Drains etc. are not an issue. My husband is handy enough to even change the hardwired stuff to plugged in. As far as I recall, to achieve silent operation, kitchenaid used heavy insulation around the dishwasher sides and back. On Miele, that insulation was neatly covered with some plastic cover so it was easy to just slide in. That’s German engineering for ya! On KitchenAid, the insulation looked like heavy layers of tattered batting that was all frayed and was a PITA to stuff into the hole.
The handle on our 22 year old Maytag broke off yesterday, so we’re also looking. I think we’ll get a KitchenAid. People on Reddit have a love/hate relationship w Bosch. From what I’ve read, there are certain functions (like a delayed start) for which you need to use an app & have the dw connected to wifi. Whirlpool seem like the most solid option in the less-expensive category, but I’ve seen reports of rust after less than a year. My office kitchen has a Whirlpool and it cleans well. KitchenAid seems to be consistent and get good reviews.
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Check out the configuration of the bottom plate rack. It may have changed in both the Bosch and the KitchenAid since I bought mine almost five years ago, but at that time KitchenAid was using very wide spaces between each plate. That would be great if I had heavy pottery plates, but I have regular slim plates. The Bosch holds a ton of dishes, which my old Kitchen Aid had also.
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In our second home, I don’t like how the dishwasher (I think a 10+ year old Kitchen Aid) has very wide spaces on the bottom rack - the plates angle vs stand straight up. And the upper rack has a big “bump” where the glasses go, but they tilt the wrong way.
I am going out to look in person again today and thanks to @CT1417 ‘s reminder, am going to more closely examine the racks/space (I even measured my current one).
I know some people don’t like Samsungs but if I can’t get my Glide Rails (people will probably think I am crazy, but that is the only option that I would actually pay more for), I may just go with the newer version of what I have now - lol. We’ve had our Samsung 11 years and have never had an issue with it until now. I use the “santize” wash (so the dishes get good and dry), none of the other 4 wash options, and have never used the delay option. 
I never even noticed until today there is an option child lock.
Thank you everyone for your insights and advice!
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That’s what we thought too until the plumber told us that Maytag is built different and she would have to order a specialized part. She recommended Whirlpool in hindsight. 
We had a Kitchenaid that lasted about 18 years! We replaced it with a basic Bosch, and it it is still running at 12 years. I love the quiet. We only use 2 basic settings, and dishes come out clean. But remember: “They don’t make them like they used to”.
Our Bosch quit at age 10 - almost to the day. We had 2 repair companies tell us to replace it, since today’s appliances rarely last 10 years. Instead, we had a plumber change the line (it was originally installed differently than modern standards). Worked great. SO… keeping our fingers crossed.
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I have a basic Miele that’s 10 years old. It is very quiet. My kitchen is right next to my living room. When it’s on I don’t hear anything. The dishes come out very clean. The only thing is it takes few hours for a normal cycle. It doesnt me because I usually run it after dinner.
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With my Miele, I noticed that I can use the 30-minute cycle when the load doesn’t require heavy scrubbing, and the dishes come out just as clean as when I run the regular cycle (1 hr 50 min).
We have never tried any quick cycle on our Bosch, just use the default and have found it works just fine. The kitchen adjoins our dining room and really isn’t any bother in conversation or anything—have to go and see light is in to confirm it’s running—Haha!
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Our Bosch pops open when done. When I walk in and see the red light on the floor, I know it’s on.
It’s the same with the Miele dishwasher.
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I’m putting out my safety alert… our Kitchen Aid DW caught on fire in @2014, and there was a related class action suit. I think they’re not the only ones. DO NOT GO TO SLEEP WITH YOUR DISHWASHER GOING. Don’t leave it on when you’re gone either.
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I have heard dishwashers are notorious for catching on fire - I never run it when we aren’t here - not my clothes dryer either.
And I don’t start and and go up to bed. Our good friends were awoken by their smoke detectors and an entire first floor filled with smoke due their dishwasher catching fire.
I work from home so if we don’t start a load in the the evening, I can just do it sometime the next day.
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Dang. Missed that. We always do this. We’ve had a flood from something jammed into the pipe that the filter didn’t get (it was like a strawberry life that when the plumber showed it had no stiffness - just wedged in a certain immovable way - but never have seen a fire.
This is from a 2017…
The National Fire Protection Association reports that clothes dryers and washers are involved in roughly 16,000 home structure fires annually, with dryers accounting for 92% of these incidents. Common causes include lint buildup, electrical failures, and overfilling, while dishwasher fires often stem from heating element malfunctions.
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Dishwashers cause fewer fires than dryers—roughly 500 to 3,700 per year depending on the reporting agency—but they still pose a real risk.
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Primary Cause: Fires typically occur during the heat/drying cycle when the heating element fails or reaches excessive temperatures (sometimes up to 400°F).
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Mechanism: Most fires originate from electrical malfunctions in the control panel or internal wiring, often due to manufacturing defects or wear and tear.
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Contamination: Food debris or plastic items falling onto the heating element can also ignite.
Never leave them unattended: Fire departments strongly advise against running these appliances while you are sleeping or away from home.
Thanks for the tip about shorter cycles on dishwasher. I just checked and sure enough the Bosch has one for 60 minutes which I just used for the 1st time. Cycle finished and everything looks clean and it’s good to know so we can run while we are home & awake (don’t want fire while we are away).
I don’t really understand difference between short and long cycles on Bosch. Guess I’ll have to research.
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I understand short cycle uses more water and electricity for heat.
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I have been using my short cycle of 1.5 hs lately. There is no dry cycle which I never use because we are in the high desert. I open the door and they are dry. I did notice that since our water pressure is low the dishes actually are cleaner with a little more water use. I run it on our low electrical rate time period.
OP here - I went with the LG with the really nice, smooth rolling racks. So that was the option I paid for, not the 15 wash cycles. lol That, and the width of the prongs in the rack. I measured my old DW - it had 1/2” and 1” “slots” for plates/bowls which worked perfectly for us. The new ones are a pinch over an inch. And the top rack does not have a huge “bump” on the outside rows which I dislike in our 2nd home DW.
It has a 3rd rack which I was skeptical of, but dang you can fit a lot of silverware in it! And it is nice to unload from there vs a basket. The DW is very quiet too.
The appliance guy doesn’t even sell Samsung (our old brand). I told him we never had an issue with it and he said we must have taken good care it of. Nope, we never did a thing maintenance-wise to it! (Maybe it would have lasted more than 10-1/2 years if we had…)
The 1 hour cycle is…1 hour, plus drying time so about 2 total. Since our dishes are pretty clean when we put them in the DW, the guys said we could probably use the 1 hour cycle most of the time (we are rinsers because sometimes the dishes will set there for 2-4 days).
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