What Was YOUR First Dishwasher

[whirlcool]

The first dishwasher I ever had was one of those total BOL GE models, you know the one only one knob with a Start and Stop notch on it. They sell for $189.00 or $159.00 frequently on sale. During and after college I lived in apartments for a number of years and it always seems the apartments I had that came with dishwashers always had these kind of units. So I actually had several of these.

The first dishwasher I owned was a MOL Kenmore model bought new in 1991. It lasted three years before the bottom of the tub rusted through. Then we replaced that with a Maytag Jet Clean TOL model in 1994. The build quality on that unit was heavy and top notch. I'm willing to bet that unit is still running today.

When we moved in this house it had the "builder's special" version of the dishwasher I discussed in the first paragraph, Kenmore branded. It lasted 14 years but was killed by a power surge that also fried the stove and microwave.

Our current dishwasher is a MOL Maytag Jet Clean. The last of the true Maytag's. We bought it in 2008. It has never had a problem yet even though the build quality is nowhere near the 1994 Maytag we previously owned. But it has held up to being used almost every day.

 

[firedome]

Our First D/W

was a ~1962 Frigidaire MOL model liberated off the back loading dock at Luskin's Joppa Road (Baltimore) store around 11 PM on a summer evening in 1971. A "crime of opportunity" if you will, although it was a take-out machine destined for the scrap yard no doubt... we'd cruise through unguarded back docks on a regular basis looking for likely "victims", usually GE Filter Flows destined for my friend Tom's place for parts. After fixing a stuck drain solenoid it was hooked to a kitchen sink via a auto heater hose home-brew poratble conversion of a built-in, and used free standing with no top or sides for 2 years. Love to find another '60s Frigidaire!!!

 

[autowasherfreak]

Whirlpool portable mid 80's, it had the pointed cone in the middle of the bottom rack to direct water to the upper spray arm. It didn't last very long 3 or 4 years, the pump started going out on it. Bought another Whirlpool it last about 6 or 7 years, it was replaced with a Maytag.

 

[tolivac]

BOL builders model Hotpoint in an apartment house.High rise building in DC area.Building engineer replaced the one in my apartment becuase it leaked with a new one.For my first house-another Hotpoint.

 

[mark_wpduet]

Oh God

Seeing the inside of that Hotpoint portable make me think of a really dumb question:

That inner tub material and color - the blue speckled stuff I always thought looked so cool and almost all dishwashers seemed to have that kind of interior to some extent! Why? I don't know. But now, all the non-stainless interior dishwashers are just plain old white boring plastic. Was there a reason for this? Were manufacturers just trying to make the interior look "more cool"?

The first dishwasher I remember having was a portable. I can't think of the name of it but it was top loading and had one silver dial on it I think and it had the name "maid" in it? Boy did it clean!

 

[jamiel]

First DW...a 1950s James which we got from my great-grandmother in Tulsa, OK. White with stainless interior and racks. Smaller than the normal 24" box...would say it was probably 24" wide by 20" deep. Portable on wheels. The lid did lift up to dry. Just like the PoDs which come up, except I don't recall that it had either the 180 degree rinse or a dispenser.

Second DW...a 1968 or so Sears front-load roto-rack portable (2 buttons, aqua interior, white formica top) which we connected permanently soon thereafter next to the sink

Third one: a 1959 Youngstown 30" in a house we moved in to...the one which comes up in the PoD. We kept it for all of 30 days before my mom said "out with it". It was spectacularly useless...we couldn't figure out how to load it, either.

1978 KA Imperial built-in in beeyoutiful coppertone (which my father and I had to jerryrig the build-in within the 30 inch space. Only lasted about 7 years, needed at least 1 motor replacement

1986 GE Potscrubber 1000 (had the good wash system and the turn-dial). My brother and I picked this one up at Slyman Brothers and just slung it in the back of the 1978 Accord he was driving at the time. We were amazed how lightweight it was (PermaTuf to the rescue). My mom really liked this one--it was a very good performer.

 

[aquacycle]

second hand 1989 Electrolux BW450 Slimline

 

[appnut]

Mark, that first dishwasher was a Modern Maid.  Or it could have been a Mobile Maid made by GE.  Most likely the 2nd one. 

 

[mayguy]

I don't now what brand/model it was that my parents had.. I think Dad picked up some where very cheap(used), but it only was used for a very short time.

Nothing for a long time till mid 80's got a Maytag portable. I got it from them when the remodel the kitchen. I had it till '01 when I moved to an apt. It still worked!

 

[rolls_rapide]

First one that my parents ever had, was bought by me in 1987, a Zanussi DW400.

The first one that was owned by myself in my own flat, was a Hoover "Optima" D820.

 

[combo52]

Pink Early 60s Frigidaire Portable DW

Roger I have such a DW that needs a new home, the machine runs and had very little use [ inside looks like new ], but it is missing the wood top, needs new hoses and probably should be repainted, contact me or anyone else for that matter,      John.

 

[jerrod6]

If my memory is correct:

 

The first Dw I ever knew was my aunts KD10.  I never used it, but would sit in the kitchen and watch her load and run it while she was cleaning the kitchen after dinner.  I loved to hear that thing run.  

 

It actually might not have been a 10.  I think Robert made a video of a 10 with glass installed.  This DW looked exactly like Roberts with the blue arm, timer at the bottom and all,  but I think it acted different in that it did not wait until all of the water was in to start spraying.  The motor/pump would come on and the water would start running in all at the same time, then after 30 seconds the arm would start to rotate, slowly at first and then pick up speed as the water continued to enter.  So maybe this was a KD11 or KD12.

 

The next was the KDS-16.  This was my parents, so I used it quite a bit when helping with the dishes.

 

Next was a KDS 17 that I used in my first apartment.

 

Next was a KDS-18 that was in my first house when I bought it.

 

Last was a KDS -15 that was in my current house when I bought it.

 

So I guess it was the Hobart KitchenAids for a long time.

 

 

 

[peterlondon]

first dishwasher

Mine was a mexican called jaun,but thats another story!

 

[fido]

Watch this space!

I've not yet got my first dishwasher or tumble dryer although such machines have passed through my sheds to be sold on or broken for spares.

 

[vacbear58]

Philip0603

I see we are almost the same age

My parents first and only dishwasher was a later version of your parent's Colston - the Jetstream 303. It was OK I suppose .....

From posting on here I believe that your Swanmaid is based on early Kitchenaid models. You know, this machine featured loads of times in magazine and yet I have never seen one crop up on ebay. Surprisingly although a few 1950s have, I can only think of one from the 1960s - ChesterMike's Hoover/Rex/Janussi Autojet. Whilst I appreciate they were not very popular you would have expected the odd Kenwood (FL not TL) to show up.

My first dishwasher was a 1980 Philips 2000SL, lasted 8 years.

And believe it or not my current daily driver is a Miele 646SC, not sure if it a plus or not

Al

 

[Philip0603]

Al, '58 was a good year though I see you are a few days older than me!!!!!!!

Whoops! Funny really, you have this white box in the kitchen, and it has been in-situ for ever, then you take a look at the front and guess what? It's not the PLUS. Put the plus model into a friends kitchen when we re-modeled it.

As far as the dishwasher is concerned I think that a company in the '90's were buying old ones allegedly to refurbish them. I remember working in a cafe that had the commercial version. Same machine 2 x 3Kw elements in the kettle. Did wash in 14 minutes or so.

P.

 

[docker]

An Indesit 2116

that I had from 1985 until 2006. I still think that it cleaned better than the Bosch that replaced it.

 

[super32]

As a kid, we had an old WU482. As an adult it was a GE 2800.

 

[bwoods]

first dishwashers

let's see...

My family-- 1968 we first got a dishwasher, Modern Maid with "Robin's Egg
Blue" interior, Often left ground up bits of food deposited
deposited on glassware. Replaced with GE Potscrubber in 1973 with
celery green platisol interior. A really good machine. Quantum leap
improvement.

1st Apt-- 1980 Whirlpool dishwasher. Noisy, but gave dishes a very good
scrubbing. Large food wastes tended to collect in the removable
removable trap. Typical to all Whirlpools I have owned glassware
and dishware didn't have the shine and sparkle like GE, and I had a
water softener. But overall a competent machine and did pots/pans
well

1st condo-- GE 1200 rapid advance timer machine (3 final rinse model). with mult-
multi-oribt wash arm. Excelled in producing sparkling glassware and
about as close to perfection as a dishwasher could come

1st house-- GE 2800G What can you say about a classic of classics? Had it had
a third final rinse, it would have met my idea of perfection

 

[joeekaitis]

House came with the cheapest Hotpoint builder's special, replaced it with a Maytag 3-rack (call me naive) and when that one gave up the ghost, bought a Kenmore model 1389 with my final bonus from work. Kenmore's still cleaning like a champ. We let it have some me-time with a quart of white vinegar every four weeks.