In this article:
• Stainless-Steel-Tub Dishwashers
• Dishwasher Energy Efficiency
• Quiet Dishwashers
• Dishwasher Capacity
• Dishwasher Controls & Styling
An unbiased guide to buying a dishwasher, including tips about features, prices, and much more.
For anyone remodeling an old kitchen, a dishwasher is probably near the top of the wish list. Although portable dishwashers can answer the need in some small kitchens, choices and features are far more limited than those offered in under-counter models.
Because competition is heated among manufacturers, most offer several models, each designed to address a different segment of the market. First-time buyers may be attracted to low-priced units with basic features. Move-up buyers may be enticed by stylish, upscale machines loaded with plenty of bells and whistles. What features are worth paying for?
Setting the standard at the high end are the European makers. ASKO, Bosch, Miele, and others make striking dishwashers loaded with features. You’ll find compact, ultra-quiet units with sophisticated controls, high-efficiency design, stainless-steel interiors, and even built-in water softeners. These dishwashers are truly amazing, and are priced accordingly. American manufacturers have followed suit by including some of the more popular options and have introduced a few tricks of their own.
"Smart" dishwashers have arrived. Using sensors to size up and monitor cleaning during wash cycles, smart controls are currently available at the high end of a couple of dishwasher lines, notably Maytag’s IntelliSense Plus and the GE Profile CleanSensor. They allow tailoring of a machine’s efforts and energy usage to meet the load’s requirements for optimum efficiency. If you want a dishwasher that truly takes the guesswork out of using controls, one of these would be a good bet.
Because models are continually evolving, before buying a new dishwasher, do your homework. Check out consumer ratings for reliability and convenience, and also assess your needs. Do you put on the dishwasher daily or just once a week?
Look for a strong warranty—one or more years for free parts and labor (Maytag offers three years plus free key parts for five years) and free parts and labor on the tub and door liner for 20 years or more. By combining careful, informed shopping and a strong warranty, you can select a dishwasher that will add style and convenience to your home for years to come.
Stainless-Steel-Tub Dishwashers
A key emerging trend is stainless-steel dishwasher interiors. Many manufacturers now make—or are introducing—models that have durable stainless-steel tubs.
Stainless-steel dishwashers can’t compete in price with models utilizing plastic tubs, but they are quieter, easier to maintain, and more efficient during drying cycles because the metal reflects heat better.
This also means they can employ a lower-wattage heating element for drying, which saves energy and helps protect heat-sensitive items on the lower rack. For example, by combining a stainless-steel interior with good insulation, KitchenAid dishwashers can use a 450-watt element instead of the 600 to 750 watts needed for dishwashers with plastic tubs.
Stainless-steel tubs also allow for higher water temperatures than the typical 140 degrees F. suitable for plastic. Some, such as Amana’s, operate in excess of 165 degrees F., which truly sterilizes dishes.
Dishwasher Energy Efficiency
A current hot button in the world of dishwashers is energy efficiency. In the 1990s, federal regulations imposed minimum energy-efficiency standards on new dishwashers. As a result, all of today’s dishwashers use about half the electricity needed by dishwashers made back in 1972, and they also use less water. Together, these savings can result in a significant difference in your utility bill.
According to the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, about 80 percent of the electricity used to wash dishes goes toward heating the water. Many new dishwashers save energy by heating their own water.
Purchasing such a model can achieve savings of up to 20 percent off the total cost of heating water for your house. These dishwashers keep their water temperature at a sanitizing 140 degrees F., so you can also lower the temperature on your water heater.
Today’s standard-size dishwashers use an average of 8.11 gallons for a normal cycle compared to the 16 gallons it takes to hand-wash dishes.
New dishwashers achieve this efficiency by utilizing high-volume pumps to recirculate a relatively small amount of water through fine-mesh filters.
The filters strain particles from the water to ensure thorough cleaning, and the pumps deliver a powerful spray to the dishes. The pump in a Frigidaire Gallery dishwasher, for example, recirculates fewer than 8 gallons of water (for a normal cycle) at a volume of 42 to 50 gallons per minute—up to 2,000 gallons per cycle.
Another benefit of most new dishwashers is that you don’t have to pre-wash dishes before loading them (this boosts overall energy efficiency significantly). Instead, they employ voracious solid-food disposers and sophisticated spray arms to literally blast away food. For instance, Maytag’s Six-Tier wash system has a total of 52 jets that spray from just about every direction you can imagine.
For comparison shopping, each new dishwasher is posted with a yellow EnergyGuide label. This rates the average annual cost of using a particular model based on average usage and a median price for gas or electricity.
When you compare a few of these, you’ll discover that, annually, most dishwashers cost about $60 to operate in homes with electric-heated water and $40 where water is gas-heated.
Numbers tend to vary only a few dollars per year from one model to the next, and more expensive units are not necessarily more efficient. Most differences are so minimal they’re insignificant unless you compare a truly high-efficiency model such as the GE Profile, which is rated at $44 per year for electric and $24 for gas-heated water.
Quiet Dishwashers
When it comes to dishwashers, today’s hottest hot button is quiet. Most of us want the sound of silence, particularly in the kitchen, which has become the hub of the house.
Families weary of trying to converse over the drone of water pumps and the hum of motors are opting for appliances that work discreetly. This fact has awakened a world of noise-reduction technologies, and dishwashers are toward the top of the silencers’ hit list.
Nearly all major manufacturers are promoting quieter dishwashers, particularly in the higher-priced models. “We have explored new design components and conducted consumer sound evaluations to launch 'the quietest dishwasher made in America,’“ says a Jenn-Air spokesperson. Whirlpool says about its Quiet Partner model: “You have to hear it to believe it. ... We like to say that the Quiet Partner dishwasher quite literally gives you back your kitchen.” Frigidaire’s Ultra-Quiet Insulation Systems models are promoted as “among the quietest you can buy.”
To make dishwashers quieter, manufacturers have added sound-dampening insulation, sound-absorbing wash tubs, vibration absorbers, and low-noise pumps. With many brands, these are optional features and will boost the price significantly. For example, KitchenAid offers four different levels of quiet, depending on how much quiet you want and what you want to spend.
Dishwasher Capacity
All conventional under-counter dishwashers are about the same size because they’re made to fit under a standard-height counter in a 24-inch-wide space. If you’re considering a European model, double-check its capacity to be sure it isn’t sized smaller than its American counterpart. With racks, flexibility is the name of the game. When shopping for a dishwasher, match the rack style to the types of things you wash—if your dishes are unusual in size or shape, for example, you may want to take one along to the store with you.
Covered baskets can be helpful for containing small items. Beyond that, watch for options that offer flexibility such as terraced racks, fold-down trays, and adjustable or removable tines.
Dishwasher Controls & Styling
Across the board, dishwasher controls have become simpler to use. For example, Whirlpool has a One-Touch control that requires just what the name implies—pushing one button.
Although electronic controls are trendier, they are more expensive and don’t offer any particular advantages over mechanical controls. They are the easiest to set but can be slower to reset than a dial. Push buttons are also easy to set but can leave you wondering what part of the cycle you’re on if you have to reset them.
Three basic cycles are important: light, normal, and heavy. People who are brave enough to wash china and crystal in a dishwasher will want a delicate cycle. Delay start is a popular feature because it allows you to set the dishwasher to start automatically at a later time.
European-style models such as Creda’s do a beautiful job of integrating the control panel into the face panel. For the ultimate in clean design, check out the ASKO 1805, which has no visible controls on the front—instead, they’re located along the top edge of the door.
Finishes include stainless steel, white, black, and—with some—custom panels that match your cabinetry. In its Designer Series, ASKO, for example, offers deep rose, teal, plum, and slate blue. The company will even paint the control panel to match any color sample provided by a customer.
