OK, I'm drawn slit down the middle about my brand new KitchenAid dishwasher

[geoff]

OK, my absolute favorite Maytag TT dishwasher S#!T the bed about 2 weeks ago. I was really pissed cause it was not even 2 years old and I LOVED that machine. I must admit that I have ALWAYS wanted a KitchenAid even when I bought the Maytag. So after the 4th or 5th repair I went out and bought a brand new Kitchen Aid. I had read horrible reviews and witnessed in person Toggy's complete garbage KitchenAid. Even still, I wanted one. I have had my new one about two weeks and let me tell you it is the best dishwasher I have owned so far.. Now don't get me wrong, I DO miss my Maytag cause it was the only dishwasher I know that can fit my extra tall wine glasses in the top rack. In the KitchenAid they have to be done on the bottom rack. My dishes come out absolutely SPOTLESS in the KitchenAid. I thought my Maytag was a sandblaster but this KA has scoured the drip pans from my stove, a completely greasy bake pan that had done bacon. I have not pre-washed anything before goiung in this dishwasher and I stil get spotless results.. During the winter I keep my hot water at 160 degrees, but I turned it down last night to 140 since spring is one the way and it hasn't affected cleaning at all. I use Cascade Complete with Original Blue Jet-Dry. This dishwasher has handled anything I have thrown at it so far.. The question is, why am I having such fantastic luck with mine yet 50% of people that have bought them, hate them, and say they don't clean at all?? I'll tell ya one thing guys, I'm sticking with my Kitchen Aid.. Have at it!!!!

Geoff

 

[geoff]

Ohhh!

I'm sorry, forgot to mention. I only use the "normal" cycle with NO options and still get spotless results. The entire cycle takes about an hour and I'm putting the dishes back in about an hour and 10 minutes.

 

[tlee618]

geoff, I am so glad to hear that. It does give one hope. One hour sure isn't bad, is that with any extra added heat?

 

[dj-gabriele]

Good to hear that you're pleased with your new machine!
Can you tell us more about the model you got?

 

[geoff]

Hi Terry

No, that is with no extra heat, just the heat of my hot water..
Gabriele, the model # is KUDK03ITWH2

Terry, I really was shocked that all the Normal cycle took was an hour.. I am quite pleased

 

[johnb300m]

WOW, has KA actually revamped their machines to actually WASH???
I've been hearing for years how the TT KAs sucked.
Hopefully this is a new leaf.

 

[frigilux]

Your Maytag gave out after only two years? That makes me...nervous. My Maytag was purchased in November of 2005 and (knock on wood) it's required no service of any kind. Dishwashers have it tough in my house. In fact, I've often thought I should be enlisted to test a machine's real-world endurance. I cook a lot and it's not unusual to do at least 4 or 5 loads a day when the pots and pans are flying.

For years I refused to buy a Maytag because of the tiered upper rack; now that's one of my favorite features...besides the cleaning power, of course.

Isn't it amazing that so many of us have radically different experiences with the same appliance? If you read the online customer reviews of dishwashers at Sears or Consumer Reports, you'd not find a single model that passes muster!

Here's to your new KitchenAid; may it give you many loads of uninterrupted service! We'd love to see interior pics if you get the chance. I've heard the new KA's are very quiet, too.

Just out of curiosity: What did the service calls on your Maytag involve?

 

[rp2813]

This is good news. If I end up moving, I will eventually be in the market for new appliances. I don't know that anything on today's market can fill the shoes of my 1990 KA dishwasher or my Maytag garbage disposal but your post gives me hope regarding at least the dishwasher.

 

[coldspot66]

Let me guess what happened to the maytag talltub: broken latch handle, motor shaft adapter made of plastic snapped so that the motor would run but not circulate water, and/or bad control panel ( cannot select certain cycles or start/cancel a cycle.) Sad indeed. On a more positive note, it is a 1/3 hsp wash motor, so it does have a stronger water velocity.
I've had 2 Kenmore Elite tall tub dishwashers, and have always said that, for the amount of water they use, they are the best cleaning dishwashers I've ever had. I repair appliances for a living, so i've used/owned alot of different brands. Corners of the upper rack are a weak spot, but I've put burnt casserole pans in without any pretreatment, and they have come out "squeaky clean". My water is about 130 degrees and I do spray pans with Pam. I have found using Cascade action paks with Dawn to be the best performing detergent ever.

 

[tlee618]

geoff, please do share with us some pictures of the machine and also the model number.

 

[geoff]

sure guys!

I'll round up some pictures tomorrow

 

[mattl]

Geoff I got to say it's the water temp that makes the difference, I keep mine the same as you 160. I've read all the comments about how bad my favorite GE is and I love it and say the same things you say about your KA - it cleans everything I throw at it and does it quickly.

I think most people keep their water at 120-130 and even adding heat isn't going to make that much difference. The heat in many machines is only in the last cycle, so all the washing is done with tepid water. A machine that will heat the water obviously it is going toe add time to the cycles, I don't know how much not having the hot water initially affects things.

I can understand why people might want to keep the temperature down, perhaps new heaters won't allow you to set the temp that high anymore, but I don't find cost to be one of them. I have a TOL Sears 40 gal heater, 10+ years old - distance to the kitchen from the heater about 40', a gas cooktop, gas dryer, and a gas bbq grill and during the summer the gas bill is only about $20/mo which I think is cheap. Certainly if you have kids in the house you don't want overly hot water but other than that I think everything performs much better with hotter water. I wish some of those that hate the KA or the GE would do a test and boost their water temp to 160 range and see if that has any effect on performance.

 

[dj-gabriele]

This is off topic but...

20 $/month for cooking, water heating, barbecue and clothes dryer?!?!
That's CHEAP, I just paid my february bill of 50,62 € and it was for the hobs only since we get hot water from the waterduct and I have no clothes dryer nor gas barbecue...
My jaws are dropping.

Back on topic...

I saw the machine on the kithenaid website, it looks nice, what colour did you get? Also it's good that it has a built-it disposer, I never seen a machine with one in Europe.

 

[johnb300m]

Shit!
My parents are paying a $200 gas bill in Illinois on the southwest side of Chicago.

 

[mrsalvo]

Geoff, I'll agree wholeheartedly with you. I own a KA also, about 3-4 years old and its the best dishwasher EVER. You are right about cycle times, 1 hour later and I'm putting the dishes away. I do use the extra water heat cycle though due to the bad water in our area, so the glasses doesn't come out with a milky look. I use Cascade Complete and a Jet Dry rinse aid. I would get better results if our water wasn't so bad.

This dishwasher replaced a BOL GE....worst dishwasher we EVER owned.

 

[launderess]

Boosting water temperature for dishwasher beyond say 140F, may not be a good idea. Most of today's TOL and even MOL dishwasher detergents contain enzymes, which work best at around 120F to 140F. IIRC, both Cascade and Electrasol note this ideal range somewhere in product information (maybe on their websites) for their enzyme containing detergents.

Hot and very hot water for automatic dishwashing was the norm because in combination with very caustic detergents, it is the best way to handle grease and oil soils on dishes. Chlorine bleach was added to deal with protein. There is the fact high water temperatures help sanitise dishes as well.

Consumer Reports and other such publications worldwide have pretty much stated the same thing; today's modern enzyme dishwasher detergents with enzymes, run rings around those without. Also as with laundry, since the enzymes are doing much of the heavy cleaning, and they work in cooler water temperatures, more can be done at lower water temps, which saves energy.

It would be very interesting to see how well vintage dishwashers without heaters perform with modern enzyme based detergents. It may have saved generations of housewives all that pre-washing.

L.

 

[geoff]

Actually John,

My Maytag's issues were a bit less common. The filters clogged twice. The 3rd time something blew a hole in the filter mesh letting everything through back onto my dishes..I could only use certain types of detergent because any others would foam up and the pump would just cavitate the whole cycle. the lower spray arm froze up twice, three screws stripped out on the filter assembly. The nail in the coffin was when the food waste disposer obliterated itself. There was a burr in the metal screen (manufacturing defect) and the blade came up and hit it. That was the end of that..

 

[frigilux]

Geoff--I've wondered about how to clean around the filter area on my Maytag. It was easy to do on the Frigidaire I used to have. The occasional pea or piece of corn that doesn't make its way to the grinder requires a little more dexterity to remove than it did with the Frigidaire.

The filter area on your KitchenAid is also pretty exposed, making it easy to 'clean' occasionally, isn't it?

 

[spankomatic]

Glad to hear there is hope for Kitchenaid. Is yours a tall tub?

Jim