Need advice on a new dishwasher

[jmirawm]

Hi everybody! I have a friend at work that needs to buy a new dishwasher. He asked me if there were any brands anyone would recommend over another. Any advice would be appreciated. He has a G.E. now that has started to leak above the motor. He does not want to go to the trouble of repairing it. I am almost tempted to do it. But afraid of getting into a project I dont want to tackle. Not the Hero.

 

[coldspot66]

A Whirlpool or Kenmore made by Whirlpool would be my first choice.

 

[peterh770]

A WP that is NOT the tall tub model.

 

[jaxsunst]

Partial to WP/KM myself.

 

[veg-o-matic]

Stay away from GE. I had 2 of 'em and they both sucked.
I have a BOL Roper now and it's great. Quieter than the GEs (though I'm sure they're noisier than the more expensive ones) and they do a really good job washing, no matter what cycle I use.
It was cheap, too. I think like $157 at Lowes last year.

 

[MikeS]

Here's A Second Vote For Roper

When I moved into my condo five years ago, it had all new Roper appliances, including the bottom-of-the-line dishwasher. I love it; it gets my dishes clean even though it's somewhat noisier than it should be. But then, it IS the bottom of the line.
Here's a cleaning tip: I have found Great Value powder (sold at Wal-Mart) is excellent; it contains enzymes but it gets just about all the gunk and grime off my dishes. And it's cheap!

 

[coldspot66]

I agree with you about the Roper dishwasher. I don't like the racking arrangement with the cutouts for center tower, but it seems it would clean well, though I don't think it has a soft food disposer.

Wal-mart's Great Value powder is excellent as well. Alot of the store brands are now putting in enzymes and taking out chlorine. In this neck of the woods, the Stop & Shop brand performs well, but slightly more expensive. My opinion is they all give Cascade a run for the $$$$$.

 

[zipdang]

The builder put a Whirlpool in my house, and after three weeks of listening to it I replaced it with a Bosch. I love the Bosch for several reasons: it's extremely quiet (important since my kitchen and family room are in one big space), it's washing performance is excellent, and you can remove the top rack if you need to wash extra large items (i.e. baking sheets, huge stockpots) on the lower rack. The high-end models are pricey, but I've seen basic models that were priced very reasonably. I'd buy another Bosch in a heartbeat.

 

[ironrite]

Bosch gets my vote here. The 10 year GE Potscrubber's motor/pump went out last March. We had two of Sears TOL models, both went back. Very noisy and did not clean. Perhaps they were just bad machines. Got a Bosch SHY56 and it cleans like a dream. You can stack and load it like crazy, no heating element to melt plastics on the lower rack. Quick wash times using the Optimize setting. And so quiet that now twice, I've opened the machine, to put away my lunch or dinner dishes and didn't realize the machine was started and running. It does have indicator lights on the front, but I wasn't looking at those. For us the condensing drying works just fine. Sure some plastics have a bit water on them, but no more so than the old GE or other dishwashers I've used.

 

[foraloysius]

Some Kenmore models are rebadged Bosch dishwashers.

 

[kenmore1978]

recommendation

Partial to WP/KM/KA, as is Consumer Reports. But should be the upper models.

 

[agiflow-action]

I'm partial to WP also,I just don't care for the cheap plastic tubs they are using in their tall tub models.Very flimsy and wayyy tooo lightweight.

 

[scott55405]

I have a newer Kenmore Elite talltub with hidden controls and Quiet Guard 9, which I absolutely love. It is essentially the Sears version of the KA superba. The only real difference is it has a Whirlpool, rather than KA style wash arm. It is very quiet, easy to load, holds a ton and cleans beautifully. Stainless interior. I could not be happier. I just push the smart wash button and it pretty much figures everything out for me, though I can select many other cycles manually too.

I never thought I wanted a talltub, thinking it would be too low to the ground, but it's not that much lower and the taller tub makes a huge difference as to how much it holds. I considered the F&P drawers that my friend Glenn (Dadoes) has and likes, but at roughly half the price, no tax and next to nothing for installation, this was just too good a value to pass up.

In the post GM-Frigidaire era, I have been happiest with KitchenAid and Sears/Whirlpool dishwashers, though I once even had a D&M style compact Sears dishwasher that I also liked.

I don't care for the racks in the European machines, they seem really cheesy and look hard to load unless you're using china and crystal, and at least at this point I'm not buying into the whole no food grinder/no element thing.

Album password "Boba1"

http://www.picturetrail.com/members/edit?p=20&gid=5562970

 

[scott55405]

Use this link should the other not work (sorry)

http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery...4581&members=1&galleryPassword=BoUMPBxVblccM&

 

[westytoploader]

Does D&M still make dishwashers?

The reason I ask is because my grandmother had a late 1970's 18" Kenmore D&M design machine, and it was the best machine. So powerful you could hear the glasses clinking inside. Loved the way it filled; unlike the Hotpoint and the Jenn-Air we had in our previous house which filled while the motor was running, this was near-silent. "Hisssssssss", a short pause, then "WHOOOOOOOOSH!" with the "Woo-woo-woo" sound of the pump starting up. It lasted for the longest time until it was replaced by a Roper machine 2 years ago when she updated her kitchen. It might have had problems with rack rust; as far as I can remember she never had a problem with it mechanically. Looked great too.

The Roper machine sounds identical to the Kenmore, fills the same way, and also is set up the same on the inside. Could this be a D&M?

--Austin

 

[coldspot66]

The new Kenmore Elite d/w now has Turbo-clean option. There is a stationary nozzle at the back wall of the d/w which is fed from the tower that goes up the back. Not sure how it works, but there is a "turbo-clean" button on the control panel to select it. I would think you have to load pots facing the back in order for it to wash them. Interesting.

Austin,

D&M was bought by WCI in the 80's . The only dishwashers that are still truly the D&M design are the 18" dishwashers. I wonder how long they will keep the design.

 

[appnut]

Those Roper dishwasher have the famous Whirlpool PowerClean wash system. Peter I think the KM tall tubs ahve been improved since you had yours.

 

[jmirawm]

Thanks

Thanks for all the recommendations guys! my friend appreciates the input. And Scott! Your Tall Tub is beautiful! I love the styling of the racks and the hidden buttons also! Makes me wanna go out and buy one!

 

[agiflow-action]

Scott,that is a really nice dw you have.If i was going to replace my current machine,i would definitely consider one of the elite machines.The racks look very flexible.

Now if they would only offer these machines in a portable version.

Pat