Things you love and hate about your dishwasher

[Fat Guy]

I've been living now for about six weeks with a new Bosch dishwasher (Integra 500 series) and have loaded, run and unloaded it enough times now to have some opinions. For comparison, my former dishwasher was a KitchenAid.

Things I like about the Bosch:

It is super-quiet. Whether or not it's running can be ambiguous if there's any other noise coming from anywhere else in the apartment or even from outside.

It is, I am told, energy-efficient. I have no way to measure it but everybody says it's so.

It cleans dishes very well.

Things I hate about the Bosch:

It doesn't dry dishes well. I think this is related to the energy-efficiency issue. The Bosch does not have a heating element. It uses the hot water from the plumbing plus some sort of evaporation/condensation technology. Sounds good on paper, but you have to empty the dishwasher with a dish towel in hand to go the last mile on drying.

The top rack is smaller than it should be. I think they thought they were doing people a favor by making the top rack not as deep front-to-back as the bottom. It does help with accessibility of the bottom a little, but it's not worth losing the space.

The design of the racks is wacky. Whomever laid out the racks has probably never eaten from a bowl of any decent size. The racks are amazingly great if you have to clean 75 plates at once. For anything else, the placement issues generated by the rack design are just annoying.

Who's next?

[LindaK]

The top rack is smaller than it should be. I think they thought they were doing people a favor by making the top rack not as deep front-to-back as the bottom. It does help with accessibility of the bottom a little, but it's not worth losing the space.

I've never heard of a DW with a top rack w/ smaller front-back dimensions than the lower rack. I just took the front to back measurements for both racks in my Bosch and they're exactly the same. Weird.

I'll ditto everything on your "love" list and add another: the height of my top rack is adjustable, it's easily moved higher/lower by 2". It might sound insignificant, but it gives a lot of flexibility. When you need a little extra space up top (ex: big bowls), move it down. When I want to wash large baking sheets or the baffle filters from my vent hood and need extra height below, I move the top rack up.

Don't like: the silverware container. it's awfully small.

[Fat Guy]

I just measured and front-back is 18.5" on top, 20.25" on bottom. My top shelf does not appear to be height-adjustable unless I'm missing something, but I do think I can remove it -- I haven't tried.

[Snadra]

The top rack is smaller than it should be. I think they thought they were doing people a favor by making the top rack not as deep front-to-back as the bottom. It does help with accessibility of the bottom a little, but it's not worth losing the space.

I've never heard of a DW with a top rack w/ smaller front-back dimensions than the lower rack. I just took the front to back measurements for both racks in my Bosch and they're exactly the same. Weird.

I'll ditto everything on your "love" list and add another: the height of my top rack is adjustable, it's easily moved higher/lower by 2". It might sound insignificant, but it gives a lot of flexibility. When you need a little extra space up top (ex: big bowls), move it down. When I want to wash large baking sheets or the baffle filters from my vent hood and need extra height below, I move the top rack up.

Don't like: the silverware container. it's awfully small.

We have a Bosch with the same feature and it's great, plus SO quiet. In fact, I usually only know when it's running because the pipes make the noise, not the dishwasher.

Although the energy saving feature means we do have to unload with a tea-towel in hand, we've come up with two strategies to minimise the painfulness of this. First, always unload the bottom rack first so that no extra droplets fall onto the dishes from above. Second, unload about 10 minutes after it's finished. This seems to give enough time for the residual heat to get evaporate most of the water, and means you only need a quick swipe with the towel. We use the time delay so that we're around when the dishwasher is finished.

I do find it annoying that it seems to have been designed with smaller plates in mind. There's an extra plate rack on the bottom tier that can be raised for two rows of plates, but our plates are too big to fit in it.

[TheNoodleIncident]

also regarding the drying, can we define what "good" drying is?

on my unit (relatively new frigidaire gallery model), all the dishes/bowls/silverware come out pretty much completely dry - no need for a towel.....however, plastic containers are another story - even when upside down, they tend to have have places for water to pool.....its usually in the lips of the containers, which when upside down create a crevice around the entire rim where water can sit (does that make sense? sort of like a very small moat around the underside of the rim)....it's enough water that if i dont empty the bottom first, it will soak everything underneath it....so i need to drain water from several different containers....is this normal? am i asking too much of my dishwasher to get rid of this standing water? if it wasnt for that, im very happy with its drying capabilities

my other complaint is that all my glassware is now cloudy, and it seems impossible to remove....any got tips on that? ive been using jetdry, and it was recommended that we use less detergent, but it doesnt seem to help

[Aotearoan]

Although I've never used it, I love the fact that our dishwasher has a special Raclette cycle.

And I hate that we generate far too many dirty dishes to fit in our dishwasher every day.

[sparrowgrass]

Noodle--I have the same model, and the same problems. I don't think there is much to do about the plastic stuff, except carry it to the sink and let it air dry.

Your cloudy glasses may be due to hard water--try setting a custard cup of white vinegar on the top rack before starting the machine. Works great for me.

If your water is not hard, it can be because of too much soap. The extra soap actually etches the glass, and is not fixable. My mom has a water softener, and all of her glasses were etched. We finally convinced her to use let soap (and buy new glasses) and they are fine now.

[Darienne]

Things I love about my dishwasher (25 yr old Hotpoint): my DH takes care of it.

[Edward J]

Nope, I've got a Home Despot $300.00 GE special.

On the one hand it does get dishes clean, and it does get them dry.

My list of hates is long however....

The racks...

Placement of the wire separators is, at best, just wierd, on both the top and bottom racks, can't get more than 4 dinner plates in there, no more than 4 cereal bowls, etc, large bowls won't fit.

The racks...

Wheels kept popping off the wire studs. After finaly giving up on reattaching the wheels after every time you move the rack, I went down to a GE distributer and got replacements. $10.00 a wheel. For 30 cents of injection molded plastic. I feel loved, respected, and appreciated by G.E..

Cultery bin. Fatigued after 2 months. Cheap plastic, the bottom literaly fell out. While walking my dog, I happened upon a wreck of a dishwasher tossed out in the back lane, circa 1980's, I cracked it open and took out the cutlery bin, still solid, and it's being used now in my p.o.s. dishwasher.

[Crouton]

Who rinses their dishes before loading them in the dishwasher? I used to rinse every plate clean until I read somewhere that it was a bad idea, that dishwashers are designed for dishes to have gunk on 'em else the detergent will start screwing with your dishes.

Edited May 19, 2011 by Crouton (log)

[jsmeeker]

Things I hate about mine.

It doesn't unload itself automatically

It's loud. This is problematic in a small apartment. Makes me want to NOT run it when I am going to be watching TV or whatever. So, I frequently delay starting it until I go to bed. Or just before I leave for work or whatever. But then I forget. And the dishes don't get cleaned. then I have to wind up running it during the day when I am at home and awake..

Things I like about it.

It works pretty well. And it's just a basic, apartment grade model.

[TheNoodleIncident]

Noodle--I have the same model, and the same problems. I don't think there is much to do about the plastic stuff, except carry it to the sink and let it air dry.

Your cloudy glasses may be due to hard water--try setting a custard cup of white vinegar on the top rack before starting the machine. Works great for me.

If your water is not hard, it can be because of too much soap. The extra soap actually etches the glass, and is not fixable. My mom has a water softener, and all of her glasses were etched. We finally convinced her to use let soap (and buy new glasses) and they are fine now.

good to know im not the only one, and thanks for the vinegar trick - im going to try that

btw - did you notice that when you first got yours it was practically silent, but got louder in a relatively short amount of time? its still not "loud", but def more noticeable

im still curious if the excess water problem is specific to our model, or if it's just unreasonable to expect a dishwasher to dry standing water

[Carlovski]

The worst part about my dishwasher is the fact it is me, with a cloth.

Best part is that I am also multipurpose!

[OliverB]

I never rinse dishes, I scrape off big parts, but that's it. If I had to rinse, I might as well wash the damn plate right then and there

And yes, it's true, they work better with some stuff on the dishes, somehow the soap (which I guess is pretty aggressive) needs that to work properly. I love that fact

As for the not dry plastic moats, I doubt any dishwasher dries those. If I catch it, I open it right after it's done with it's cycle, leave it open until the next day, that helps :-)

Otherwise those tubs dry just fine in the drawer they live in

I've never been seen, nor will I ever be seen with a dish towel next to the machine. A jerk, a smack on the rack, that's dry enough for me

[andiesenji]

If you have two wheels toward the front of the rack and three wheels in back, you can adjust the height of the upper rack.

Top position:

Lower position:

[LindaK]

It's loud. This is problematic in a small apartment. Makes me want to NOT run it when I am going to be watching TV or whatever. So, I frequently delay starting it until I go to bed. Or just before I leave for work or whatever. But then I forget. And the dishes don't get cleaned. then I have to wind up running it during the day when I am at home and awake..

Another feature I like: the "delay start" button. The Bosch is so quiet that I generally don't mind it running when I'm awake/around. But for those instances when you want to wait but are afraid of forgetting, this lets you load it up but program a delayed start of up to 23 hrs. I wouldn't upgrade models just for this feature, but my model has it and I've been surprised to discover that it's convenient.

[Anna N]

It's loud. This is problematic in a small apartment. Makes me want to NOT run it when I am going to be watching TV or whatever. So, I frequently delay starting it until I go to bed. Or just before I leave for work or whatever. But then I forget. And the dishes don't get cleaned. then I have to wind up running it during the day when I am at home and awake..

Another feature I like: the "delay start" button. The Bosch is so quiet that I generally don't mind it running when I'm awake/around. But for those instances when you want to wait but are afraid of forgetting, this lets you load it up but program a delayed start of up to 23 hrs. I wouldn't upgrade models just for this feature, but my model has it and I've been surprised to discover that it's convenient.

Yes, our hydro service has just converted to "Time of Use Rates" so this feature is great for running the dishwasher when hydro rates are lowest.

[GlorifiedRice]

The dishwasher really means nothing...

Its the detergent...

My dishwasher was $150.00 and cleaned sparkling dishes, until they removed Phosphates from the detergents.

[HungryChris]

My Kenmore Elite has a high temp setting, a pots and pans setting and a turbo zone setting that I use almost all the time. I am sure that it is not energy eficient in those modes, but frankly, Scarlet, I dont give a damn. I have grown up with the idea that items out of the dishwasher are sterile and dry. I like that. The controls are up in the top of the door so are out of sight when it is closed. It is ultra quiet as well. I guess my only gripe is that when I use those modes the cycle time is loooong.

HC

[Fat Guy]

If you have two wheels toward the front of the rack and three wheels in back, you can adjust the height of the upper rack.

I have one wheel in the front and two in the back, but after looking through the manual a couple of times (the instructions are not terribly clear) I figured out how to raise and lower the top rack.

[Marya D.]

I've got some sort of Kenmore. I'm not at home so I can't check the model, but it's a better one, that I got for a good price at the Sears Outlet.

Never the less. I am so tired of pots that are only 85% clean. And god forbid there is egg on something, like a spatula. I may as well wash it by hand, because I'll be washing it again after I unload it from the machine.

Am I getting something wrong here, or is this to be expected?

As for getting the dishes dry. The heated drying function seems to me like an extravagant waste of energy. Left alone dishes done after dinner are dry by the next morning anyway.

I've been using powdered and liquid detergent, and Cascade and Finish brands, randomly and can't seem to get a handle on which might be best. Any ideas?

[Mallet]

As far as drying goes, do you use a rinsing aid? We have a Samsung dishwasher that was a bit lame on the drying front until we started using a rinsing agent: it made a big difference.

[BekkiM]

I have a Miele (can't remember the model) which has a 3rd rack at the very top for cutlery. It's a little finicky to load (though with my control issues, I don't mind), but it gets everything very clean since the spoons can't, well, spoon.

On the plus side:

* it's very, very quiet (with the exception of the gurgling when it drains, I'd call it silent)

* the controls are all hidden when the door is closed

* the only indication that it's running is a red light that shines (very subtly) on the underside of the counter

* the middle rack (which would be the top rack in most dishwashers) raises and lowers to accommodate taller plates on the lower rack (though we have to remove it completely to stand up our big 12" C&B plates)

* it gets everything very clean

On the con side:

* it takes FOREVER to run - like 1 1/2 hours (this is a big deal and if I'd known about it before I bought it, I might have considered a different manufacturer)

* as everyone else has said, plastic just doesn't get dry (we were warned about this ahead of time but thought it was funny until we had to manually dry each and every plastic tub and lid)

[Special K]

What BekkiM said. But I run my Miele dw at bedtime, so I don't really mind that it takes a long time.

I love that cutlery tray!

[ElsieD]

I also have a Miele and I agree with the two posters ahead of me. I usually run it at night, but that's mainly because we pay less for energy at night. As for quiet - my husband was standing next to it tonight (it was on) and opened it because he did not know it was on. I too really like the top cutlery rack but I wish it had a speedy cycle. The fact it takes so long to run is, for me, the only drawback.