# What brand of dishwasher is trustworthy?



## Ron6519 (Mar 28, 2007)

I guess you've come to the right place. We all have faces. At least I think we do. I 've never really seen any of them.
Check out Consumer's Reports for an unbiased evaluation.


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## mostakilv (Nov 23, 2015)

Duh, didn't even think of that. It's a name you hear all the time, but it just evaded me.


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## Bob Sanders (Nov 10, 2013)

I had enough of American made dishwashers. I went with a Bosch and am quite happy with it. Super quiet and the dishes are cleaner than I have ever seen come out of a dishwasher. I hated it with my old whirlpool when it recirculated all the crud at the bottom of the dishwasher back up and into the dishes again. Even the jets in the spray arms would get plugged up with recirculated food and crud after a while.

The filter system at the bottom of the Bosch prevents crud from recirculating through the machine. I have had the machine for two years now and all the jets are still PERFECTLY clean. It doesn't matter if your kid throws their chicken bones or sunflower shells in there because it all gets caught in the filter and is not allowed to recirc through the machine.

The one I bought was the SHE65T55UC.... highly recommend it.
http://www.bosch-home.ca/products/dishwashers/shop-all-dishwashers/SHE65T55UC.htmlhttp://www.bestbuy.com/site/bosch-5...teel/8862358.p?id=1218918121844&skuId=8862358


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## rjniles (Feb 5, 2007)

Latest Consumer Reports buyers guide rates the Bosch Ascents SHX3AR7(5)UC at$700 a best buy. And Bosch is also rated as the most reliable brand.


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## carmusic (Oct 11, 2011)

but remember more $$$ doesn't equal more reliability
ive seen 1000$ dishwasher that were broken after 2 years and i have a 300$ one still going strong after 7 years with 2-3 wash per week


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## rrudd2 (May 20, 2013)

We've got a Bosch, and it's fantastic. Not sure of the model #, as it came with the house. Best dishwasher we've had in the 29 years we've been married. If and when it craps out, it will be replaced with another Bosch.


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## ZZZZZ (Oct 1, 2014)

We bought a $300 Whirlpool from Lowe's about 6 months ago. Looks and works great (stainless steel), quiet, no problems so far. Spend more and get the bells & whistles if you want them. We didn't.


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## sbtools (Sep 16, 2015)

I have to agree with the others who chose Bosch. We have purchased other makes in the past and were recommended Bosch by friends, so bought one 11 years ago with no problems. We have moved house and purchased another new Bosch dishwasher and it is even better. Quieter and cleaner with a great 29 minute quick wash. German engineering at its best.


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## r0ckstarr (Jan 8, 2013)

My way of buying things may not be the norm, but here goes:

I don't care much for consumer reports or any of those other places that claim to tell you how reliable a brand new model is. Only time can tell that. I look for models that have been out for a few years, have a good parts availability, and then go from there. That's where I start reading the reviews of the faceless. I skip over reading all good reviews, but take the total number of good reviews into account. I sort through and look for trends in the negative reviews. Most of the time it's easy to tell which reviewer forgot to plug it in, versus one's who had similar parts break or similar repetitive issues between multiple reviewers. It all starts turning into statistics, and even then, it's a guessing game.

So my answer is this: 


mostakilv said:


> What brand of dishwasher is trustworthy?


The one that still works after 10yrs.


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## Canarywood1 (May 5, 2012)

Whirlpool for sure.


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## bmathews (Sep 22, 2015)

Another Bosch fan here.


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## jimn (Nov 13, 2010)

Kitchen aid is 10 years old and still running strong . The prior 10 years was split between a whirlpool (4 years ) and a GE (6 years)


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

My older noisy GE is still going strong at 20 years. I installed a Whirlpool Gold for my GF a couple years ago. Nice SS tub, efficient, extremely quiet.... and so far bulletproof.


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## ktkelly (Apr 7, 2007)

GE in our main house has been running strong AND doing a great job for the last 15 or so years.

Bosch at our beach house is a major disappointment. It WILL be replaced.


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## daudi81 (Dec 12, 2015)

Love our Kitchen-Aid.


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## digitalplumber (Jul 8, 2011)

We just bought a Kitchen AId, its not as quiet as my sons Bocsh and itsover 5 years old! Dont get me wrong, the KA is very quiet compared to our old GE, just not as quiet as the Bosch. The Bosch you cant even tell its on,the KA you can.


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## KC_Jones (Dec 1, 2014)

I have a 13 year old Whirlpool still running and looking like brand new. I haven't put a single repair into it in all 13 years. Family of five it gets run every day and almost twice a day when my twins were born. I am a huge Whirlpool fan.


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## digitalplumber (Jul 8, 2011)

Whirlpool owns Kitchen Aid, I believe.


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## sbtools (Sep 16, 2015)

We Love our Bosch, so quiet and the quick 29 minute wash is great too.

1st4tools


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

Just to add to this... I was at my GF's last weekend and went to put a coffee cup in the dishwasher (Whirlpool Gold I installed a couple years ago). When I opened it I saw that it was already running. So damn quiet I didn't hear it standing right next to it. Amazing....


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## r0ckstarr (Jan 8, 2013)

Just found out about this. You may want to compare your models to the ones affected here.

http://kitchenaidfire.com/


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## Canarywood1 (May 5, 2012)

digitalplumber said:


> Whirlpool owns Kitchen Aid, I believe.



Yes, Whirlpool makes KitchenAid.


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## kongojong (Dec 26, 2015)

whirlpool!!!


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## craig11152 (Jun 20, 2015)

r0ckstarr said:


> I don't care much for consumer reports or any of those other places that claim to tell you how reliable a brand new model is. Only time can tell that.


I realize this comment is a month old but for the record consumer reports determines reliability by polling tens of thousands of subscribers annual. When taking that poll they want to know model numbers, _date of purchase_, and they ask a series of performance and use questions. So in the case of consumer reports time is factored in. And the results come from real life in my house use. 
I subscribe to consumer reports on the Internet and I take the polls every year.


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## DanS26 (Oct 25, 2012)

We have ten year old Fisher Paykel double dish drawer machine, model DD603

Absolute great machine. The best thing about this machine is that it will revolutionize your dish washing and kitchen activities. Load dirty dishes in one drawer while clean dishes are in the other. Do not have put dishes away since you can use out of clean drawer.....big time saver.

For those of you with bad backs...no stooping over.

Lots of wash settings. We got the model with the salt dispenser for hard water. No need for a water softener....saves bunches of money.

The only thing you have to be careful of is not to load a drawer too full, since it is important for the top lid to seal around the tub. In ten years that is the only problem we have had....operator error. Happened twice only.

Would buy another in a heartbeat.....but may be a long time by the way this machine is running.


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## iLikeDirt (Apr 27, 2014)

My parents' house has a Fisher & Paykel and I hate it. It breaks every year or two and it's impossible to fit enough dishes into either drawer (especially the smaller one) without the dishes getting in each other's way and preventing some from getting clean due to the interior layout. The arms are also very easy to block due to the shallow distance between them and the dishes; larger round plates can easily block them and you won't know until you open it up and find that nothing got washed. Ugh! I hate that thing.

Every Whirlpool dishwasher I've ever used has been a tank.


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## DanS26 (Oct 25, 2012)

iLikeDirt said:


> My parents' house has a Fisher & Paykel and I hate it. It breaks every year or two and it's impossible to fit enough dishes into either drawer (especially the smaller one) without the dishes getting in each other's way and preventing some from getting clean due to the interior layout. The arms are also very easy to block due to the shallow distance between them and the dishes; larger round plates can easily block them and you won't know until you open it up and find that nothing got washed. Ugh! I hate that thing.
> 
> Every Whirlpool dishwasher I've ever used has been a tank.


I certainly agree with you that overloading and placing objects that block the arm will cause a less than satisfactory dish washing experience.

Could you elaborate on the type of mechanical problems your parents had with their machine?


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## iLikeDirt (Apr 27, 2014)

DanS26 said:


> I certainly agree with you that overloading and placing objects that block the arm will cause a less than satisfactory dish washing experience.
> 
> Could you elaborate on the type of mechanical problems your parents had with their machine?


Yeah, obviously mis-loading any dishwasher will inhibit its washing ability, but with that thing, it's so easy. And if anything falls down during the wash, it always impedes the arms and then nothing gets clean.

As for what's gotten broken: Motors repeatedly burned out. Control board got wet and shorted out from faulty seals. Built-in computer developed some kind of glitch and wouldn't start any cycles and had to be replaced. Repeatedly tripped the breaker. I could go on! Probably a lemon, but man, after 10 years, I would wager that just about every component has been replaced! We joke that the only good thing about it is the warranty. :001_tongue:


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## DanS26 (Oct 25, 2012)

iLikeDirt said:


> Yeah, obviously mis-loading any dishwasher will inhibit its washing ability, but with that thing, it's so easy. And if anything falls down during the wash, it always impedes the arms and then nothing gets clean. As for what's gotten broken: Motors repeatedly burned out. Control board got wet and shorted out from faulty seals. Built-in computer developed some kind of glitch and wouldn't start any cycles and had to be replaced. Repeatedly tripped the breaker. I could go on! Probably a lemon, but man, after 10 years, I would wager that just about every component has been replaced! We joke that the only good thing about it is the warranty. :001_tongue:


Everything you describe could be attributed to overloading the machine. If the top lid can not seal the tub then water will cause a flood fault. The motors will turn on and run forever and will burn out. Breakers will trip because the control board is under water. 

If a large dish or plate restricts the top from sealing the tub then you will have problems. In that respect the design could have been better. As I mentioned in my original post the lid seal is critical and after we experienced the first seal problem we were careful loading the machine. 

I still feel that the advantages of the drawer design out weighs the extra effort to not overload the machine.


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## iLikeDirt (Apr 27, 2014)

Hey, I'm not trying to bash your dishwasher. If yours works great and you love it, perfect! Maybe the design has improved and it's easier to avoid overloading with newer models. That would certainly be a welcome change. After a lot of trial and error, I too learned how to load the thing properly (a skill that my parents have yet to master, apparently) but when loaded properly, it's astonishing how few dishes their machine can fit. My parents' model has top shelves on the sides that are completely occluded by any plates put below them, so they're basically useless for the typical case of washing dishes after a meal when you have a bunch of dirty plates. You can fit maybe 8 plates, a medium sized serving dish, and a glass or two into the big drawer, tops, before you've stuffed too much in it and it doesn't wash properly. I feel that there are three fundamental design flaws in play:

1. Hyper-sensitive to overloading and easy to overload
2. Low capacity when loaded properly (which is why you want to overload it)
3. Silent failure mode when the drawer isn't sealed properly because you overloaded it

If the above flaws don't bother you, are outweighed by the advantages, or--better yet--you can use it in such a manner that they never become issues, I see no reason why it wouldn't be a wonderful machine.


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## SPS-1 (Oct 21, 2008)

iLikeDirt said:


> Motors repeatedly burned out. Control board got wet and shorted out from faulty seals. Built-in computer developed some kind of glitch and wouldn't start any cycles and had to be replaced. Repeatedly tripped the breaker.





DanS26 said:


> Everything you describe could be attributed to overloading the machine.


 
Say what?


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## DanS26 (Oct 25, 2012)

SPS-1 said:


> Say what?


If you overload the machine in such a way that the lid over the tub does not seal properly then the problems described are possible.

It is a design flaw. The machine should have a sensor in the lid to determine proper sealing BEFORE the wash cycle starts.

Of course the manufacturer operating instructions say not to overload the drawers........but who pays attention or for that matter reads those instructions. I learned the hard way twice.


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## SPS-1 (Oct 21, 2008)

Even went to the F&P web site, but still don't quite understand that. If the door can close, it should be sealed. And it screws up the computer, and motor is only rated to run short duty cycle ?

I am looking for a dishwasher too. Obviously wont be a F&P. So far leaning towards the Bosch.


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## Bob Sanders (Nov 10, 2013)

An overloaded dishwasher causes unclean dishes, NOT a flooding situation. If you're flooding you're either using the wrong soap, excessive rinse due to leaking rinse container (too much suds), bad door gasket, or torqued door and/or tub mating surface. (not included here are underside leaks).

Most doors just plain will not lock if there is too much resistance keeping it from sealing (ie; a plate up against the door)


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## DanS26 (Oct 25, 2012)

Bob Sanders said:


> An overloaded dishwasher causes unclean dishes, NOT a flooding situation. If you're flooding you're either using the wrong soap, excessive rinse due to leaking rinse container (too much suds), bad door gasket, or torqued door and/or tub mating surface. (not included here are underside leaks).
> 
> Most doors just plain will not lock if there is too much resistance keeping it from sealing (ie; a plate up against the door)


Bob, I don't think you understand the design of the F&P dish drawer machine. The dishes are placed in a tub, then the tub is slid into the machine and then the lid of the tub is mechanically drawn down over the tub to seal before dish washing starts.

Any dish or large item if placed in the tub in such a way as to block the lid locking action will then cause the machine to flood. The control board which is located on the floor of the machine has a built in flood sensor. When the bottom of the machine fills with water the pumps on both tubs run to empty water.

An F1 error is displayed and the pumps run non-stop until someone takes action to stop them. If no one is around the pumps will run until they burn up. The board now being under water will cause erratic stuff including shorts which will trip the breaker, etc.

Most of the people who have dish drawers understand that overloading which includes stacking dishes too high will cause problems.


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## iLikeDirt (Apr 27, 2014)

That this situation can happen at all is evidence of terrible design. The product should be designed to make it impossible for this kind of catastrophic failure to happen in the first place. Some kind of locking mechanism that doesn't even allow the drawer to close if there isn't a good seal--like indeed all hinged door dishwashers have--would easily remedy this situation. Situating the control board higher up could help too, as would increasing clearance above and below the arms and redesigning the drawer layouts to safely fit more dishes. Really, a million and one changes could prevent this. Declaring, "user error!" is the last resort of the lazy designer who can't be bothered to understand the user.

I suppose it is true that if one understands and is able to consistently work around this glaring design flaw, it could be a good dishwasher.


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## Bob Sanders (Nov 10, 2013)

DanS26 said:


> Any dish or large item if placed in the tub in such a way as to block the lid locking action will then cause the machine to flood.
> 
> .


If you block the locking action on ANY dishwasher I know of, it won't start. There is a start switch in the door latch which prevents the machine from starting if not completely closed and latched.


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## DanS26 (Oct 25, 2012)

Bob Sanders said:


> If you block the locking action on ANY dishwasher I know of, it won't start. There is a start switch in the door latch which prevents the machine from starting if not completely closed and latched.



Bob, again the F&P dish drawer does not work that way. It only takes a very small crack in the lid seal to flood the machine.

We have had the machine for ten years and had it flood twice due to other people loading the machine like a standard front door dishwasher. You just cannot do that.

Otherwise the machine is great. Many wash settings for just about any dirty dish conditions. Great time saver in the kitchen since clean dishes do not have to be put away. My wife has a bad back and only uses the top drawer....she loves it...no stooping over. I live in the country with hard water and got the model with the automatic water softener...works great and I do not have to salt the water to the whole house. Saves me money.


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## DanS26 (Oct 25, 2012)

iLikeDirt said:


> ........The product should be designed to make it impossible for this kind of catastrophic failure to happen in the first place.......


The Japanese have a term for this.....its called "Poka-yoke" or idiot proofing a process. Look it up, it comes from the Toyota Production System.


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## AlanE (Aug 4, 2012)

The most trustworthy dishwasher is my spouse. :biggrin2:

We have a basic (the so-called builder's grade) GE that we picked up for free about 8 years ago. Still works but wife wants to replace it to match the new oven and refrigerator we bought last year. We bought a Whirlpool WDT780SAEM. For no other reason than it matches the other appliances. The old one had a mechanical timer and a switch for the heat. Not like these new ones.
:vs_worry:

It should arrive next week. Let you know how it works. That is if it isn't busted up from the great care the delivery folks give it - When we received our oven, their idea of a small blemish was impact damage from a fork lift that caused the lower oven door to rack and not seal properly but I digress.


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