rack configuration.  The wash arm on the upper rack was just too low even with the rack in the upper position.</span>

 

[gelaundry4ever]

The only thing I don't like about

whirlpool dishwashers is the silverware basket tipping over when putting utensils away. I wish I could find a whirlpool dishwasher in my area to start a collection. I remember when whirlpool and maytag were rivals. Now they're a team.

 

[lakewebsterkid]

PowerClean

I have a relative that has a Kenmore UltraClean DW that still runs great. I recall it cleaning quite well. She also has a Maytag JetClean at another property. I personally do not think the Maytag washes long enough. However, it does clean fairly well. The jet tower works surprisingly well for what it is.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

I've used

both the admiral equivalent of the Maytag tall tub in addition to the Kenmore equivalent of the whirlpool point/voyager. I've had the real whirlpool gold tall tub dishwasher since 2007 when it was at my mom's house. My dad took possession of it when my mom got the resource saver model in 2011 which is a Kenmore. I have a friend who has a powerClean Kenmore. It has very powerful jets.

 

[agiflow4]

I had a Whirlpool power clean portable for nearly 30 years. It was a quiet wash machine.I used normal probably 90% of the time because it was a powerful cleaner. I don't ever remember in all those years EVER taking a dirty plate from the bottom rack. That sucker was a hurricane in a box. Loved the filling and then the pump kicking on and you could hear the loud SWOOOOOSH while it was filling and recirculating.

Unfortunately it is probably a Kia or a Hyundai now.

 

[oldschool88]

I loved the way mine smoked up my kitchen when the controller board failed. Hauling it to the scrapyard was a great experience.

 

[littlegreeny]

Back in March we purchased a new Whirlpool dishwasher model #WDT730PAHZ. What drew me to it was the stainless interior and exterior door, the nylon racks, the relative quietness (51 db), the fan dry and that WP dishwashers have a reputation for being very reliable. We feel like it was a relative bargain on sale for only $399.

It washes extremely well and handles BobLoads with ease. There was a small issue with one of the friction pads breaking but Whirlpool sent me a new one and it took about 5 minutes to fix. I hope this dishwasher is as reliable and durable as they say. Only time will tell.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

what I meant to say

I meant to say the pump would run while filling.

 

[bradfordwhite]

Back in "the day"

meaning the 80s, I dealt with a few Whirlpool dws over the years.
While I don't have anything against them... they just weren't fun like an early 80s D&M made Kenmore was.

It's like comparing a white Whirlpool DD washer from the 90s to a harvest gold (or any 70s color) TOL GE filter-flo washer from the 70s.

Sure, the newer model is going to be more efficient and do a better job of cleaning but....
it's just not fun.

Does a Whirlpool dishwasher have a dedicated upper level wash arm with the piping at the back of the tub?
Does a Whirlpool have a dedicated top level mini wash arm (on some models) attached to the inner tubing at the back of the tub?
Did a Whirlpool dw have a variety of utensil racks that one could move around in the dish racks? No, you had to hang the utensil rack on the door AND it didn't even stand up on a flat surface.
Could you go to a mall and buy them or pick up a telephone book thick catalog and order a Whirlpool dishwasher over the phone and charge it to your Sears card?
The answer is a sad NO.

Where's the glamour? Where's the fun?
Sure Whirlpool dishwashers that I found were often working and tended to clean the dishes but...
what am I supposed to do with that!

 

[gelaundry4ever]

cleaning power

Now days, we have the target clean wash system with total coverage spray arms. If there's anything entertaining about it, it would be seeing the water waves with the bottom arm.

 

[bradfordwhite]

See, I never had a direct view of any of my dishwashers in action back then.

 



 

I don't know who put a Gopro in their Dishwasher but my hat is off to them.

 

I've also never considered adding a window to my dishwasher like Robert has miraculously done with his.

The closest I ever got to seeing my dishwasher in action was putting it outside, tricking the latch in the on position, and standing back and watching the wash arms throw water everywhere until so much of the water was outside the pump started sucking air.  lol