Best cleaning dishwashers past and present

[agiflow]

I don't know if this has been touched on before, but what brand do many of you think has always been a great cleaning dishwasher? Overall, who had the best cleaning performance ( styling not a major point here) either by ownership or by what Consumers Reports said.

This i would really like to hear.

Pat

 

[petek]

My best so far has to be the current Miele with a but, I can't recollect any cleaning problems with my first Hobart KA portable that only had a bottom spray arm and it was solidly built. The Whirpool in the door cutlery rack that was in my first house was only so so and noisy. The BOL GE in my second house was so bad I tossed it after two years and got the Miele to replace it.

 

[mayken4now]

Kitchenaid and Frigidaire

To me, first, the Kitchenaid, then the Fridigaire.

The worst, would be the new "plastic tub" peices of junk, all of them.

Steve

 

[westytoploader]

My 1975 Whirlpool Imperial cleans just as well as the 2005 Bosch, if not better. I've done the "no-pre-rinsing" test with both and everything has come out perfectly clean. The Super Scour cycle on the Whirlpool really gets that water HOT--hotter than hands can stand!!

I hope to find an early portable D&M dishwasher in the future that I can put to the test as well. Always like the sounds of my grandmother's 18" Kenmore (a built-in model)...

 

[appnut]

Steven, please elaborate on Frigidaires. Every one I've used (spray-tube) and the next generation, were abysmal performers in my extra gunky tests. My 1986 GE PotScrubber GSD1200 kicks pretty mean butt, especially with Cascade Complete.

 

[MrX]

5 Year old Bosch and before that an Ariston.

Can't say i've had problems with either. Dishes have always come out completely spotless.

The only dishwasher that I had problems with was in the USA but to be fair to the machine, it was ancient. Student apartment and I dont think the machine had been replaced in a VERY long time.

It was made by Caloric and had 2 detergent cups and seemed to only have one rotor arm at the bottom and a kinda thing that popped up during the wash to spray the top rack.

It was incrediably noisy (compared to what I'm used to) and didn't do a very good job.

My parents had an old Siemens dishwasher from the 1970s that lasted for ever. It was eventually replaced by a Miele a few years ago.

The old Siemens machine never had any problem cleaning dishes. It started to leak but had put in at least 22 years service at at least one wash a day.

 

[mrsalvo]

I have a 2001 Kitchen Aid and it is by far the best diswasher
I've ever owned.

My previous dishwasher nearly caught my kitchen on fire, litteraly. It was a GE potscrubber, purchased in 1993, the thermostat malfunctioned and did not kick off the heating element. Everything in that load was ruined beyond use, the kitchen cabinets around the dishwasher was extremely hot to the touch. Three weeks after this happened, GE sent a recall
on all dishwashers manufactured between 1991 to 1994. If my house had caught on fire I would have sued GE for everything
I could have gotten out of them. Luckily I was at home and could smell the smoke. SCARED THE HELL OUT OF ME.

Moral of the story: Never turn on your dishwasher and leave home or go to bed. I learned my lesson the hard way. Dryers also.

 

[toggleswitch]

best dishwasher

I really liked my portable plastic-tub WP of circa 1991. "Light" wash has W-R-R phases. But not a fair comparison because that one was always used in apartments that had excessively hot water.

My KA now (in a house) is moderate in results. because IMHO the water-in temp is lukewarm.

The Basement GE (in the "entertaining" kitchen)does a better job. Of course we are not here considering reults baed on water use!

Let's put it this way, with the amount of water my GE uses it BETTER be off-the-charts phenomenal in reults! LOL

 

[toggleswitch]

D&M dishwashers

Autsin:

Greetings.

You are a bit far way over in TX, but I was reminedd of an aunt's D&M with a Sears badge. Unused for decades, it is from the (early?)70's Sorry to say it is located in CT.

HMMM I'm wondering if I could get her to sell it...maybe someone in the tri-state area( NY, NJ, CT?)

Regards,
Steve

 

[appnut]

Steve, why should distance stop Austin. I mean, didn't Venus have a 40" Frigidaier range shipped via Ebay???

Steve I generally use only light wash (wrw(heated)rr) or Potscrubber. My light uses 8 galloons, of course PotScrubber is 11.9 gallons LOL. I believe the equivalent on the 2800 is Normal Wash and Medium soil. The Potscrubber with medium soil. When I've been cooking/or baking and need quick clean up due to nothing "sitting", then I use Normal with light soil (which I believe says Energy Saver--main wash isn't heated.

 

[gadgetgary]

Best of both worlds

I have a KA(KUDS220T4) which cleans everything perfectly and just got a GE 2800(all electronic)on Ebay in March, which cleans perfectly. On the GE, I use the Normal wash, mediul soil level and everything comes out GREAT. I use the Normal cycle on the KA unless I pack it, then, I use the Soak & Scrub. And the porcelain interior ROCKS! I love both dishwashers.

 

[maytagbear]

My favourite was the belt-drive Maytag

we had for almost 20 years. It was noisy, but oh, did it clean well. The Maytag we replaced it with in '94 was nearly as good.

Then, I entered rental hell. The best one was a BOL Whirlpool in my first apartment. Then, there were BOL GE's in the second and third apartments.

Cascade Complete helped a LOT. I am a huge fan of enzymes in dishwasher detergent.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[maytagbear]

oh, yes--

Water temperature, freshness of detergent (especially powdered), and good loading technique helps a lot.

However, I was never impressed with impeller machines. They seemed to be "dish sprinklers," rather than dishwashers.

Not sure about current machines, but in the machines I have used, I used Maytag more often, and in order of use: Maytag, Whirlpool, KitchenAid, and GE.

Love and laughter,

Maytagbear

 

[toggleswitch]

Shipping cost.

Quote: Steve, why should distance stop Austin. I mean, didn't Venus have a 40" Frigidaier range shipped via Ebay???

Hi Appnut!

No clue about the range.. for me that's B.C. (before- clubmembership.)

I was thinking only of shipping cost! I have seen members defer purchases and refer for-sale items to other members that are situated more geographically desirable.

Auntie is only keeping it because she believes the garbage pick-up won't take it!! To get rid of it AND receive some $, she may pass out!!

Austin, if you want it you have first dibs!, I'll work on it for ya!

 

[toggleswitch]

Quote "...I generally use only light wash (wrw(heated)rr) or Potscrubber. My light uses 8 gallons, of course PotScrubber is 11.9 gallons."

OMG...... my old WP used to do [W-W-R-R] as "normal" cycle. I'm guessing the fills are 1.1 gallons, maybe now much less (that was the ancient D&M fill) 4.4 gallons versus 8 YIKES!!!!

(For litres as we all prob. know.. multiply by 4!!)

[Never been to TX, but from what I can tell everything really IS bigger there, including people's hearts and personalitites!!!]

 

[kenmore1978]

Caloric

"It was made by Caloric and had 2 detergent cups and seemed to only have one rotor arm at the bottom and a kinda thing that popped up during the wash to spray the top rack."

Sounds like a cheapie D & M machine made for Caloric. That tower system wasn't so great, and these machines also don't do well if they don't get their full charge of water, either.

D & M machines work great (my '78 Sears branded cleaned excellently, did better than current '88 WP on flatware) IF they have either the full spray arm for the upper rack, or the spray tube with Roto Rack