ATOT Household Appliance Experts: recommend me a good dishwasher

[tnitsuj]

I am sick and tired of the builder grade dishwasher in my mid 90's era townhouse. Dishes and utensils come out often with food still on them, and the thing sucks at cleaning anything that hasn't at least been pre-rinsed before putting it in the machine.

My only criteria is that the machine be reliable and capable of cleaning most normal dirty dishes without pre-washing.

Tnitsuj

 

[Sea Moose]

If your lucky this model gives head

 

[DrPizza]

I've found that the brand of detergent makes a big difference. I tried Dollar General brand detergent on a whim... big mistake. Not only did it suck at cleaning the dishes, but now the stainless steel interior is stained below where the detergent comes out.

 

[Engineer]

OP, have you ever tried cleaning your dishwasher (i.e. to make sure jets are working well, etc)? Simply run a quart of white vinegar through the dishwasher (while empty) and maybe run the rinse cycle again. Not saying that this will cure your dishwasher but wouldn't hurt trying.

With that in mind, I have had two dishwashers in my home and my first, the Maytag, kills the Fridgidaire model that I currently have. We wanted Stainless and went "cheap" with the Fridgidaire model. Wish I would have spent more for a better model or a different brand.

 

[HomerSapien]

Just put in a kenmore as a replacement. There are a large number of options that you have to look at how you want to use it. We needed a sanitizing rinse and needed it to be quiet since it is open to the living room. Bonuses were the nylon racks, tall tub design, and no controls on the exterior. I couldnt justify the price of getting one with a stainless steel interior or hard food disposer or 3-4 additional rinse options.

My parents put a Bosch in and while it is nearly silent in operation, there arent any repairmen for Bosch in their area. You may want to consider things like that when purchasing.

 

[Jeff7]

I've found that the brand of detergent makes a big difference. I tried Dollar General brand detergent on a whim... big mistake. Not only did it suck at cleaning the dishes, but now the stainless steel interior is stained below where the detergent comes out.

This.
Cascade Complete does a good job; their regular stuff would still leave things stuck on the dishes here and there.
The Complete stuff seems to have a much more powerful cleansing agent.

 

[BoomerD]

IMO, NO automatic dishwasher does a good job without

at least been pre-rinsed before putting it in the machine.

Yes, almost all of them advertise that they can clean totally dirty dishes without pre-rinsing, but in over 40 years of owning dishwashers, I've never seen one that does a GOOD job. (Besides, do you REALLY want all your dishes rinsed with water that still contains food particles?)

The Sears dishwasher repair people will tell you the same thing. The "cleans dishes with baked on food" is just an advertising gimmick to sell dishwashers to housewives.

At a minimum, scrape and rinse all the food off the dishes first.

 

[Murloc]

any automatic water saving will have this problem imho.
They consume only 1,5 liters of water maybe, but you waste more pre-washing the dishes.

 

[Jeff7]

IMO, NO automatic dishwasher does a good job without

Yes, almost all of them advertise that they can clean totally dirty dishes without pre-rinsing, but in over 40 years of owning dishwashers, I've never seen one that does a GOOD job. (Besides, do you REALLY want all your dishes rinsed with water that still contains food particles?)

The Sears dishwasher repair people will tell you the same thing. The "cleans dishes with baked on food" is just an advertising gimmick to sell dishwashers to housewives.

At a minimum, scrape and rinse all the food off the dishes first.

I guess that depends on how well you "clean your plate" while eating. I've got a cheap Amana dishwasher - I think it was somewhere around $300-$350. Plastic tub, plastic sprayer wands - not exactly what I'd consider to be a high-grade machine. But it's functional, and I don't prerinse anything. The Cascade Complete stuff definitely helps though. With regular detergent, I'd sometimes get stuff left stuck to bowls or silverware. Not anymore.

In terms of baked-on stuff, it depends on what was cooked. Residue from macaroni and cheese baked in a Corningware dish doesn't seem to be a problem, but scrambled eggs in a greased stainless steel frying pan don't come off. They put up a decent fight against a copper scouring pad with an abrasive soap.

 

[BUTCH1]

IMO, NO automatic dishwasher does a good job without

Yes, almost all of them advertise that they can clean totally dirty dishes without pre-rinsing, but in over 40 years of owning dishwashers, I've never seen one that does a GOOD job. (Besides, do you REALLY want all your dishes rinsed with water that still contains food particles?)

The Sears dishwasher repair people will tell you the same thing. The "cleans dishes with baked on food" is just an advertising gimmick to sell dishwashers to housewives.

At a minimum, scrape and rinse all the food off the dishes first.

Baked on casserole pots are always gonna be iffy but my GE Triton washes dishes without pre-rinsing at all, it's "Piranha" disposer takes care of that. GE has crappy reliability ratings though...

 

[lxskllr]

IMO, NO automatic dishwasher does a good job without

Yes, almost all of them advertise that they can clean totally dirty dishes without pre-rinsing, but in over 40 years of owning dishwashers, I've never seen one that does a GOOD job. (Besides, do you REALLY want all your dishes rinsed with water that still contains food particles?)

The Sears dishwasher repair people will tell you the same thing. The "cleans dishes with baked on food" is just an advertising gimmick to sell dishwashers to housewives.

At a minimum, scrape and rinse all the food off the dishes first.

That's been my experience too, that's why I hand wash dishes. If you're gonna go through the effort of prewashing, you might as well go the rest of the way, and clean them properly.

 

[IronWing]

Automatic dishwashers cause autism.