Remodeling Kitchen , thinking of going from a 24 inch dishwasher to a 18 inch dishwasher

[verizonbear]

Continuing on with my house updating, I am toying with the idea of going with a 18 inch Bosch dishwasher with the integrated panel, instead of keeping a 24" dishwasher. I know I am only gaining 6 inches ( no jokes please lol) but that extra room would allow me a double bowl sink, larger cabinet and more storage.

I am finding I barely fill up my 24" GE with a week's worth of dishes , my house is smaller 1400 square feet so iit lends itself to to a DINK couple or an urban single person as potential buyers

Any thoughts yay or nay ?

 

[washer111]

Double Sink?

I have to ask, but a Double Sink? You've got a dishwasher! You don't need it. In our place, we wish we could get rid of it, since our house is probably a little smaller than yours, and reclaim more bench space. Its horrible having TWO bowls + a drying area.

I hate to say it, but you'll probably regret it later on, when you are preparing a large meal for lots of guests. Never mind about not being able to fill the Dishwasher in a week. If you have to run it every 2 weeks, its still better than washing up by hand - besides, you must be saving lots of water doing that (even if using the Heavy cycle!) ;-)

 

[sudsmaster]

I'd have to agree with washer111. You don't need a double sink if you've got a dishwasher.

Maybe I'm different, but alone I can fill a 24" dishwasher several times a week. And it's always a struggle to fit in that last bowl or plate or glass when I've waited a little too long.

Also, 18" dishwashers are harder to find, and probably more expensive with fewer features than their 24" cousins. And who knows, maybe the dinks that buy your house are foodies.

 

[ronhic]

Why not go for 1 1/2 bowl rather than 2 or go for a corner sink unit (check under specialty)

A corner sink will at least mean you get maximum available bench space that is well lit rather than corner space that tends to have overhead/corner cupboards and is hard to use properly.

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[fido]

I would go for the double sink but no dishwasher lol. But then I've managed without a dishwasher for the last 52 years....

 

[appnut]

Stay with the single sink and full size dishwasher like Rich suggested.  I eat breakfast and dinner at home daily.  So mine gets run probably every 3-5 days.  Plus I prepare lunches in big batches and freeze individually, so lots of cooking.  Another option would be F&P DishDrawers.  But with a dishwasher one shouldn't need two sinks anyway.  My aunt had a household of 8 and lived with a single bowl (on purpose) for 35 years with her trusty dishwasher right there too.

 

[frigilux]

Keep the full-size dishwasher and get a single sink. And don't afraid to run the machine even if it isn't full. They use so little water and electricity these days.

 

[rapunzel]

Single bowl (farmhouse) sink - big and deep enough for serious work plus full-size dishwasher.

Even in a two person household it shouldn't be that difficult to fill it up every day - unless you regularly order takeout in disposable containers. Single persons struggling to generate dishes can use the 1/2 wash option. Most importantly and as mentioned above, prospective purchasers or tennants may be put off by small dishwasher.

 

[yogitunes]

keep the sink....and stay with the 24" dishwasher.......but replace what you got with a Bosch, or similar, that will allow you to wash one rack.....it flexes with your lifestyle

I installed one of these for my brother, and he can wash "top rack only", because he uses a lot more glasses/cups/untensils than plates, but also has the option to remove the top rack, to wash large pots or cookie sheets, and do a "Bottom Rack Only!

PS...you can't expect to gain 6 inches, and not have us comment.....especially me!....lol

 

[launderess]

Well I'll Be Piggy In The Middle

We've had an 18" DW for years and find they suit fine.

For a household of three or less that does not do heavy amounts of baking/cooking with large pans/pots these units are fine. Plenty of us in NYC have them as they are a better option than those counter top units. If one has a busy household and or cooks allot you might find yourself having to run the unit more than once a day or so.

Know you like to cook/bake so in that case you may wish to go ahead with a full sized unit. Can fit most large baking/mixing bowls inside my Frigidare (Kenmore brand) 18" but racks from the convection oven, full sized cookie sheets, etc are another story. One has to do those things by hand.

 

[washer111]

If it ain't Broke:

Don't fix it! (Except that sink, you can downgrade now) Wait until your current GE dies of something, then replace it with a new model with half load options. Something tells me alternating spray arms isn't the most reliable option out there, even if it is tested. 

 

Provided you have a good detergent and nice, hot water, I'm sure running your current machine on the Energy Saver cycle (or equivalent Fast cycle) should be enough, provided it already handles bad loads easily...

 

[whirlcool]

We have dog bowls we put in our DW along with our stuff and we run the dishwasher 6 nights out of the week on sanitize. Nothing is used that cannot be washed in the dishwasher.

Everything we use is glass, ceramic or metal. No plastic at all.

We have a double sink but I can't tell you the last time we used the left side. A single would give us much more counter space.

 

[mikeklondon]

Don't do it

In the last refit of our current house we fitted one large sink and a DW that was VERY little smaller than standard for the UK its 55CM (21.6'') instead of the normal 60CM (23.6'') I have lived with it for 9 years and regret it every day. Its a very small kitchen but in the refit we are planing now its a 1.1/2 bowl sink, and an XL DW. Large bowl for veg. prep ect. and the disposer in the small one. Not often I disagree with Launderess but a small DW is nothing but a pain even for 1 or 2. One other point is my current DW is raised from the floor by around 16'' and I'll make sure the new one is I would NEVER want to go back to having the DW at floor level and bending to load and unload. You can always have a board made to fit over the sink when you need extra serving space

 

[pierreandreply4]

me i would stick with the 24 inch dishwasher but would wait before starting it until is full or buy a portable dishwasher that you roll to the sink when you need it if you do not start it on reg basis.

 

[tomturbomatic]

The sad truth about an 18" dishwasher is the geometry. A 24" dw is square so the wash arm can be sized to reach from front to back and side to side. Unless an 18" wide dw is only 18" deep, you have areas of the racks under which the wash arm does not pass thus you have uneven washing. Unless the machine has two wash arms spinning under the lower rack you don't get even water distribution. The upper rack needs a water source also with jets at the ends of the wash arm to reach the longest demensions.

 

[cehalstead]

my two cents

My neighbors didn't have a dishwasher and decided to install an 18" model. They used it for about six months before replacing it with a 24" machine. The smaller one just didn't work for them.

 

[mayguy]

Don't do the 18". They cost more, and very limited on model to buy.

My partner's parent had an 18" dishwasher, and they really worked that thing to death, and as Tomturbomatic pointed out, the arms are smaller in these machine.

They just re did the kitchen and had a new Maytag 24" installed, and they wish they done that sooner!

 

[verizonbear]

24" it is

Thank you all for the feedback. I do sometime do some large scale from scratch cooking, and I hate washing anything by hand. I will look for one with the half load feature.

 

[combo52]

Switching a 24" DW for aan 18" model

In a word DON'T, I have never seen an 18" machine that compares to a full sized 24" machine. As others have said there are easier ways to gain 6"in a kitchen.