OT: dish washer purchase

[hemi68charger]

Hey gang..
Way of topic, but Kim and I are thinking about getting another dishwasher. The "new" one put in the house when built back in '08 was "quite" for a while... Now, it's just downright loud and I hate it. I know contractors don't go out of their way to get the best appliances. But, now, I want to get the best bang for the buck concerning a stainless steel faced dishwasher.

Thanks.

[Old Moparz]

We've been shopping for one too since the one we have isn't doing such a great job anymore & is also very loud. We usually run it when we're not anywhere near the kitchen so we don't have to listen to it. The one we have was already in the house when we moved here in 1989 (house built in 1987) so it's 23 years old. It's a basic GE, a builder's special, but has been fairly decent. Ever since the fiasco with the new GE refrigerator we bought 3 years ago & the horrendous service, I won't buy another GE product whether it's reliable or not. Of course all the brands have nightmare stories, so it depends on who you talk to.

Some of the things I have been noticing on the new dishwashers are the tubs inside. Some are plastic, & some are all stainless. Just because the outside is stainless & more money doesn't mean the inside is stainless. We have well water & it's hard so the rust & iron stains on the plastic tub don't come off. We'd like a stainless tub on the next one, only they seem to double in price for that feature. The other thing I see is the spinning sprayer can either be fed water from the bottom, or from a tube in the back where it "plugs in" when you push the rack in. The later of the 2 will give you more room since the spinning sprayer doesn't come up from the bottom & take up the center area.

Removable screens in the drain aren't in all models, so food particles (or cigarette butts if you invite smoking slobs over) can build up & be harder to clean out. Some can let you arrange the silverware baskets anywhere in the rack. This can be a plus if you need space for large pots. The Whirlpool & Bosch models offer the silverware rack on the door which saves space, but I don't know if that's a better location that far from the sprayer. I've also noticed that some models are deeper in the bottom than others. This can give you more room in each rack for taller pots or the jumbo-sized-super-tall-heavy-drinker beer glasses.

I can't stand comparing things for features to see which offers the best or most for the price & then not knowing whether something will hold up longer than the warranty. My wife & I are tempted to just buy another base model, low end unit for like $199 & be done with it.

[bakerhillpins]

We picked up one of the higher end ($800) Bosch units with a stainless tub, upper feed in the rear, removable racks, and customizable silverware container. Had it for 2 yrs now. Works great but with the newer high efficiency washers you need to get into the habit of using less (not more) dishwasher detergent. If you use too much it starts etching stuff. We figured it out (who reads directions anyhow   ) after we hosed up our glassware. Its super quiet. So much so that it shines a red dot on the floor so you know its running. We still open it by accident tho. The only problem I had was with my son, who roughly 1 month after we bought it proceeded to loose his balance and fall on the open door bending it to the floor. That was a fun evening of metal work and dishwasher repair.   Still works like a charm though and its fun to razz him about it.  

Fits everything under the sun and does a good job of washing. It uses super hot water too which seems to help the cleaning process.

I can get the model # if you would like. I'm sure its a bit different now.

[NorwayCharger]

I bought my first Bosch dish washer 13-14 years ago, but it suddenly died.
It was in the low price end when i got it new, nothing fancy, but it worked good all this years.
Since it was quite old i did get me a new one rather than to get it repaired.
I got a Bosch SMU69T05SK , and it is so quied that i had to look inside after start up to see if it realy did some washing
When it comes to quality i truly beleve that Bosch is one of the best.

[moparstuart]

I bought my first Bosch dish washer 13-14 years ago, but it suddenly died.
It was in the low price end when i got it new, nothing fancy, but it worked good all this years.
Since it was quite old i did get me a new one rather than to get it repaired.
I got a Bosch SMU69T05SK , and it is so quied that i had to look inside after start up to see if it realy did some washing
When it comes to quality i truly beleve that Bosch is one of the best.

do they actually get stuff clean  ?   noise mean high powered water jets right  ?
   

[ITSA426]

I've got a Bosch.  Reasonably quiet, and works fine, dishes are clean.  Stainless innards so easy to keep looking nice.  I've had it about ten years, but we usually don't have enough dishes to fill it unless we have company.

[bakerhillpins]

do they actually get stuff clean  ?   noise mean high powered water jets right  ?
   

Very nice indeed!    The super hot water even sanitizes everything.

[Todd Wilson]

We got a Fridgidaire unit now that seems to be a good unit. Has the high temp wash and sanitize options as well as a timer to have it come on at a later time. Use the timer a lot. Have it run in the middle of the night when the weather isnt as hot out side. keeps the kitchen cooler during the evening when we are up.   I also have a portable Maytag that I bought 15 years ago that is now starting to show its age. 15 years ago i wouold have said buy a Maytag but I am not so sure i would anymore.   This old unit of mine was a good unit and solid built compared to my new FA but they sure dont build em like they used to.


Todd

[chargergirl]

For those of you that still have the old dishwasher running take them out to the garage and wash parts in it. Really it works. The old rubber parts still in good condition are actually infused with moisture and if you need to wash something that is hard to get "in" and around they clean like a charm. Now for the new ones it's great to have the second tier not rely on the bottom parts to get their water. It is definitely worth the money to make that upgrade.

[Todd Wilson]

For those of you that still have the old dishwasher running take them out to the garage and wash parts in it. Really it works. The old rubber parts still in good condition are actually infused with moisture and if you need to wash something that is hard to get "in" and around they clean like a charm. Now for the new ones it's great to have the second tier not rely on the bottom parts to get their water. It is definitely worth the money to make that upgrade.

Hmmmmmmmmm thats a good idea for my old portable as I have been trying to decide if I should take it to the dump as we dont use it anymore.
You use regular dishwasher soap for the parts?

todd

[nh_mopar_fan]

We've got a GE stainless. I can stand in front of it while it's running and not know it and the dishes are CLEAN.

It's been 100% problem free in the 6 years that we've had it.

[chargergirl]

For those of you that still have the old dishwasher running take them out to the garage and wash parts in it. Really it works. The old rubber parts still in good condition are actually infused with moisture and if you need to wash something that is hard to get "in" and around they clean like a charm. Now for the new ones it's great to have the second tier not rely on the bottom parts to get their water. It is definitely worth the money to make that upgrade.

Hmmmmmmmmm thats a good idea for my old portable as I have been trying to decide if I should take it to the dump as we dont use it anymore.
You use regular dishwasher soap for the parts?
todd

Sure do! Use the little dissolving tablets...just toss one in there. Washed carb in there that had little bits of stuff in it...completely gone...would have taken a while by hand. Now here's the catch...NEVER USE THE HEAT CYCLE! Just put that portable by the sink and rinse the bad stuff down the big drain and let the dishwasher do the details. You just want that big stuff off. You can even get a basket that snaps closed to clean the little parts.