Dishwasher advice for Sarah's mid-century kitchen

sarahperdue · Sep 3, 2019

Here goes, Ralph,

My kitchen vision has been "the way my grandmother had it" for so many years that it just occurred to me about a week ago that I might want a dishwasher. When it hit me, it was a "Wow! I could have had a V-8" moment.

I like vintage, but I'm also pretty enamored with my Bosch SHE68T

Thoughts, advice, ideas...

I'm not terribly concerned about noise or water usage, but I want my dishes clean. After over a decade with a BOL GE contractor grade dishwasher that was mostly a rinse, dry and store device, I am very attached to having a dishwasher that actually cleans the dishes.

The house is on a septic system.

Sarah

lowefficiency · Sep 3, 2019

>> I like vintage, but I'm also pretty enamored with my Bosch SHE68T

Sarah, were you aware there was a recall on the SHE68T? Control panel board failures leading to fires..
Check your serial number against the recall webpage if you haven't done so already.

If yours is within the range, Bosch will either repair yours for free with updated parts, or give you a nice discount on a new Bosch dishwasher.

https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2017/bsh-home-appliances-expands-recall-of-dishwashers

chachp · Sep 3, 2019

Now you're speaking my language....

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Some options:

 

Big Chill makes a panel that fits on a modern Kitchen Aid dishwasher if you like this look:

https://bigchill.com/us/dishwasher-panel.html

 

Or they make their own:

https://bigchill.com/us/retro-dishwasher.html

 

SMEG also makes one:

https://www.smegusa.com/dishwashers/

 

The advantage to these three is you can pick from many colors or even have a custom color done if you want to $$.

 

Would another option be a BOSCH that you can add a custom panel and design one of your own to go with the kitchen?

 

If I were doing a kitchen like yours, I would likely go for a vintage machine that goes with the age of your kitchen and your other appliances. These do, however, require maintenance. Given they are old they will need attention from time to time so that would be a deciding factor as well.

maytagbear · Sep 3, 2019

Sarah........

do you have experience living with a septic syslem? Having a modern dishwasher reduces the number of costly pumpouts.

This can be a consideration if more than 4 people live in the house full time. White front dishwashers are more nearly timeless. Plus think about the machines with front top controls.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

chachp · Sep 3, 2019

Septic tank pump outs...

Lawrence, how do modern dishwashers reduce the number of pump outs? My sister lives in Wisconsin and everything she does seems to be driven by how it affects her septic system. I'm sure she would be very pleased to have this information.

Thank you.

wayupnorth · Sep 3, 2019

Pump outs depend on the type of septic system. Mine is a pump uphill to the leach field with a 3 chamber tank and after 17 years the pump float valve failed. Septic guy asked if I had it pumped out recently. I said you are the first one to pull the cover. He said what ever you are doing, keep doing it. But many people up here in this neck of the woods put just the toilet into the septic and gray water goes out to be absorbed. Since gray water has no phosphates now, its not hurting the environment. Makes gardens grow great.

brisnat81 · Sep 3, 2019

Why not go for a Bosch or a Miele that you can install a matching front on, using the same door hardware as your cabinets. That way it should be almost invisible amongst the cabintry. Nobody will ever know.

sarahperdue · Sep 3, 2019

Septic system pump outs...

This one has been pumped out twice in 80 years... Once when I was a child and once when we took possession of the house.

It's probably one of those simpler is better kind of situations. It's a large concrete box with a divider in the middle. If I remember correctly, the water enters the bottom of one side, overflows into to the second side...and I'm not sure where the drain goes after that...

volsboy1 · Sep 4, 2019

Smeg retro dishwashers are very cool looking. I have had a Smeg 36 in dishwasher for
9 years and never a problem with it.
They wash very well with that Satellite wash arm set up they have.Smeg dishwashers are about the Same price as Bosch Dishwasher, Save for the Retro models they all start around 1500 bucks.I love the Art Deco hints in the styling although Red is not my color.

spacepig · Sep 6, 2019

The house I live in is an old farmhouse, that did not have a set up for a dishwasher when we moved in. About 10 years later we remodeled the kitchen and went withA standard set of Samsung appliances from Lowe’s. The Samsung dishwasher crapped out after about two years, and we replaced it with a BOL Frigidaire due to lack of finances at the time.

After seeing someone’s vintage stove, I decided that I wanted to go retro in my kitchen, that’s when the hunt for old appliances and metal cabinets began. A few months ago we replaced the BOL Frigidaire with a 71 whirlpool. While I love that it cleans the dishes in half the time of the Frigidaire, I think if/when this one dies, I’m going to go back to a newer dishwasher. I miss being able to to put anything in there. I can’t put any light plastics in there, because the force of the water actually pushes them off of the racks. Since there is no cover over the heating element on the bottom, a couple of things made it through on top of the element and actually melted. It doesn’t have the capacity of the newer dishwashers, so I do run more loads, or have to hand wash a lot more dishes, which is the opposite of what I want to do LOL. Also, it is LOUD, To the point that we can’t be in the kitchen when it’s running, As you can’t hold any kind of conversation. So that’s just my two cents for whatever it’s worth .

chachp · Sep 6, 2019

I'm comin' out...I want the world to know....hear th

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Well, as much as I hate to admit it, I am slowly coming around to having the same opinion. In the past 17 years I’ve owned three Bosch dishwashers in three different houses. I also had a Dacor at one point. I will say each of those machines produced a different kind of clean than my vintage machines. I know that sounds odd, but the dishes seem cleaner or shinier or something. It’s hard to articulate other than to say they are just cleaner.

 

Now don’t get me wrong, I love all my vintage machines. Mine are KA, Maytag and Westinghouse. Those of you who have known me for years, and seen some of my Bob Loads, know I push these machines to the limit just as I do the new ones and there is a difference. When it comes to loading and cleaning the newer ones do a better job. I still miss all the sounds. The water whishing around, the clicking of the timers and the popping of the drain valves, etc.

 

I spend probably 90% of my free time in the kitchen. Cooking is my hobby and I am so lucky to have a husband with a healthy appetite. In my kitchen any machine gets a workout. In this house he requested a new machine because it fit better with the look and since he does like to help out in the kitchen, he prefers the newer machines. He can’t be bothered with the details required loading some vintage machines. He didn’t do too bad with the KAs that have the center wash arm and the reverse rack, but those that required more precise loading frustrated the hell out of him especially the KA 17 series and older. He just can’t be bothered so I compromise.

 

There you are, I’ve come out AGAIN! I’m free now from my guilt of worrying I would be shunned from the club or lose my AW card carrying privileges. 

I think a great option for any 'NEW' vintage kitchen is any of these machines with the vintage look or one where you can add a panel giving a vintage look. Unless of course it's that sweet looking turquoise Hotpoint impeller machine many of us are waiting to see in action. Oh no, have I gone back in the vintage closet?

volsboy1 · Sep 6, 2019

My Bosch didn't clean that great it seemed but that might be me. I don't pre-rinse
anything ever. I don't even scrape off my dishes. I dump in the sink and if it dont
fall off it goes in the dishwasher.
My 1995 Maytag E.Q. Clean dishwasher was
the best at cleaning and grinding up everything.
Old Kicthenaids the KDS-21 had a full blown disposer in it, but food could not really get down in there easy like my Maytag.
I threw everything in that Maytag Piles of food and it would be gone the next day
and nothing in the bottom.
There was a center tower that would bobble and never spray the same way twice and a almost full size spray on the ceiling of that machine. Not one of these machines today that has a top rinse sprinkler .It would hold all that food in the bottom till it drained and it would grind it up and flush it down the drain.
The only dishwasher that could out clean it, that I have used was my Aunts Miele Professional dishwasher.
That dishwasher pumped 109 Gallons a minute but, she entertains big dinner parties and I could never afford something like that. It was so much fun to use though
but I would always burn myself cause it gets so hot like 180 .. I have never had a high end Bosch though the top of the line might wash much better than mine did. .
The one I had was plastic on the bottom the Ascenta. I am saving money for a Miele the entry level one and I am still getting a Old Maytag E.Q. Jetclean I will just swap them out once a year.

sarahperdue · Sep 8, 2019

So many choices...

Thanks for all of the input.

I'm leaning towards another Bosch. If I go vintage, I'm inclined to go with one of the KitchenAid Superba series.

Dishwasher is still down the list a ways. Right now, I'm focusing on fridges and ovens...and cabinets and countertops and walls and floors

So excited about it all!

norgeway · Sep 8, 2019

Im going to be the dissenter

New machines are quiet and use very little water But their washing ability is sub par compared to old KitchenAids, Whirlpools and Reverse Rack Maytags, But the main thing is Noisy though they may be, they wash your dishes CLEAN in less than a hour I think a dishwasher that runs 2 or 3 hours is totally ridiculous,I have a nearly worn out KitchenAid Custom 21 , Its a terribly noisy thing but when it dies it will be replaced by a older model, I PREFER a 17 or earlier 1 arm wonder They wash CLEAN even blasting off burned on stuff off of Pyrex I wash everything except my cookware in the dishwasher and I NEVER pre scrub or pre rinse.

toploader55 · Sep 8, 2019

You should grab that KitchenAid that just went up for sale in Shopper's Square

That's the perfect machine for your Vintage Kitchen

sarahperdue · Sep 8, 2019

That stainless KA on Shopper's Square

Oh, my gosh, it's gorgeous!
It's breath-taking and definitely an inspiration to go vintage!

So, let's get real--
What do y'all know about this beauty?
Dimensions? is it the same size as a modern dishwasher? If I build my kitchen around it and it dies, what are the odds I can put a modern replacement in the same spot?
How much maintenance/attention will it need?
What about model specific replacement parts? I don't want a stash of parts donor washers in my shed, but I would be interested in laying in a few key parts

Sarah

toploader55 · Sep 8, 2019

As far as I know they are standard 24 inch machines. Most of these models are gravity drain... which means they do Not pump water out. A drain line that is plumbed under the machine as the Drain Valve will open and the water goes out of the machine exactly the same way as a kitchen sink.

In my own opinion, this machine really looks pristine. There are Gaskets and a few other parts still available. Steve our resident Hobart Dr. Bombay, can supply further information.

I would say buy it, and do the Hot water soak. Although with this machine you will need electrical supply hooked top as the Drain solenoid is energized (closed) during the Washing and Rinsing but Open while draining and the machine is off. So you can throw liquids in this machine while it is off and it will go down the drain.

Sorry... that was long winded

Here is a link to a Thread I did years ago. The first two are the commercial version of the KD-12 that is your new future kitchen.

If I owned my own home, I would drive from Massachusetts and grab it, I just could not properly install it.

Nice it still has the original Detergent dispenser cup/screen in the silverware basket where it should be.

Racks look great.

All of that and Yes, they are 24". The standard with of todays machines.

Early Hobart Dish Machines

First Up is the UM-4

www.automaticwasher.org

sarahperdue · Sep 8, 2019

Thanks, Dave

I checked on the recall, and mine isn't affected.

lowefficiency · Sep 8, 2019

Sure thing! Glad yours is a safe one.

Dishwasher advice for Sarah's mid-century kitchen

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