<p>We are lucky, husband got it out, and fire department came and took it outside. Everyone including our cat who went and hid deep in the closet is fine.
Now I need to get a new one, fairly quickly.
I want stainless steel, quiet, and preferably with controls on top, so you don’t see them. All other appliances are Kitchen Aid, but I don’t think that matters. We don’t have to have the top of the line with tons of features, but we don’t want bottom of the line either. Suggestions? Sears and Bray and Scarff, along with HH Gregg are all close. If anyone sees a great sale, that’s helpful too. Budget max is probably about $1,500.
I won’t be checking responses much right away (busy cleaning up the “disaster” that was left behind, but I will definitely check in later or tomorrow.
Thanks</p>
<p>Here’s one under $1000:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.sears.com/kenmore-elite-24inch-buit-in-dishwasher-stainless-steel/p-02212773000P?sid=IDx01192011x000001&kpid=02212773000&kispla=02212773000P&kpid=02212773000&mktRedirect=y”>http://www.sears.com/kenmore-elite-24inch-buit-in-dishwasher-stainless-steel/p-02212773000P?sid=IDx01192011x000001&kpid=02212773000&kispla=02212773000P&kpid=02212773000&mktRedirect=y</a></p>
<p>We had something similar happen: no actual flames, but there was smoke, burned plastic smell that woke me up, and really hot-to-the touch granite counter tops. It turned out that the control panel died, so the heating element never turned off during the dry cycle. We went with a Bosch for a replacement. Bosch doesn’t have a heated dry cycle. If I run it about 10 pm, the majority of my dishes are dry by 6 am except for things that don’t have perfectly flat bottoms, e.g., coffee mugs.</p>
<p>What brands were the ones that caught fire, 1214mom and 1518mom? That’s pretty alarming, and I’ve never heard of that happening. One more appliance that I can’t turn on and leave the house.</p>
<p>Mine was a GE, previously known as “Good Enough” to us; now known to us as “do not ever buy again!” We purchased the GE ourselves after the old one that came with the house died. It only lasted about 5-7 years before it burned out.</p>
<p>OP here. Ours was Kitchen Aid. husband saw actual flames coming out the top, but nothing was damaged except the dishwasher. Place is a mess mostly from the fire extinguisher stuff that got everywhere, and all the guys tracking stuff in and out.
Mominva, do you have experience with that dishwasher? It does look like a good deal. </p>
<p>1214, I do not, just saw it online. I have a 17 year old Asko that I love. It was pricey but it was the only one with a stainless tub that I could find at that time.</p>
<p>Just heavily researched dishwashers and got Kitchenaid over other brands (none of the appliances in my house match brands except the washer and dryer- my choice). Noise- decibel ratings are the major cost factor. I appreciate the 45 dcb or so mid high price range ones. The Kitchenaid 104, 204, 304, 334 have various cleaning features and are fairly quiet. I had considered Bosch but the tine placement was too close for our many bowls to easily fit. I wanted the third rack- have discovered it to be wonderful for silverware instead of needing to bend down to place those in the bottom but some tall wine and other glasses are hindered by its rails. Also heated drying, stainless interior, scrubbing options can be considered. The quiet dishwashers not only make use of stainless steel interiors and more insulation but do not grind food waste like noisy ones- check on how often filter cleaning/rinsing dishes of particulate matter is suggested.</p>
<p>Do your online search- you do get what you pay for. I wasn’t willing to pay the extra for 39 dcb. Nor did I want water softening since we have a whole house water softener. Consumer Reports (library) has reviews in July issues, some in either Jan or Feb every year. Useful for checking reliability records- I did 2013 and 2014 checks, especially since this year they reviewed far fewer appliance models. Try to catch sales. hhgregg now offers a 90 day price match if the price drops. They also recently changed their delivery/installation refunds to instant instead of needing to wait for a debit card. My local Tampa hhgregg store is close by- easy to talk to salespeople before choosing where to buy.</p>
<p>In our old house I had gone from Kitchenaid to Kenmore- appliances then made by the same company- but have become disillusioned with their service policies. Decades ago you could call your local Sears service and get a smallish time window, now it seems to be so much more centralized you can’t find out anything.</p>
<p>Lots of dishwasher threads on this forum. We have a Bosch. Others recommend Meile…and it’s well within your price range.</p>
<p>Thanks Thumper1. I will pull up the other threads. </p>
<p>btw- current dishwashers take a lot longer to cycle than in the past. This is because they substitute time for water amount. A matter of overall energy used. There may be quick cycles which use a lot more water to save time available. I did check online dishwasher manuals for some brands to see how much time they take for various options. For me letting a fairly quiet dishwasher run 2-3 hours (including drying time) is better than a quicker, noisier machine that uses a lot of water.</p>
<p>Same thing with other appliances- tradeoffs.</p>
<p>Do also consider where you buy for the capability of installers. I read some reviews that make me think twice. Of course, you can find bad reviews about everything online. Bosch has a nice device to prevent water leakage- but those darn tines were too space inefficient for our lifestyle of using many bowls.</p>
<p>Human ears can tell a noise difference only if it is greater than 3 decibels (learned in my dishwasher research). Cheap dishwashers with 53 or 50 dcb are noisy. 45/46 very quiet. 39 (the lowest now) must be heaven- but the 50%/hundreds of extra dollars cost isn’t worth it to me. Rolls Royce-luxury-basic car type of lifestyle monetary considerations.</p>
<p>@moonchild - definitely don’t start a dishwasher and leave the house or leave it unattended. While ours didn’t catch fire, our last one flooded our kitchen and leaked down into our finished basement (the man cave). What a mess! The guys from ServPro came to do the water cleanup and said it apparently happens often. </p>
<p>I love the delay on our Kenmore, we’ve had it for fifteen years and I’m not replacing it until it dies, but it’s true if it flooded in the middle of the night we’d never know till the morning.</p>
<p>If you have a local appliance repair company you feel good about, check with them. They see them all and know which models are reliable and which are troublesome or cost a lot to repair. I heard a lot of snorts about the foreign brands because they’re bears to fix.</p>
<p>Sears is in such a state of decline, barely hanging in there as a going concern, that I would avoid their stuff at this point for fear they wouldn’t even be around to make good on a warranty. I bought a Sears dishwasher about three years ago, and 2 years in the touchpad controls failed. An internet search showed this was a problem endemic to the model. The control panel couldn’t be fixed and couldn’t be replaced because the manufacturer in Japan had been affected by the tsunami–or so they said. Had to junk the machine entirely. Unbelievable that Sears, knowing this was an ongoing problem, hadn’t sourced a replacement manufacturer for the part–but I just don’t think they’re capable of that sort of thing these days. I would have been happy with old-fashioned push buttons instead of fancy controls that break. That was my first and last Sears appliance. </p>
<p>My current GE is quiet and efficient, but it’s been less than a year, so who knows? One thing I know is to never use GE’s own repair service–their appointment scheduling is terrible, the service people they send can’t handle anything at all challenging, and they’re expensive. I’ve had them tell me a part will take weeks to obtain (after they’ve waited on hold for half an hour in my home trying to get through to their own parts people) when I can order it online myself and get it overnight. I prefer to stick with a local repair service I trust. </p>
<p>I like my Bosch, 800 series. It has the top third drawer for silverware. </p>
<p>You were lucky! Lucky your husband saw the flames.</p>
<p>I never heard of dishwasher fires until it happened to a friend’s home. They left for work and one other neighbor heard glass break. He looked and noticed that the kitchen window had blown out and flames were pouring out of the window. The whole kitchen was destroyed. The heat of the flames were so hot that it melted appliances in the kitchen.</p>
<p>Actually, because of the smoke damage from the fire, their whole house was considered destroyed.</p>
<p>I have a Kitchen Aid. Stainless steel inteior, runs longer than my last one, but it’s very quiet. I only use two buttons. Start and dry. I have no idea what the rest of the buttons say. LOL. I prefer simple.</p>
<p>Before installing a new dishwasher I’d want to know just exactly what went wrong with last one. Did the dw have a short inside it, was it wired incorrectly when it was installed, is wiring in house messed up? Maybe have an electrician check your home’s electrical system before putting new dw in your kitchen. When you had fire did smoke detectors go off in your house, did you have a fire extinguisher in kitchen you were able to use? Thank goodness fire was caught before your home burned down or anyone got hurt.</p>
<p>Why have a stainless steel interior? How would I know I have that? Is it ever colored white? I have a 15 year old Kenmore that is doing fine but I figure any day now I will need to choose a new dishwasher. </p>
<p>Yikes!</p>
<p><a href=“http://kitchenaidfire.com/”>http://kitchenaidfire.com/</a></p>
<p>“Why have a stainless steel interior? How would I know I have that? Is it ever colored white? I have a 15 year old Kenmore that is doing fine but I figure any day now I will need to choose a new dishwasher.”</p>
<p>No, stainless steel interiors are not colored. You have a plastic interior. </p>
<p>Dishwashers with stainless steel interior are quieter and don’t absorb smells as they are less porous than plastic interiors. Article linked below suggests they last longer, too. </p>
<p>link to pretty comprehensive article on dishwashers and best picks. </p>
<p><a href=“The 3 Best Dishwashers of 2023 | Reviews by Wirecutter”>http://thesweethome.com/reviews/the-best-dishwasher/</a></p>