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Homeowner Forum / Cleaning / December 2005Dishwasher recommendations?
Hello All, I am looking for a lower-end dishwasher (don't want to spend much more than $300 if I can get away with it), and would like to see if anyone has any recommendations? I don't need any fancy cycles--the light, normal, heavy will do just fine. Noise isn't too much of an issue. I'd rather have a self-cleaning filter which I read adds to the noise but I don't care. I've also read that a "sanitization" feature isn't really all that necessary either. What are your thoughts? TIA, Karen > Hello All, > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > I've also read that a "sanitization" feature isn't really all that necessary > either. What are your thoughts? I like the sanitize cycle. Most dishwasher have a heating element in them to facilitate drying. The sani-cycle just allows you to heat the water with the element that already exists so there shouldn't be much of a price issue. The heated wash cycle allows you to set the temperature on your water heater low, so in the long-run you should save energy by just heating a couple of gallons of water occasionally in the dishwasher than keeping 40 gallons of water heated hot enough to adequately clean your dishes. The boost in water temperature on the sani-cycle in my dishwasher makes a big difference in the effectiveness of the machine. If by "isn't ... necessary" you mean that it isn't necessary from a health perspective, that is probably true. The consistent winner over at rec.food.equipment for low-end, domestic dishwasher is Maytag. I would also look at a low end Whirlpool (which is going to be almost identical mechanically to Kitchenaid, but with fewer features) and Sears Kenmore. Whirlpool makes many of the Kenmore appliances to Sear's specifications. You may find that you are getting a Whirlpool-Kitchenaid dishwasher with a few more features at a little better price-point. If you are a Costco member, take a look there. They often have good prices on appliances and have a lot of rebates. Their Kirkland Signature line is made by Whirlpool. My KitchenAid dishwasher has a bunch of cycles and features. I use the pots-and-pans and normal cycles about 99% of the time. I never use the china/crystal cycle. I sometimes use the short wash cycle but could easily do without it. You really should not use the rinse only cycle as it wastes water and energy. My dishwasher has a stainless interior and hold the heat very well. I use the sani-wash and sani-rinse cycle and turn off the heated dry. The residual heat dries the dishes quite well. One feature I've liked is the stainless interior. There's nothing wrong with the plastic - but it does discolor over time and just looks ugly. Stainless just LOOKS cleaner, I guess. The Kitchenaid we had in our previous house was nice, quiet, did a good job of cleaning, but you had to be careful not to overload it and had to make sure to keep the rinse-aid reservoir full due to our hard water. I've since bought from Home Depot instead at our current house, mostly due to Sears being unresponsive to a problem we had with a three year old Kenmore washer. > One feature I've liked is the stainless interior. There's nothing > wrong with the plastic - but it does discolor over time and just looks [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Home Depot instead at our current house, mostly due to Sears being > unresponsive to a problem we had with a three year old Kenmore washer. I can't imagine HD being very responsive either. The thing you have to watch with places like HD is that they often sell items that are made to their specifications, cutting corners to make the item cost less -- think Wal-Mart. The item has a unique item number and therefore you can not price match with other stores. I have seen this with things like their KraftMaid kitchen cabinets and their "Anderson" doors that are made by a subsidiary of Anderson and have part numbers that start with "HD." I don't know if they do this with appliances but I wouldn't assume they don't. Actually, we took a chance recently and bought the LG appliances that HD had on sale. The model numbers did seem to match with other stores, so they're probably not just a HD model. They are NOT what I would consider low cost though, so I am being careful not to recommend them to anyone on a budget. Unfortunately, due to lots of unforseen and time-consuming problems with our recently purchased house, we've yet to move in and try out the new appliances so I can't say if I like them or not. Like I mentioned above, the Kitchenaid dishwasher never gave us a bit of trouble, our only reason for moving away from Sears was the lack of help with our Kenmore washing machine. Maybe HD is just as bad, but they certainly can't be any worse than Sears was. > Hello All, > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > TIA, > Karen Look at Maytag. Mine was maybe a bit more than $300 about four years ago. It's still doing a great job on pots and pans.  Signaturehttp://www.jamlady.eboard.com, updated 11-9-05 finishing in four parts the trip report from our vacation time in San Francisco for Nephew Pat's wedding last weekend. interesting in getting more info on the double drawer type dishwasher....living alone it makes more sense to do smaller loads. Have seen it at Lowe's but did not get all the specs on it. > interesting in getting more info on the double drawer type > dishwasher....living alone it makes more sense to do smaller loads. Have > seen it at Lowe's but did not get all the specs on it. The drawer type DW is rather expensive and I have heard that they are prone to leaking. You can find conventional dishwashers that will allow you to wash only the upper rack of dishes. Before you spend ANY money, go to a FREECYCLE website in your area and post your need online. Who knows - somebody may have one they'd be willing to get rid of! Melinda you might also check out craiglist......lotsa stuff for sale on there....go to search enter craigslist/ your nearest town and you should get the website. |
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