Dishwasher Question

[David Freed]

I have never used or been around a dishwasher, but I may consider getting one in the future. From hearsay and tv advertisements I have seen it sounds to me like they are a waste of money because you have to wash the dishes before you wash the dishes. Does anyone know of one that will actually clean dishes, pans, etc without pre-washing?

[Joe Pelonio]

I have had 5 different ones over the years and the dishes have always come clean without pre-washing. Those made in Europe do not have the food grinder so the dishes have to be scraped off. All of ours have been fairly inexpensive models like GE but the current one is old enough that the racks are starting to have the plastic coating crack and it will need replacing soon, but it's still cleaning the dishes nicely after 13 years.

[Chris Kennedy]

I wouldn't put much stock in the advertisements. My family has had Kitchenaids, a Bosch, and a few other brands in rentals and the like. I never had to "pre-wash" my dishes.

Cheers,

Chris

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

David - we never 'prewash', but we do tend to do a quick scrape/rinse to get most stuff off. It's just a habit. We recently had to replace our Whirlpool dw, so we went with another Whirlpool. I mentioned the 'pre cleaning' to a woman at the store, and she said it's usually not necessary - I think she mentioned she had a Whirlpool or a Kitchenaid, and has never had a problem with it. Some of them also have a 'potscrubber' feature, which is a series of jets along the back that are supposed to do a fantastic job of cleaning pots and pans (if they're loaded correctly). I haven't tried it out yet.

As Joe said, the European models don't usually have a food grinder - it's like a mini garbage disposal that will grind up food pieces and wash them down the drain. We didn't feel like having to manually clean the screen every time, so that was out. Also, European models (Bosch, for instance) tend to be a little smaller inside. Not a problem for many people, but it's something to look out for.

[Al Willits]

You used to have to prewash to get better cleaning, but the newer ones have senors that detect if the water is clean or not and adjust the cycle according, so prewashing can do more harm than good with these models.

Getting the big chucks off is usually all that's required, that and running the hot water in your sink before starting the DW will help.

Al

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Get a Meile.
They work superbly well and are quiet enough that you can sit on the floor leaning against it and have a phone conversation.

[Danny Thompson]

The key is to skip the $200-$300 models. Look for a spinning sprayer on the top and bottom.

[Joe Mioux]

After the dishwashers went bad in our first house, my wife went with a Maytag. She loved it and regretted every day she did dishes in the new house's non-maytag washer.

When that dishwasher broke, she was determined to get another Maytag. She did.

no need to "wash" the dishes prior to placing them in the dishwasher. She also likes the "Sanitizer" feature on the dishwasher. That heats the water up higher than the normal heat setting.

if we move out of this house, she will buy another maytag dishwasher.

[John Pratt]

I just installed a new diswasher two weeks ago. I agree with the other posts that you have to skip the cheaper brands. Not cheap but we got the Kenmore elite and we definitely don't have to prewash the dishes. I think with any dishwasher the key is to load the dishwasher shortly after the meal. If the dishes sit for several hours and the food has a chance to dry or crust to the plates, bowls, etc it is difficult for the dishwasher to do its job. A concept that my children do not understand.

[David G Baker]

I always pre-wash dishes prior to putting them in the dishwasher even though I know I don't have to, just a habit from years ago when you had to pre-wash them.

[Ben Franz]

+1 on the Miele line. This has been the brand of choice in mid to high end kitchens for the last 10 years or so. They aren't cheap (:eek:) but they work great and are quiet. Several different products at different price levels do allow some flexibility of choice. I like the top mounted silverware tray and the racks are well designed to hold lots of dishes and glassware. Quiet operation is the best feature, especially in open plan kitchens.

As an aside, I haven't been impressed with the "drawer style" units made by Fisher Paykel and some imitators. Expensive, harder to install and less room inside. Some users like the ability to run smaller loads with the dual drawer setup but I don't find that "feature" to be very useful. My $.02 - YMMV.

[Dave Wagner]

We have a Fridgedaire? Quiet Wash III? I think, it works quite well, has 3 levels of circulators.

A big thing is running it on the correct settings. Hotter water will help and running it longer (Like on the Pot/pans setting) will also help clean the dishes better. and how you load it, if you have stuff stacked, some may not get cleaned correctly. But I like to pack it full.....go figure.

just do your research and ask questions.

[Dan Mitchell]

I have never used or been around a dishwasher...

Wow. What part of the 1940's are you visiting from? :D:D

You definitely DON'T have to prewash with any decent machine, which over time saves a considerable amount of water, not to mention time. Get one with a food grinder, scrape the chunks off & go. One tip: if you don't dirty the dishes fast enough to wash daily, put them in the machine anyway, rather than leaving them sit out. Prevents the crud from drying on, which makes it harder to remove.

[John Coloccia]

Miele's very good, and we also have a Miele washing machine. That said, we had a Bosch in the last house and I liked that better. I thought it was quieter. It may have cleaned a little better as well, but I don't remember that much about it.

Both of them are whisper quiet, though. The Bosch made about as much noise as the coffee maker.

[David Freed]

Thanks for all the replies and info. I had suggested getting a dishwasher years ago to my wife, but she didn't want one. I think she might consider using one now. I will check out the brands everyone mentioned and start comparing. Thanks again.

[Jim O'Dell]

We bought an Amana last last December. It is also very quiet. Even quieter than the GE we had at the other house and liked. This one sells in the 6-650 range locally. I actually bought ours online and it was right at 500 delivered. I usually rinse my plate when I'm finished eating, LOML doesn't. She loves this unit. What led us to this one is LOML wanted the silverware baskets on the door, and none of the others she liked, that we could afford, had that feature. Jim.

[Dan Mitchell]

I know many people like the Bosch, and they are almost eerily quiet, but I've had experience with 2 of them, (one at my in-laws & one which was here when we moved in), & I really don't like them. They were both smaller inside (top rack is a couple inches smaller by actual measurement on the ones I checked than our present machine, as a result of the added sound insulation, I assume), I find the rack design makes them hard to load, and the one that was in our present house when we moved in, while fairly new, still needed to be repaired twice in the 1st few months we were here. I fixed it myself the 1st time (plugged drain tube), but since we didn't like the machine anyway, we replaced it with a Kitchenaid the 2nd time it crapped out. Also, the filter at the bottom of the machine on these 2 models is a fragile PITA. I've worked on a few appliances in my time; these seem over-designed & trouble prone to me.

[Al Willits]

Quiet doesn't necessarily mean better, just better insulated, fwiw

Being in the repair field, I went with Kitchen aid, same as whirlpool, it had the rack set up the wife liked and fit our dishes, also parts are easily obtainable, second choice would have been Bosch, same easy parts and service but a bit more money.

Miele and Asko would not be my choice, but people get to chose what makes them happy, just make sure you have a good repair service that keeps a decent supply of parts, as they all break down, sooner or later.

Al

[Jerome Hanby]

We've got a Bosch. My Wife expects it to clean, so she doesn't prewash and the dishes appear to come out fine. I was raised to wash them first, so that's what I do...and they also come out fine. Hopefully I wont be buying any more dishwashers, but if I did, I wouldn't even look at anything other than Bosch. Every other brand I've ever used is junk by comparison. Take that with a grain of salt since all the others were either the 30 year old model in my parents house or the built-ins in various apartments I inhabited in the past.

[Dave Johnson29]

Does anyone know of one that will actually clean dishes, pans, etc without pre-washing?

I have the cheapest Frigidaire they make. I run the thing every 4 days. I never rinse off anything and that means dried egg etc can be 4 days old. I use the shortest cycle that takes 72 minutes and uses 4.9 gallons of water.

I do not even run the hot tap to bring the hot water to the end of the run for it.

Never had a problem with the dishes not coming out clean. I put saucepans and frying pans in there too.

I have never understood the pre wash rubbish. Oh, and I have well water that is so hard it almost dents the sink when it comes out of the tap.

I bought this one 2 years back to replace a Kenmore. The thing to look for IMHO is the food cutter. Some of the brands do not have that in their cheaper models. Mine chops food scraps into almost dust-size chunks.

[Ken Garlock]

When we built, we had Whirlpool appliances installed. First the dishwasher was a pos. It would not dry the dishes, and the spray-head would clog with soap. Second, the side by side refrig. lasted about 6 years and turned casters up with a locked up compressor. We found an identical unit in the bump and dent section of the original vendor.

The dishwasher was replaced with a mid price Bosch, and it is without a doubt the best dishwasher we have ever owned.:cool: It does what we expect, cleans the dishes, and drys them. When it is running, you have to stand in front of it and listen to hear it running. At this point, if I were in the market for a new DW, it would be a Bosch. For those of you that kneel at the pages of Consumers Report, they have rated the Bosch DW at or near the top for several years.

[Kent A Bathurst]

....We've got a Bosch. ......Hopefully I wont be buying any more dishwashers, but if I did, I wouldn't even look at anything other than Bosch........Every other brand I've ever used is junk by comparison.

Agree. Our model has a "clean" front design - the controls are on the top of the door when you open it. Originally got one because SWMBO researched performance + noise level -and this sucker works great and is DEAD quiet.

BTW - she is a gourment cook, and I am a passable clean-up guy, so I wash the dishes.

Moved from Mich to GA. New house fridge needed to be replaced. SWMBO "I'm gonna get a new fridge - just like the one we bought in Mich." Me: "Good, get a new dishwasher too - same as we had." "But - this one works fine." Me: "I only do dishes with the Bosch. Entirely up to you." She got one.