Household tools - need a new dishwasher

[AndyF]

My dishwasher has given up the ghost and I need to replace it. Its a 10 year old Frigidaire and the nicest thing I can say about it is that I wish the previous owners had taken it with them when we bought the house as its never done a good job. Previously, I had a Kitchenaid and it worked great.

Has anyone bought a dishwasher recently? What did you buy and would you buy it again?

Durability and performance are more important than quietness and appearance because we cook a lot and with four kids in the house the dishwasher runs full loads 2-3 times a day.

[CJDave]

I would NOT have anything except a HOBART [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] ...... Had GE, too thin [img]/forums/images/icons/mad.gif[/img] , had Kitchen aid, too noisy [img]/forums/images/icons/mad.gif[/img] , had Whirlpool, OK but top rack wasn't pressurized. [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img]

[chrisjbell]

We just bought a new one. It is a Bosch, which is a european manufacturer. It replaced an ancient, bottom of the line Sears and the difference is really something. We used to have to pretty much wash the dishes before washing them, if you know what I mean, and with this thing that is past. It was rated very high by Consumer Reports, and they're awfully hard to please.

This model is the one we got, with the stainless steel front panel (we have a big commercial style stove that is all stainless). It is quiet, but one of the features we really liked is that it uses very little water (we're on a well that produces enough water but it ain't a gusher). The only downside to it is that it is kind of expensive, but we figured that we'd be using it every day for 10 or 15 years and since most decent dishwashers will set you back at least $500 (more like $800 for all stainless tub) the cost was justified.

[GerardC]

We have a KENMORE. It is about 5 years old and works as it did on day one. Today though, technology has changed SO much that my best ADVISE to you is to go to several brand name stores and just compare for yourself. A good salesman will be able to tell you the pros AND cons of ANY machine. It all depends on what YOU need and are looking for. Do you want digital or a plain jane etc.

[Richard]

We went from a manual dishwasher (wife [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img] ) to a Kitchen Aid. Don't recall the model number (can look) but got the 2nd from top as I recall, stainless steel lined inside and very well insulated.

You can be sitting (literally) next to the washer while it's running in any cycle and carry on a normal conversation or yak on phone. Though you can in fact "hear" it, it is VERY quiet.

The wife is nothing but smiles with it.

Richard

[Pat]

Hey, I'm standing right beside Chris on this one! Take a look at Consumer's Reports. They do great independent testing and tell it like it is. No hype or BS just honest realistic testing and fairly detailed comparisons. They make recommendations which are knowledge based, not subjective.

They give good frequency of repair data which is quite important.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[AndyF]

We ended up buying a Kenmore - looks like it will do a good job. Unfortunately, the job has grown. It turns out that the previous owners put in a new floor (plywood and vinyl tiles) after installing the dishwasher into their homemade kitchen cabinets. So the choice is tear out the floor or cabinets to get the new dishwasher in. After giving it some thought, I'll do both - new floor and new cabinets. I just need to find the time to get the job done.

[Pat]

Andy, The good news is that since you are going to take the floor cabinet out anyway, it won't matter that you take apart whatever would prevent a temp install of the new unit. Better to have the unit function than not have a little "construction zone" looks for a period.

Some of the Kenmore units rate well. Best of luck to you with your project,

Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[jayhawkerroy]

We were able to get our old dishwasher out by lowering the levelling legs it had all the way down. We had installed ceramic tile in the kitchen after we had installed the appliances, and had a problem similar to yours. Don't know if the same technique would account for half inch or so of plywood, but it did pretty well on the quarter inch we needed. I have also loosened the cabinet top to gain some extra clearance needed in another of my infamous installations. We always used Consumer Reports as a guideline for performance and have never been disappointed. We currently have a Kenmore middle line dishwasher that is four years old and runs just like new.

[puppycat]

I agree with the "check the consumer reports", for like $4.95 you can get a one month subscription to check out appliances, but I have a GE that came with the house and on regular wash works great, pot scrubber gets really nasty stuff clean, but it is noisy. I"m getting a Whirlpool for my new house, if I could afford one, I would get a KitchenAid.
Good luck