<p>It would be wonderful to have a dishwasher that you neither have to scrape or rinse & have it always come out remarkably clean. What Bosch models are folks recommending for and against? I’ve seen the brand come up quite a bit.</p>
<p>Also what other models for other brands? My sister swears by Whirlpool. I really have no preference, since DH does nearly all of our dishes. We may buy new dishes, finally, since many have finally broken over the 30 years we’ve had them. Maybe that will be something to get ourselves for Christmas!</p>
<p>How noisy or quiet it is when operating isn’t all that important to us, since we can run it when we don’t care much if it makes noise.</p>
<p>Coloradomom, our county requires all septic systems to be “monitored”, which means a septic dude shows up on the property, peeks inside the septic tank, and sends a report to the county that all is well (if not, a fix is required). The frequency of this exercise depends on whether you have garbage/food grinding devices or not: without them, it is once every 3 years; with them, it is once a year. By not having any “grinders” I save 2X$200 and the headache of calling the septic dudes and taking a day of vacation waiting for them to show up. So for me, a simple ss filter in my DW is just fine. I never scrape or scrub dishes that go into my Miele DW, and it does a fine job of scrubbing them to sparkling cleanness. The flatware tray is a fantastic feature.</p>
<p>Interesting info BB. Oh, I’d hate waiting for the septic dude. Probably saves you money too on septic work. I know that at BIL’s condo (with shared septic), gargabe disposers are now forbidden. He didn’t mention grinders, but I bet they are forbidden too. </p>
<p>YOu should add more info on your Miele. It was a brand I had never hear of until looking for vacuum cleaners last year. It sounds like they make good products.</p>
<p>I am not sure why I didn’t read this thread when it appeared months ago but I will chime in now. We just had a Kitchenaid installed two days ago. I have only run it once (h is out of town and I don’t dirty many dishes by myself). The installer recommended scraping off large scraps but no need to rinse. I had a container of Cascade squares with the blue rinse agent which he said to finish but not re-buy; they don’t dissolve completely. He did emphasize that it is important to keep the jet dry dispenser filled. From one use I observed: H’s big wine glasses now fit on the top shelf, my steel cut oatmeal pan came clean with no soaking or pre washing, my hot choc/decaf mug did not have a ring left at the bottom, my glasses sparkled, AND, I was able to carry on a telephone conversation with my sister while sitting about 6 feet from the dishwasher. In fact, it was so quiet that I did have to check the front light to make sure that it was on. So far, a huge improvement over the one that I replaced.</p>
<p>Fisher and Paykel is quiet, but breaks down every three months with backwash in the tub. Since this company is out of New Zealand, it takes a phone call and a lot of effort to find a local specialist who can fix the problems. Really, really awful.</p>
<p>I have two Miele dishwashers (a second dishwasher was less expensive than a new cabinet when we remodeled the kitchen). I never scrape or rinse the dishes before putting them in. I don’t use a rinse aid. I use half or a quarter amount of detergent or less. (I do rinse the load before I actually run it off. That’s how I use less detergent.) They have been completely reliable for two and a half years. They have a very short third shelf just for silverware that I really like.</p>
<p>Well, I decided that I wanted the following features: stainless exterior, adjustable top rack (very helpful in washing large numbers of ganache bowls at once. ), sanitizing cycle (for the chocolate business items). adjustable tines on the bottom (helpful for pots and oddly sized things), reasonably quiet, and MADE IN AMERICA. I decided that I didn’t really care whether it had a grinder or a filter, as long as the filter was easy to get to for cleaning. I also decided that I didn’t care whether the tub was plastic or stainless, since I’ve never had a problem with a plastic tub staining here. </p>
<p>BTW, I too have a septic system, and so would never use a disposal–besides, I compost–but the amount of stuff clinging to the dishes is not anything that would ever matter to a septic system. Maybe we are all charter members of the Clean Plate Club around here. I don’t mind scraping the dishes, I just don’t want to have to prewash them. I’ve never heard of mandated septic inspections, and all of our houses have had septic systems. I guess it must be a question of regional problems with septic failure and ground water?</p>
<p>I ended up ordering a Whirlpool that meets all of the criteria above, and has some other features also, that range from potentially useful (some kind of super-duper pot scrubbing thing) to not relevant to me (multiple delayed wash settings). It also has a flatware thingie that can be positioned either on the door or at the front of the bottom rack, leaving more room for other stuff. Interesting.</p>
<p>It also cost $200 less than the KitchenAid with similar features, possibly because the latter had a stainless tub. Not worth the price to me. (They are made in the same place: Finlay, Ohio.) They’ll deliver and install it next week, and we’ll see how it goes.</p>
<p>Consolation, excellent! The idiotic septic monitoring is indeed the county’s requirement. I suspect it stems from “protect our salmon streams!” Our salmon are the most privileged species… :)</p>
<p>Miele is a European appliance brand that is well-known around the world, but not so much in the US. Miele appliances are manufactured in Germany.
[Miele:</a> Forever Better](<a href=“Welcome to Miele – Immer Besser”>Welcome to Miele – Immer Besser)</p>
<p>Thanks–these are very interesting details & observations. I am fascinated to learn all of these features that washers now offer–never knew there were so many!!!</p>
<p>Please let me know how folks continue to like their dishwashers. If all things remain fairly equal, am leaning toward buying an American-made dishwasher!</p>
<p>OK, went around looking at models today & was told by the guy at Lowes that Maytag, Whirlpool, KitchenAid and GE make their dishwashers in the US. When I inquired whether they were making them in Mexico or Canada, he balked and said, well, they are American companies but couldn’t be sure exactly where each model was made. </p>
<p>Looked at reviews of Whirlpool & see that several reviewers said that the board that runs the machine went out for two reviewers shortly after the purchase–2 months for one family & 22 months for the other. That makes Whirlpool (& Maytag that was acquired by them) somewhat less attractive for us, since reliability is one of our major concerns.</p>
<p>Anyone KNOW who is making RELIABLE dishwashers in the US?</p>
<p>Great thread. We’re on our second Bosch and did notice some problems after using the square Cascade packs. I’ll try the Finish powder next and try the Jetdry .</p>
<p>OK, let H choose, since he’s the person in charge of dirty dishes in our house. Just bought a Bosch on-line (went to look at the models today at the stores). Bought it on the “friends and family” sale–only $654.07 + installation/delivery + tax. It was MUCH cheaper than Lowe’s and we will have an included extended warranty because I used my AmEx card. </p>
<p>While I was purchasing the unit in chat with the Sears agent, the price jumped but the agent says they will honor the price I had when I started the chat with her instead of the increased price. Will get a refund of $145.56 within 24-48 hours. It’s a good thing we went to look at dishwashers today & were ready to purchase immediately. H is very happy that THEY will handle the delivery & installation, saving his back!</p>
<p>Have long been a fan of Kitchen-Aide, since we had a wonderful experience in a home we built in the 90’s. A Bosch we had in our new home-e.g. built in 2002, performed miserably-I should blame the builder for poor selection and probably have upgraded the model. Nevertheless, when our Bosch’s heating element began smoking, mad a GE Profile purchase marketed under the Adora label. It is a tall tub, built in garbage disposal and has a lot of features I like-e.g. extra steam, extra heat., etc.I did not think I would be pleased with another GE Profile appliance, but so far I am very happy.</p>
<p>Bumping this thread to get more specific feedback. We have a 10yo Kitchenaid w food grinder that clogs every 2 weeks. My husband is sick of cleaning it and wants to get rid of it. (after this experience, we will not consider a Kitchenaid). I lived w my neighbor for 4 days when the Oct 29 snowstorm took out our power lines and she raved about her Bosch, except I noted the wet plastic when unloading, so that won’t work for us. </p>
<p>What are my options for a machine without a food grinder and produces dry plastic (except for puddles on recessed bottoms) after the cycle?</p>
<p>You don’t want to hear it but I really do love my 2 year old Kitchenaid model KUDE60FX. It is quiet, has three levels of racks (a cutlery rack on top), fits 16 place settings of dishes, can fit a 9 x 13 glass pyrex, has a pot scrubber cycle and many other decent attributes. I bought it to replace simpler 8 year old kitchenaid, which was a dud (and leaked). I looked at the Bosch and Miele but they did not have the capacity that this one does. I like this dishwasher so much that I have just ordered another one for our summer house. </p>
<p>When you go shopping for the dishwasher, take some of your dishes with you to see how they fit…really.</p>
<p>We were so frustrated with Sears on-line when we left HI, we deferred doing anything until we return. Will go to the Sears in Honolulu and see whether they will work with us because we had so much trouble with their national sears.com.</p>
<p>If we can’t work with them, we may switch and buy a Whirlpool or a Bosch from an independent dealer who will order whatever we ask them to get for us.</p>
<p>My sister has TWO Whirlpools–it’s the only brand she buys because she loves the basket on the door. It does have a grinder but it is well rated among dishwashers by Consumer Reports. Not sure exactly what we’ll do. One advantage about Whirlpools is that it will likely be easier to get someone who can repair them and get replacement parts than with the Bosch (like an American or Japanese car vs. a German or ohter for servicing/repairs/parts).</p>
<p>nj2011mom- Our 9 yr old KA with food grinder keeps clogging also.
so disappointed that it will be replaced after ‘only’ 9 yrs…it is the first item in our new (now old) kitchen to go…</p>
<p>I like our dishwasher with grinder. But I have heard that new dishwashers use less water. So perhaps when we have to buy a replacement we’ll get one with a filter. Our pipe from the back of the house to the street has a really long run… we don’t use the disposer much for fear of clogging it.</p>
), sanitizing cycle (for the chocolate business items). adjustable tines on the bottom (helpful for pots and oddly sized things), reasonably quiet, and MADE IN AMERICA. I decided that I didn’t really care whether it had a grinder or a filter, as long as the filter was easy to get to for cleaning. I also decided that I didn’t care whether the tub was plastic or stainless, since I’ve never had a problem with a plastic tub staining here. </p>
I don’t mind scraping the dishes, I just don’t want to have to prewash them. I’ve never heard of mandated septic inspections, and all of our houses have had septic systems. I guess it must be a question of regional problems with septic failure and ground water?</p>