Dishwasher recomendations Ireland/UK/Europe Generally

[MrX]

I'm looking at replacing a 1995 Bosch Dishwasher. The buttons have broken and are no longer making contact with the control panel below. We have had to get this component replaced several times over the life of the machine and also it's been through two control boards.

Now, while it's a nice machine and it's done a good job and has had no mechanical problems, other than a broken detergent cup, I am in two minds as to what type of machine to replace it with.

Miele is an option, although I'd like to get a reasonably high end one and that tends to be pretty expensive.

Another Bosch, or Siemens is also on the cards. Although, I would like to know more about people's experience with recent models. Are there any recomendations ?

Which? seems to rate AEG-Electrolux quite highly. What are these machines like ? I have had a look at some Zanussis in the local Harvey Norman, (they were low on display stock as they're in the middle of some kind of sale mode).

What spray arms to AEG-Electrolux machiens have ?

I have used machines that only have two spray arms and lack the top sprayer that Bosch / Siemens has, and the results were significantly poorer i.e. traces left on the bottom of cups / glasses etc.

So, any suggestions ... ?

 

[rolls_rapide]

Try sticking to Bosch / Siemens

I have a Bosch Logixx from 2003 and it seems to be a good performer. Extremely quiet too.

I noticed in the Public Library the other day that Which? magazine recommended Bosch models. They did say that the top Bosch model, a Logixx was very quiet, held 140-odd pieces of crockery and cutlery, cleaned dishes well, but was noted for being poorer in the self-cleaning department.

This is a test conducted by Which? to see which models can remove smeared jam from the door-inner, as you would expect if you were loading dripping, soiled dishes into the machine.

In saying that, I gather that the latest Bosch models try to optimise their water usage (and reduce noise) by shooting their water sprays onto the dishes, rather than at the interior walls and door liner.

Another Bosch model held 130 pieces (possibly an Exxcel - can't remember now) and got a good write up.

My mother had three Zanussis between 1987 and 2004. Each successive model lasted 1 year to 18 months shorter than the previous one. The door springs are notorious for breaking - they "twang" a great deal!. Also, the control panel plastic seemed to be very brittle on one of them.

 

[ronhic]

We had a Bosch in the UK and I could only fault it's dislike of powder and preference for tablets. other than that, it was wonderful.

From a reliability perspective it would seem that both Which and Choice readers have rated

Miele
Bosch
Siemens
Electrolux/AEG (and Electrolux brands in Oz)
Whirlpool

and Blanco here....as average or higher.

The current Blanco machines that are sold in Oz are made by Beko and the Beko DWD8657 scored well in the last Which test.

Having said that, Whirlpool (according to users) have good reliability and scored well. They have a model under GBP275 which beat every Miele tested......sounds a bit of a bargain to me...

 

[washboy2005]

Whirlpool!

Whirlpool never seem to get as much spotlight as they deserve imho.
I had a semi integrated whirlpool dishwasher in my previous house and I just could not fault it. Cleaned well, Short cycle times and relitavely quiet although noise to me is not an issue. They perform well, seem to be built to withstand most households and are in a very reasonable price bracket. .

I now have an all stainless steel siemens, and whilst I cant fault it performace wise, I just wish it didnt take an age to do it lol.

Dan

 

[favorit]

my 2 cents ...

Hi Mr.X,
what i'm about to write is based on my personal/ my relatives experience

Whirlpool : poor washing performance (due to a ridiculous washing pump, having the same power of the drain one) and poor build quality. I have a Bauknecht badged DW whose lower rack is bended by the dishes weight and blocks the lower spray arm. I have to put a couple of knives under the rack wheels to avoid this :-((
So I'd stay away even from KitchenAid Europe, that' s simply a more expensive whirlie EU

AEG : a real AEG Favorit DW has a tilted upper rack, anything else is a Zanussi with an AEG badge. Older Favorits (those with mechanical timer) had a better quality (i.e. stainless steel lower spray arm). My brother TOL integrated Favorit hasn't anything that sprays water over the upper rack : usually they have the 3rd spray arm or at least a nozzle. Despite the moulds look identical to those of the german production line, the label on the DW say "made in Portugal"

Zanussi made dishwashers usually wash very well despite they haven't the 3rd spray arm. The downside is the cheap plastics quality : wheels and detergent cup wear easily

Bosch/Siemens DW still are considered nice performers. Anyway I'd stay away from those models with the "mielish" cutlery tray : can't understand how a spinning nozzle can do the same job of the miele huge 3rd spray arm ......

Miele .... what about the BOL model G 1022 or G 1022 SC ? Here it costs as much as MOL Bosch/Siemens machines. For the same price I'd go for a Miele

 

[dj-gabriele]

Get a SMEG!
Most models come with standard 5 years warranty, they consume less than Miele and clean better according to the Italian consumer reports, plus they're stylish and quiet and the racks are very well designed. Most upscale models come with stainless steel racks, internal light and 3rd wash arm and yet manage to cost half than Miele machines. And they all have the orbital wash arm that really makes a difference in cleaning the corners!
BSH are nice but the styling is ugly, plus everybody say that they take years to complete a load and I've been told that SMEG sources parts for some diswhashers they make, just as some TOL SMEG washing machines are BSH with another badge.
Whirlpool only gave me bad experience, but that might be only me, so I'll avoid this too.
Electrolux brand are, for quality, same as Indesit, regardless what others might say, till they run, they're nice, but don't ask for repairs when something happens! Even the pricy AEG wasn't recomended to me when I went shopping for appliances for my parents!
If you want to spend little condider Hotpoint/Ariston as they clean well and are cheap and at least is more quality than Indesit (even if I must say that my Indesit cleans better than my aunt Rex-Electrolux).
I won't get anything Candy or Brandt made because the racks are terrible and they're coated wire so most sure they'll rust in 2 years and the machine aren't that well rated for cleaning, usually the last three are Candy/Hoover/Sangiorgio(Brandt).

 

[ronhic]

I would avoid Brandt. They used to be sold here as 'Kleenmaids' and don't have a good reputation at all for reliability

 

[rolls_rapide]

No, Don't touch SMEG!

Which? remarked before that owners liked SMEG styling, but the reliability was woeful.

Hotpoint and Indesit seem to have the wash tank in several panels that are crimped together and sealed with silicon sealant. Zanussi used to do this too.

Bosch on the other hand appear to have welded tanks (apart from the cheapest bottom of the range Classixx, which has a plastic base).

 

[foraloysius]

According to a guy who repairs appliances AEG dishwashers aren't the same quality as they used to be. That's a pity, AEG has some rather cheap models that are very silent.

A friend of mine has a Miele G1220 and is totally unhappy with it. His previous dishwasher was a Miele too, after 20 years it sometimes didn't heat the water. He decided to get a new one but he is very disappointed in the drying results, much worse than the old machine. If he had known he would have had the old Miele repaired.

To me the Bosch/Siemens racks look more sturdy than the Miele racks. I especially like the Bosch/Siemens dishwashers with the third rack. I don't know anyone though who has such a machine.

Whirlpool are interesting machines because of the price. Ikea sells cheap integrated ones. Friends of mine have a fully integrated one and it's not very loud, I could live with the noise it makes. However, the racks are really a pain to load.

 

[brisnat81]

Hi All,

We've had a G2220 which is the tall tub model of the 1220 for almost 4 years now, always dries well, finishes the lightly soiled normal cycle in 90 mins, heavy soil in about 120.

The Drying fan failed about 12 months ago outside of warranty and Miele replace it for free as it was a known fault.

I find the bottom rack great, the top one mediocre and the cuttlery tray amazing. Everything always comes out clean and dry.

I wouldnt get one of the SC models in the 1xxx series as they are the small tub with the cuttlery tray. You loose 5cm of height because of the tray and in the 1xxx series model, that wouldnt leave enough space for me to fit pans and tall items in the top rack at the same time. If you must get a 1xxx series get one without the cuttlery tray.

Have said of this, when the nasty Brandt (Kleenmaid) Dishwasher at Michels mum's finally dies, I'll be replacing it with the Bosch SMS63M08AU as it is SS a tall tub and freestanding which is important due to age and non dishwasher friendly nature of her kitchen. I'm not too sure about BSH quality, but for $1400 dollars compared to the $2400 for the G2220 Equiv miele it is a steal.

I havent bothered to look at other brands in a while. The dish drawers I've used at work suck and I'm not a fan of the flimsyness of almost everything else in AU that is Electrolux based. We had a late 90's whirlpool dishwasher that was horrible at cleaning, we gave up on it and got the Miele instead. Nothing we did to that machine got it to clean properly and it was one that was still made in Germany.

http://www.boschappliances.com.au/content.asp?document_id=622&category_id=48

 

[bewitched]

Smeg

In my experience Smeg is always amongst the firsts (just second to Ariston and Indesit) to fill the curbside.Several days ago I found one all stainless steel, fully electronic control (it also had the "automatic wash")with the famous racks "stainless steel appearance". They were already rusty in several points! I rushed it home to see the cause it was discarded. It had the wash pump shell almost melted (obviously it didn't turn) with the display showing only two lines (failure of electronic board). I saw many other Smeg dishwashers discarded for water leaks, heating element literally burned out not to speak about failures of electronic boards. A friend of mine replaced the control board three times in eight years and then she threw it away shortly after the last repair! According to what my friend told me she never got a really clean pot or pan in it despite the noise it made. It simply was uncapable of scrubbing out heavy soil! And it had the famous orbital system! Big deal! You can tell it's cheap just watching its back. The rear is made of a cheap plastic sheet like the one used to pack fragile items during shipping! My friend also had one of theirs original made washers.It used to shake so badly during the spin and the outer drum jumped so high it disengaged from the springs that should keep it in place. She also had to replace tiles under it!No wonder theirs washing machines are now outsourced!

 

[zanussi_lover]

Electrolux/ZANUSSI/AEG/TRICITY BENDIX

I have a 2005 Tricity Bendix Dishwasher, with push button controls, a limited edition model. and its brilliant

have had no problems with it at all, washes well and is very quiet

 

[rolls_rapide]

zanussi_lover

Do the door springs "twang" when you open the door?

When they go, they go with a bang - usually one goes and the door suddenly becomes a dead weight.

I found the main baskets in the Zanussi models to be not as sturdy as Bosch models.

 

[hoovermatic]

Cannot speak highly enough about Bosch in my experience and Electrolux from the family home, which although purchased as 'graded' in 1993 was hammered for 13 years and never gave a moments problem.

 

[vivalalavatrice]

My Dishwaser experience

Ok... here you are my dishwasher experience:

- 1987 Candy was our first dishwasher, lasted until the 1997 when it was taken away for another house. Ten years of washing, no leaks, no problems, really satisfatcting wash performance. It has been restored now once and it's still working even though with some reparation done

- 1997 Whirlpool: nothing worst thant this dishwasher comparing with the previouse one. Ten years of working several repair man surgeries... fill valve, soap disper, porthole hinges, motherboard, two upper rack seals, wash motorpump (anything else!?).
It was asked us to disuse it but I decided to "restore" it and it's still working "quite" well

I don't know now if newer Whirlpool models are better than mine and neither if Candy still make machine reliable like that one but I suppose they don't.
I've always heard (even if I stil don't understand if it's only due to the best quality of the materials and components they udse) that German brands are not bad at dishwashers, so Miele/BSH/Siemens/AEG(Electrolux)

Bye
Diomede