Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler OT: Dishwasher Recommendations?

Dear Friends,

In my ongoing efforts to ascend out of the inner circles of Bukowinski's Dishwasher Hell, I need your opinions.

Our current abode "features" a vintage 1997 Kenmore/GE budget dishwasher that - until recently - performed its assigned task with an audible gusto that totally belied its utter inefficiency at actually removing particles from any surface. Its recent inability to maintain fundamental structural integrity has relegated its status to that of a built-in dishrack, and continues to rob my family of valuable post-meal bonding time while forcing us to endure the heartbreak of dishpan hands.

So, we shop for dishwashers. As with all things that plug in and have buttons, we obsess. We build charts. We read reviews. We agonize over measurements and manufacturer technobabble. That's when I thought of all of you.

We spend a lot of time in the kitchen, and have made significant (and prudent) investment in a dual-fuel range and a vent hood that - when fully engaged - WILL prevent your seasonings from making the journey down from your shaker to the pan below. So, we will get "a good one" rather than saving money and regularly cursing the "not so good one".

We will get a stainless front and interior. We care about washing ability, quietness, and loading flexibility. We like the idea of an adjustable top rack, but it may not be necessary depending upon configuration. We do regularly wash large items (commercial cookie sheets, etc.). I still have a bit of research to do, and am still obtaining bids. Availability is a very serious issue for some vendors (Best Buy has some excellent prices, but they are back-ordered until June).

The leading candidates so far are things like (prices are plus delivery and tax):

Kitchenaid KUDI02FSS $918.
Kenmore Elite 13773 $969. This is basically the same as the Kitchenaid, except it includes some upgrades to the Kitchenaid P series line (adjustable top shelf, etc.).
GE Profile PWD9280LSS $950
Jenn-Air JDB1090AWS $820.

Jenn-Air and Maytag have basically the same guts. I have not heard good things about Frigidaire. LG and Bosch/Siemens are out of the question due to their point of manufacture and/or drying systems. I understand that some online retailers (ABT, AJ Madison) have good prices, and the shipping is basically a wash compared to WA sales tax, but I would prefer to buy locally.

Your opinions and recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Although I use a Bosch, another one I considered was the GE Monogram Link

Thanks, HomeDad! I sort of forgot about the Monogram line (we have a GE Profile Range with which we are VERY satisfied). Looks a little expensive for the SS one, but clearly a new option. Thanks again.

We have a Miele and I would never recommend it. It doesn't clean well at all. Waste at over $1K just to have a quiet machine.

I recommend going w/ the standards, Maytag/GE/etc. Consumer reports can probably give you a good rec.

Our cleaning ladies even complain about our dishwasher. They said the $500 ones from Sears are the best ones, in terms of cleaning. Seeing as how they clean houses and kitchens for a living, I'd trust their rec.

Thanks, OSB. I had definitely planned to stick to "the standards" for a variety of reasons.

Interestingly, we had a Miele vacuum that was FANTASTIC - until it needed a replacement motor after about a year. It was "fixed", but it never worked worth a damn after that. I also vividly remember using both super glue and duct tape on its attachments multiple times. Got a Dyson now and life is good.

We just replaced a GE with water-retention problems with a Maytag 'JetClean II' (MDB7601AWW) but I am not sure if it comes in stainless - we went with white. We've had it for a couple of months and it is great so far - very quiet, very good cleaning, and best of all, no leaks!

I also got a wonderful deal on delivery, but I fear Sears is not long for this world. We bought this dishwasher at Sears because they had a 10% price guarantee. I showed them the Home Depot sale price and they agreed to the 10%. It had to be ordered, which I expected, and I was prepared to go to a store and pick it up. But get this - I could not have the discount unless I got it delivered. How much is delivery? It's free!

Amazing. But anyway, the dishwasher is great - hightly recommended, and a little over half the price of the units you mentioned.

-Brian n8wrl

Hey, that's great Brian. Thank you.

The wife wants a stainless interior, too, which drives the price up a bit. However, Maytag and Jenn Air differ only cosmetically, so your good fortune is meaningful to me.

We've always used Kenmore products since we got married and have had great luck.

I found a website a short while ago that listed 'who makes what'. As I recall, Maytag owns Jenn Air.

-Brian n8wrl

If you haven't already looked into, make sure you check the db rating on all the models, I literally have to put my ear against our dishwasher to see if its running, now I don't have to turn the TV up when doing the dishes