What dishwasher brand should I go with?

[mtoronto]

Hello, 14 years ago when we purchased our house, we installed two dishwashers. At the time we put in top of the line Kitchenaid Superba dishwashers. They worked well for the first bit of their life, then the control panel of Dishwasher 1 died at age 6, so we replaced it with a Frigidaire (huge mistake) which only lasted a year, then it was replaced again with a top of the line Kenmore Elite Dishwasher. Dishwasher 2 (which we use much more often) lasted us about 8-9 years, until the heating coil stopped working, in which we replaced it with another top of the line Kenmore Elite dishwasher. The motor of it died about a month into owning it, which was replaced at no cost.

About 2 years ago, Dishwasher 1 started to act up, starting making very loud whining sounds (was very quiet when new) and barely cleans in the top rack. When we have guests, they sometimes ask what that noise is... We are sick of replacing dishwashers, so we have been holding out, running the dishwasher on Pots and Pans with all options selected, with very mediocre results. We had a repairman in a few months back who told us it wasn't worth the money by doing work on it.

As of about a week ago, Dishwasher 2 has stopped cleaning the top rack. On top of this, most of the buttons have fallen off.

We have no plans of having work done on these.

Now that most brands are owned by Whirlpool, what should I go with?

I want something that gives a powerful clean and will have a minimum lifespan of 10 years.

What do you guys recommend?

Thanks

 

[frigilux]

mtoronto: Allow me to shorthand what is about to happen here.

Every brand suggested by one member who has had good luck with it will be countered with a warning to stay away from that brand by another, who has had a bad experience with it. Two exceptions to this rule: Miele will have few detractors; Frigidaire will be panned almost unanimously.

Others, who love vintage machines, will suggest you stay away from new models altogether for one or all of the following reasons: New machines are short-lived, flimsy pieces of plastic/crap with cheap, failure-prone electronics, pumps/motors so anemic they would barely service a small aquarium, and cycles that take an eternity to complete.

I'll go first: Get a Bosch. They clean well, they're quiet and fairly reliable.

[this post was last edited: 7/23/2014-16:56]

 

[washer111]

Bosch

Having just used a 30+ year old example over Christmas (With Functioning Rapid-Advance timer, no less), this is a nice recommendation. 

 

Not sure how the racking is arranged on the U.S. models, but I do hope it is a bit for flexible than what I was using!

 

Being quite impressed with my DishDrawer, I'd also recommend that. But I see they might be harder to find in the U.S. nowadays. 

 

[zipdang]

Miele

Wouldn't trade my Miele for anything. It's quality throughout. The racks might look smaller than in North American machines, but they really can be packed full and still emerge sparkling. Maybe you could browse Craigslist for a cheap used Miele and try it out.

 

[mrb627]

Budget?

Do you have a budget in mind?

 

[mtoronto]

My budget would be no more that $1600 per machine, as long as they will last.

Thanks for your input, I am leaning heavily towards Miele. Most likely just the base model.

I also had Bosch in mind...

Think those are the only two viable options...

 

[petek]

I've had rotten luck with two Kitchenaids.. the current one has needed the control box replaced twice now in 2 years. If I hadn't bought an extended warranty after the 1st breakdown the second breakdown paid for it. The KA before that broke down twice in as many years, the second time I dumped it and got the new one. Twice burned, Never again.. I'll go back to a Miele. The best Miele prices are often during a home show or garden show event if there's a Miele display there. I bought ours years ago during the Calgary Home Show and regret not bringing it when we moved here.

 

[henene4]

If you want a long lasting Miele...

... I would check for a model with the „Profi-Pump" I think it is called. It is just a variable speed pump as used often today, but someone on here told me of multiple Miele which were kicked of the curb after 8 years because of pump failure. Of course only as long as it fits your budget.
Or you simply invest into the 10 year warranty offered by Miele. Than, you surley would have 10 years of service.

 

[mieleforever]

Miele / Siemens / Bosch

Regards

 

[richardlxixxx]

Dishwasher

<span style="font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: 12pt;">In my opinion, I would purchase a Kitchenaid with the Pro Dry option.  I have never had good luck with Miele or Bosch dishwashers.  They are designed for the European market and do not function like the American dishwashers.  Again, IMHO, I find the racking systems horrible, they do not dry anything, the cutlery trays are an abomination, over complicated, and over engineered.  I also speak from vast experience.  In my professional life, I am an Estate Manager.  We have had all brands of dishwashers, which get heavy use.  The Kitchenaid machines that I have replaced all the Miele and Bosch dishwashers with, are problem free.  The Miele machines are problematic and take way to long to repair.  At the current Estate, we have 6 TOL Miele dishwashers.  In the past two months, after only five years of use, they have each broken down.  At the previous Estate I managed, where I was involved with purchasing all the appliances for the new Residence, I specified 4 Kitchenaid dishwashers.  After 8 years of hard use, they all ran perfect and never needed a repair.  Just do not purchase a dishwasher with the cutlery tray.  Get one with a cutlery basket.  The cutlery trays interfere with loading anything tall on the top rack, are a pain to load with silverware as you have to place each utensil individually into the grooves.  Baskets are more efficient.  Also the Kitchenaid dishwashers actually have a heating element that will dry the dishes in conjunction with a fan.  Miele and Bosch rely on convection drying, no heating element, and the dishes do not dry well.</span>

<span style="font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: 12pt;">Buy at Kitchenaid with the Pro Dry option.  You will not regret your purchase.</span>

 

<span style="font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: 12pt;">Richard</span>

 

[petek]

I don't get this difference between the American / Euro market thing. Have had both. I never had any problem loading/unloading our Miele. I agree on the cutlery tray though and glad mine didn't have it. It seemed too fussy to me having to line up each piece individually plus taking up that head room. I like the cutlery baskets.

 

[iheartmaytag]

I have only had one dishwasher that I absolutely hated--it lasted one month in my house. That was a Frigidaire.

I have had Two GE Pot scrubbers--loved them both (one left behind when sold)
Two Maytag Jet Clean (left one behind when sold house)
and I currently have a Kitchenaid.

Though some have had electronic issues with their Kitchenaid, luckily so far I have not. I did, however, have problems with the electronics on my last Maytag. I am just wondering if that era of machines (Mine was built in 2007) may have had issues. It was also recalled once.

The Kitchenaid is the top rated machine right now with Bosch and Whirlpool gold not far behind. Remember that Whirlpool, Maytag, Kitchenaid, Roper, are all kin under the skin with some design or cosmetic differences; they are all built by Whirlpool. [this post was last edited: 7/24/2014-12:58]

 

[passatdoc]

two dishwashers in 26 years

1. "Builder special" (came with newly built home) GE Potscrubber. Hated it. Had the tower design. Top rack didn't always come clean. Very noisy. Pump often froze due to hard water deposits. Leaked now and then. It never broke down and died, but it never worked very well.

2. Replaced the GE in 2001 with a Bosch 300 series Integra design (that is, hidden controls in door edge; entry level with only three cycles, PowerScrub Plus, Regular, Quick). It cleans beautifully, both racks, is very quiet, and has never had a service call in thirteen years (no service whatsoever). I descale the machine with citric acid on a quarterly basis and check the drain filter at the same time. Rarely if ever do I find any debris. The other reason I love this DW is the "tall items" feature: top rack pulls out, a sprinkler head attaches to the upper wash arm water fixture, and you can wash tall or bulky items. Examples: Wolford lamps, otherwise difficult to clean; glass fridge shelves; plastic fridge bins; detergent dispenser drawer from washer, etc.

Based on my experience, I'd recommend Bosch. My only hesitation is that, in order to remain price competitive, much of their emphasis has shifted to their "Ascenta" line, with a mostly-steel tub but with a plastic bottom. The purpose of the steel tub is to condense the water evaporating off the dishes following final rinse. I.e. it is "normal" to have wet tub sides after a cycle and is why Bosch does not have a heated drying cycle: there is no exposed heating element and all drying is "energy saver" by default.

I don't know anyone personally who owns an Ascenta, but I would be concerned about the junction between the steel and the plastic, and whether over time it might begin to leak. Maybe I'm being paranoid, and I'll bet there are enough people here with Ascenta experience who hopefully will prove me wrong. Since I don't have enough anecdotal experience with the Ascenta tub life, if my DW died today I would probably buy a Bosch 500 or 800 series (non-Ascenta) to get the all-steel tub. You can of course get an extended warranty for an Ascenta, but I"m not worried about a leak in the first five years (typical duration) but rather at year 10 or 13. It would be horrible to have to replace an otherwise perfectly functioning DW because of a tub leak---and replacing the tub, if possible, would cost a fortune (the DW cost $600 new in 2001).

 

[washerdude]

replaced 1 dishwashers in 14 years

1. Our mayatg jetclean worked very well. Everything always came out clean top rack and bottom. Was a little loud but was okay. Sadly it is now far gone. It never broke, ever had an issue or stop working. But because of our new stainless steel kichen. The white dishwasher made the kichen look very very old and ugly since the rest was stainless steel.

2. The kenmore diswasher we got is a simple basic model one. 3 cycles, and 3 options. At first we were going to get a much more expensive dishwasher but we hardly ever used it. Mostly only once a week. So we spent less and we are glad we did. However the kenmore we have right now cleans the dishes like a much more expensive unit. In fact it cleans just as well as our old mayatg jetclean even with the 1 hour wash. So I would reccomend whirlpool/kenmore.

 

[mtoronto]

Thanks everyone , I just can't even entertain buying another American DIshwasher! Seems like they work for 2 years, then all is downhill from there!

I think I will most likely buy two basic Miele dishwashers with the cutlery tray, and buy two cutlery baskets as well.

I feel like they may be the last dishwasher purchase in the next 15 years....

 

[jerrod6]

Yes Frigilux was correct...everyone has an opinion based on their experience.

 

I would by one basic and one top of the line Miele DW.  The TOL seem to have more flexible cycles, racks  and options and some of their systems are not found on their basic DW.  I bought mine 8 years ago.  My first one was going strong at year 10, I replaced it because I redid the kitchen.  At the time my new one was more flexible because you could wash tall items in the bottom, by removing the center rack. You can raise and lower the center rack and you can slide the cutlery tray around to accommodate tall items in the center if you want.  Since you can also wash glasses and wine glasses in the bottom rack, If I have regular size loads i can wash only in the bottom and get wine glasses and tall items clean at the same time I am cleaning plates and saucers.  My then TOL also has shorter wash cycles that clean very well - they just use a hotter water temp.  Now I only wash dishes every other day during the week and Mondays load consists of Friday night, Saturday and Sunday dishes.

 

I don't know what differences there are in todays BOL vs TOL but If I was in the business of getting another DW, if  budget allows I would get another TOL Miele model.

 

The racks - yes they are different, the tines are closer - I learned how to use them with the first Miele DW  and never replaced a dish( everyday dishes are Fiesta ware so not exactly thin) because of it, and had no issues with the second.  It is all a matter of experience with what you have.

 

The cutlery rack is forgiving.  If you don't hit the tines correctly or place the stuff in their randomly everything still gets clean.  No basket for me..because  I like the organization of the tray.  I figure I am going to sort someplace...either going in or coming out when placing the stuff in the silverware tray in the drawer.  So I sort going into the DW, then pick up a clump of forks and dump them into the correct spot in the drawer, pick up a clump of spoons....so on.  

 

I took some pics of my full load last Friday.    I was going to put them in the bob load post but then realized that I didn't take any pictures of the individual items with soil.  The load consisted of two day old dishes with stuck on brown rice, lentils, black soy bean, salmon, veal, coffee, tea, carrots, sliced avocados. <span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">I can post if you want to see</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"> how much the machine actually can hold.</span>

 

[jkbff]

As it stands, I wouldn't trade my American-Made Maytag MDB8959SBS for anything. I went to purchase a KitchenAid and came home with that instead.

From what everyone has said, it uses a wash system that is tried and true. (Here is the thread when I purchased it http://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?51141 .)

Whirlpool is pouring a lot of money into the Maytag brand/image/product. I have been very pleased so far. You can't even get a KitchenAid equipped like this machine (I think they all use filters now instead of a grinder) and you can't touch a KitchenAid for what I paid for this. I wished it had interior lights, a flat cutlery tray and a time remaining display, but for the cleaning power, I am very satisfied with it.

I would say the Maytag lineup is worth a look. Besides Maytag, I'd recommend Miele. I've sold a few of the Miele units, my landlord has one, they are great units, but I like my Maytag a bit more.

 

[logixx]

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">"I can post if you want to see</span><span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"> how much the machine actually can hold."</span>

 

<span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: times new roman,times;">Yes! </span>

 

[iujock]

I own the Kenmore Elite version of the Bosch which in its current incarnation is the Ascenta SHE3AR76UC. In true Kenmore fashion it adds a couple of features that were not available on an Ascenta at the time. Being a household of one I don't find the small tub capacity an issue.

It replaced a builders grade Whirlpool power clean dishwasher that cleaned dishes well and had relatively short cycles but made its presence known. I would often find myself mowing the lawn or taking the dog outside, anything to get away from the constant drone which led me to replace it with the Kenmore Elite (cough, Bosch).

I will admit that I was concerned in the beginning with the tub basin being manufactured out of ABS but in hindsight it turned out to be the best option for me. Sometimes I will drop a piece of heavy silverware, once I dropped a glass tumbler [that unfortunately shattered] by accident and I can only imagine the dents and dings that a stainless steel base would allow (I'm clumsy at times). I have never experienced a leak, I cannot hear the dishwasher and lastly it has not required any service.

When it comes time to replace this dishwasher it will definitely be another Bosch dishwasher or a Kenmore if available. Sadly it appears that Whirlpool is Kenmore's perennial favorite lately.