Who LOVES Their Dishwasher? I Need a New One!

Updated on May 06, 2010
C.F. asks from Carrollton, TX
20 answers

I"m starting a search for a new dishwasher and need a few recommendations! We have a GE, I believe - it is what the builders put in 4 years ago but it has black moldy looking stuff all over the bottom that is very hard to clean and it doesn't seem to get the dishes clean. Any thoughts or suggestions? TIA!

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So What Happened?

Ya'll are so awesome!!! I got a whole lot of wonderful recommendations and I made a long list and now I actually feel like I'm not blindly going into this!!! I'm expecting our 6th baby and so we run a lot of loads and many more to come I'm sure! Thanks SO Much!!! Ya'll rock!

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R.J.

answers from Dallas on

Bosch. It is quiet and can clean anything. So there's no prewashing required. Just a rinse. Love it!!!

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K.C.

answers from Barnstable on

ME! ME! I ADORE my Bosch. I went through 2 other dishwashers in 4 years!! Then I bought the Bosch - worth every dime. Wish I had bought it the first time. It is so quite that when we first had the plumber hook it up and turn it on we panicked and thought it was broken because we couldn't hear anything. We then literally had to squash our ears to the thing to hear it run!

I love it being so silent, all stainless steel inside, no buttons for little toddler fingers on the outside and the fact that it gets the water hot enough to melt the glasses off your face!

This is my model: http://www.bosch-home.com/us/products/dishwashers/dishwas...

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D.P.

answers from Pittsburgh on

I just got a new O. and although I can't remember the make/model...here is what is important to me in a dishwasher: Timer (it's nice to have it turn on when you're in bed), and quiet rating (they all have the quietness rating on them).

Not sure why your 4 yo dishwasher is in such bad shape. Here is what our appliance guy told us. Use dishwasher cleaner (geos in top rack) periodically. Scrape don't rinse dishes (some gunk needs to be on there!) and only use powder detergent. Not the gel or liquid. (It's the opposite for washing machines.) You can also run a cup or two of vinegar through a cycle to clean. Personally, I'd try all of that before replacing a 4 yo dishwasher.

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D.K.

answers from Washington DC on

I have the Frigidaire Gallery stainless collection dishwasher and I LOVE it. When you combine the heavy wash cycle with those new Cascade/Dawn dishwasher detergent packs, it cleans anything, and I mean anything. I tested it out by putting a dish that I had made chicken pot pie in and then left the food to dry hard onto. I just scraped the extra food into the trash and then tossed the dish into the dishwasher with the rest of my next load. No rinsing, no soaking. It would have taken me a few minutes at least to scrub it even after soaking. By the end of the cycle it was sparkling clean. Also, my dishwasher has a filter at the bottom that catches any food particles so I can throw them out after the wash cycle is over. It's also got a separate sprayer arm for the top rack and the interior materials are naturally mildew resistant.

All that being said, one of the things that you might think about is your detergent. It really makes a difference. The guy who installed my dishwasher told me that the detergents they make these days won't "activate" unless they come in contact with food particles. So you actually have to put the dishes in dirty. I use to clean all the food off my dishes and just use my old dishwasher to sanitize my dishes, but he said that they actually get cleaner if you use a good detergent and put them in dirty. I recommend both the dishwasher I mentioned and the detergent and don't forget the JetDry either. I've never been happier about doing dishes than I am now. I use to hate it, but now it's barely a blip on my chores list.

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S.T.

answers from Dallas on

I LOVE my Miele. It gets everything sparkling clean, it runs very quietly, and it has the flat silverware rack at top. You can raise or lower or tilt the upper rack to accommodate large items like tall pitchers. It was between the Bosch and the Miele for me, and I did like the fact that Bosch let you run just the top rack if it got full. That's a neat feature. Still, I went with the Miele, and it is a great dishwasher.

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J.S.

answers from Dallas on

I love my Bosch...very quite, no metal heating element on the bottom to melt your sippy cup thingees. Very worth the extra $200!! Can run it in our open concept home while watching a movie. Mine has the buttons on the outside, no problem for the kids though.

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J.B.

answers from Tyler on

I recomment the Kitchenaid. I had one in the house before this one and loved it. It was totally silent, cleaned the dishes better than all the GE's and Hotpoints I had in the past, and better than the Maytag I have in this house! I keep hoping this thing will burn out so I can buy me another Kitchenaid!

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S.T.

answers from Dallas on

I, too, have a Bosch and LOVE it!!! Everyone who comes to my house while it is running cannot believe it is running, and it gets the dishes really clean. I have had mine about 4 years (maybe longer), and have had no problems whatsoever. The buttons for it are on the top, which I at first thought I wouldn't like but you get used to it. It has a stainless interior and I've never had to worry about mold or mildew.

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J.P.

answers from Boise on

I got an LG because it was highly rated. After about 2 years, we had been through 2 motors, and 2 circuit boards and the circuit board needed to be replaced again!!! I refused to put 1/2 the cost into repairs with no guarantee that it would actually fix it for any length of time. We opted for the Bosch. Definitely pricey, but I love it sooooo much!!

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K.F.

answers from Dallas on

great question!
I want a new dishwasher, and I love seeing everyone's response.

J.L.

answers from Dallas on

I love my Kenmore Ultrawash. I don't even have to wash the dishes first. I like that it has time delay so it starts after I go to bed too.

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L.P.

answers from Oklahoma City on

GE Profile (not sure which model). These are loud. Sounds like a helicopter is in the kitchen. We only turned it on when leaving the house!...but it did work GREAT!!! ~ if you don't mind the 'helicopter in the kitchen'!

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J.E.

answers from Tyler on

I have a KitchenAid that I have had for years that works great. I can't remember exactly when I bought it but it has to be at least 15 years and there has only been one repair. The one repair was a clogged drain from the disposal that I had in my sink not working right, in other words not really the dishwasher's fault. The dishwasher still looks almost new and still smells fine. There is only one problem, the model I bought is poceline (sp) lined and I think I remember them saying that they were going to have to stop making them that way because its not eco-friendly. The thing runs so quietly that you can barely hear it when you are standing next to it and the dishes come out clean.

C.C.

answers from Fresno on

At our last house, we had a Bosch and LOVED IT! It was so quiet you couldn't hear when it was running, and the dishes came out sparkly clean. It also had a sanitize cycle (which is great when you have kids =), and the option to just wash the upper basket, if you wanted to do a small load.

Currently we have a Kitchen Aid, and it works really well but is louder than the Bosch, and does not have the upper-basket only option.

In general, I think dishwashers are a you-get-what-you-paid-for deal, so it's worth it to go high-end.

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S.B.

answers from Dallas on

LOVE my frigidaire too! I have the frigidaire professional 24" (very similar to the gallery the other poster mentioned). It cleans well. My daughter can't open it and get into like our old one. It's quiet. So quiet that at first we thought it wasn't working because we couldn't hear it. It's greatness!

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L.A.

answers from Minneapolis on

When our old dishwasher would complete the cycle and there would be 1/2 of the soap still left in the dispenser, we decided it was time. My criteria was that I wanted a model where you didn't need to pre-rinse so my kids could just stick dishes straight in and also to avoid that water use. And the other criteria was that it was energy efficient.

Doing research, it seemed that a dishwasher was as good as it's manufacturing, where if you get a well assembled unit, you like it. But if you get one that's assembled poorly, you have problems and don't like it. (kinda like cars, I guess.)

We ended up with a Miele and really like it. There's no rinsing, it's energy efficient, VERY quiet, the silverware rack is a flat rack at the very top (very convenient), lifespan is 20 years, doesn't need a garbage disposal part, and it's 90% recyclable. The only negative things I can think of are that I wish the tines were just a smidge farther apart, (but that allows more dishes to be loaded as long as they aren't "thick") and that the dishes need to be loaded so that they have adequate water flow or they won't get clean (which makes sense but I can't over fill it).

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K.V.

answers from Dallas on

I have had the highest end Kenmore (manufactured by Kitchen Aid) for about 4 years now. I can take dishes and casserole dishes AND pots and pans and put them straight in the dishwasher WITHOUT rinsing!!! I use the cascade dishwashing packets with the dawn in them and I use the jet dry rinse.
This dishwasher is stainless steel inside and every time I open it in the morning, it looks brand new! There are these red turbo jets in the back of the dishwasher (this is added by sears, the Kitchen Aid model does not have these).

You will love it guarenteed. When I purchased it, it cost $800. It was worth EVERY penny.

K. Voigtsberger

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A.D.

answers from Dallas on

I have to agree. My Bosch is where it is at. The only noise you can hear coming from it happens when the water empties into the drain. WELL worth the money!

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A.D.

answers from Dallas on

I don't have a dish washer I love (unless you count my husband occasionally!) but I do have a suggestion, bring one of your every day plates with you to the store when you go shopping. Not all dishwashers fit all plates, that's probably part of the reason I don't love mine, my plates fit but if they were about a quarter inch shorter they'd fit even better, I also hate the silverware basket in the door.

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