Whirlpool's revised models - what have they changed in the normal cycle?

[michaelz08]

Most dishwashers I’ve had over the several years have approx. 800w heaters.
Between 1-2gal fills, that’s enough energy to heat 1deg. F increase per minute. The thirsty KUDD23 takes a little more at maybe 1-1.5min/deg F increase.

Running the hot water first will definitely help that first pre wash do some extra degreasing. But like John says, it’s not fully necessary if the cycle programming or selected cycles are correct.

The latest Technology Connections and the subsequent Conextras videos were fascinating.
I think they’re mostly right!
But what those videos also proved to me is just how HORRIBLE Frigidaire’s cycle programming is.
You can tell they’ve spent like no time perfecting its cleaning ability. They program them to just barely clean within the required regulations.
They simply don’t care and that’s apparent simply by how they use the water temp sensor in the programming.

My first and only experience with a Frigidaire dishwasher is the Frigidaire suite that came with my current condo. They were 3 years old at the time. The majority of the appliances functioned fine, but were full of so many small annoyances that made me hate them. I would estimate they were similar in price (Microwave and range), or a single step below (for the fridge and dishwasher) the equivalent 2015 Whirlpool models in my previous home. I never had any service calls, nor any frustrations or problems. Frigidaire/Electrolux gives 0 s***ts about their US appliances.

- The Frigidaire fridge had a sealed system leak so it was deemed irreparable at it's 4 year mark. So much for simpler being better- it was a simple top freezer model.
- The (midea-made) microwave's UI sucked, the light underneath was an irreplaceable LED of cold color temperature, the turntable screeched randomly as it rotated, and the exhaust fan was too loud on all settings.
- The range had an unacceptable 10 minute delay before it would turn on the convection fan to "aid in gas combustion as it preheats", but would do so even if the oven was already preheated and you just changed modes. It had sharp metal above the storage drawer that I cut my hand on.
- The dishwasher racks were already rusting, and the door switch was not sensitive enough; it might not always recognize if it was shut and so wouldn't start. It wouldn't always seal at the top and so it would vent steam and noise during the entire cycle. I had to pull it out and fiddle with the way the latch was mounted to the tub, which only fixed the latter. To top it all off, the racks- especially the top- felt small and had weird tines that wouldn't fit things well. It cleaned well but made you hate it in the process. And why so many cycle options? 3 wash pressures? I never asked for that! I'd rather have the BOL Amana model than that thing.

I've replaced each one now with a mix of Whirlpool, Miele, and Wolf. Even if WP has it's issues- which they definitely do- I am convinced they actually spend a few minutes thinking about how things actually get used, making them much better to live with.