Basic No Frill Quiet Stainless Steel Dishwasher

11 years ago

I am remodeling my kitchen and will be replacing my reliable white 18 year old Whirlpool dishwasher with a stainless steel one. From my preliminary research, the majority of what I read are complaints with dishwashers of today not getting dishes clean, wash cycles taking too long, sensors not working properly and water saving features a pain. Do basic, no frills, quiet, decent cycle length dishwashers exist and if so what are some good brands and models?

I went to a big box home improvement store and the most appliances they had in the clearance section were dishwashers and front load washing machines. Most were customer returns because they are marked "used." Guess that's proof a lot of people are dissatisfied with new, improved appliances these days.

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Comments (9)

corgimum
11 years ago
We have a Whirlpool Gold . It is on the basic side I think. Have been using it for a month and have been happy so far. It is quiet and the dishes come out clean.

Here is a link that might be useful: Whirlpool Dishwasher
mydreamhome
11 years ago
Have you looked at the Samsung 500 series?
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If you go with Samsung, do not go with one that has the ice maker that makes 10 lbs of ice in 24 hours(I think its 24, maybe 12). We had the RF263BEAESR/AA model, its a French Door and although I loved the layout and the way it kept everything fresh in the fridge, the ice maker was a disaster. It dripped water from the ice dispenser, down the front of the fridge and the ice was not fully frozen and water also dripped inside the fridge. We went though months of replacing parts - even the door! Finally, they offered a "buy back" then reneged on it. I stood my ground and finally got the "buy back check." However, I, in the meantime bought another Samsung fridge, basically because I couldn't find one with a similar layout. This model is an older model RFG298HDRS/XAA. It is no longer being made but it has two ice makers and basically the same layout of the other model. It is a 29 cf instead of a 26 so that helps to make up for the area lost due to slightly different size ice maker. So far so good and this time we have a 5 year warranty through Lowes. Numerous people complained about ice makers not working on the Samsung fridges. Google "800 complaints on Samsung appliances" and you will see what I mean. Whatever you do, register your appliances and you will get an additional 3 months of warranty. Plus check your credit card, some give an additonal year if you use it. When we started having issues, it was in the 3 month period. I didn't pay for any of the replacement parts or service charge and the 3 months were past - but I was still working on the initial problem and I kept records of who I spoke with, the transaction numbers, dates I called, copies of the replaced parts and their numbers, etc. That is what helped me fight for the buy back. It seems pretty common for them to offer it then reneg due to some technicality. If you or anyone needs a phone number for Samsung Home Office/ Office of the President, let me know. I think I saved it for future use.
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You can get a Bosch for ~$600, although you give up some adjustability in the racks and some wash options. The F&P Dishdrawers can be had in black or white for ~$900. The Miele dishwashers start at just under $1000. Asko starts at $700, though that is not a tall tub dishwasher, you have to spend a little more to get the tall tub (XL designation in the model number). I am not a fan of the Whirlpool cutlery set up in the door. I had an apartment a few years ago that had one, and while it was fairly quiet, my silverware had a hard time getting clean. I now have a Bosch that I love, I got it on sale, and with the rebates it was just over $950. The list was $1199, the same as the Miele Inspira I was also considering. I was initially looking to spend ~$600 too, but I was not happy with my choices in that price range, so I saved a few more hundred dollars and bought one that fit my needs with out making a compromise on cleaning power, noise, adjustable racks and wash options. I would put down what you want for features, colors (skipping stainless steel usually saves anywhere between $100 and $300 on the price) and options. I would then browse all of the manufactures websites to see what models meet that criteria. Then narrow down on price. Trust me, you will be much happier saving and spending a little more than having a dishwasher that does not actually fit all of your needs. I have done that in the past with other appliance purchases, and nothing is worse than spending hard earned money on an appliance you end up hating.
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I know this is a little late in posting, but I wanted to actually use it for a while before reporting back. We finally got it installed a little over a month ago and I'm so far very happy with it. We got the SHE68T56UC as I couldn't find enough differences with the 800 series that I cared about. It is very quiet, it fits way more stuff than my old dishwasher did, it doesn't dry things quite as good as I would like, but plastics are no different than the old one. The one drawback I do have is that my tall pot doesn't fit unless I rearrange the racks which to me is more of a pain than washing it by hand. Dishes comes out way cleaner and my glasses that had some kind of white haze that I thought was etching are returning to looking clear again. I only switched the dishwasher - not the detergent. It does take about an extra 40 min than my old dishwasher, but it hasn't bothered me as I can fit so much that at times I end up putting some stuff in and running it not completely full as there isn't enough space to fit more plastics for example or glasses in the top and the bottom isn't fully filled. I have yet to be left with anything on the counter to feel like it is taking too long to run so I can load it again. Edit: Forgot to add that I don't pre-wash the dishes except to scrape off large stuff, but DH does pre-wash, although he is starting to come around. So each wash is a mix of the two. Hopefully I can get a chance to test out it with nothing pre-washed at all, but I think it will perform well. I took the wash filter out to clean as the installer said to do it if things started to smell. It didn't smell, but I figured I'd make it a monthly thing just so I it wouldn't get there. There was nothing in the filter so really didn't need to do it. I'm sure as I go along I'll figure out how often it will need to be done. This post was edited by lyfia on Wed, Mar 12, 14 at 12:32
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You GO, @Kathy Linn! I resolved early-on in our kitchen design to adopt a "no-stainless" policy (more for the looks than the upkeep), and so set out to find an antique, enameled stove (for cleanability in addition to looks) and even went with copper sinks to avoid SS. My first kitchen was all-white when we bought the house, and not really in a good way - laminate countertops and mdf cabinets in addition to white appliances. It was more work keeping the countertops white than the fridge (although the door handle did yellow with time) but I was done with white by the time we moved. For our build I settled on a 1929 Glenwood, restored at a shop outside Boston. It was a splurge but like yours (which is also very handsome) one we'll never need to replace. I'd like to think if consumers start throwing the SS junk back in appliance companies' (and designers') faces and going with restored antiques or otherwise reliable, easy-to-clean appliances with actual color options that we don't have to replace after 5-10 years, maybe they'll stop telling us what we should want and start producing quality again.
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Nunyabiz1
11 years ago
we have had a Kenmore Elite for about 10 years now which has a stainless interior, was originally black front when we bought it but I switched out to a stainless panel a few years ago.
It is a Whirlpool actually.
Very quiet and never had a problem in 10 years.
jellytoast
11 years ago
My new Kitchenaid stainless dishwasher has a fast was cycle that takes about an hour. The other "energy saving" cycles take much longer. Can't really comment on how clean it gets the dishes, because I pretty much wash them before they go in. My sister has a new Kitchenaid, too, though, and she just rinses the dishes first and it cleans well. It's not completely silent, but it is very, very quiet when it's running and I barely notice that it's on. Regarding "new and improved" appliances, I was appalled when I went shopping for a new washer recently and saw what was out there. After much searching, I ended up with a Speed Queen top loader. I LOVE that thing ... just a basic, old-style washer ... it's a tank and it actually works GREAT.
JXBrown (Sunset 24, N San Diego County)
11 years ago
I had a Kenmore Elite in the old house and an Electrolux in the new house both of which are quiet and work quite well with ordinary, phosphate free detergent. I just knock the chunky stuff off the plates before loading them. I suspect that the new washer does have a long cycle, but I hit the button and walk away so I don't really know. I usually run it after dinner about every third night and empty it in the morning so cycle length doesn't matter to me, but if that saves me paying for more electricity, I'm all for it. We do have a water softener for the hot water in both cases.

I had a problem with glass etching when I switched detergents, but that was my fault for using too much. The instructions for my new DW say "2 teaspoons" and I had been using about 2 tablespoons.
happs
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks for your suggestions.

I've noticed that white dishwashers are considerably less than stainless steel and come in a more "no frills" manner with less to go wrong, albeit at a higher decibel level. The dishwasher is going to be in a kitchen island. Would it look odd to have a white dishwasher and then all other appliances in the kitchen stainless steel?
deeageaux
11 years ago
If you want a basic no frills DW look at lower end Bosch.

No food disposer to break or make noise. Or use up a lot electricity.

You just need to clean filter from time to time depending on how well you scrape your dishes. Modern enzyme based dishwasher detergent takes care of most of the food bits.

JD Powers #1 ranking. Top rated DW by CR also Bosch.
happs
Original Author
11 years ago
Around what year did dishwashers start to get so poor and have long cycles and less forceful water circulation? Im thinking of going the used stainless steel route, although don't know how I would convince a seller to let me test before buying.
annkh_nd
11 years ago
I also have had a Whirlpool Gold DW, in SS, for about a year. It is virtually silent (except for the sound of water draining), and cleans extremely well. We have been very happy with it.

It has a "top rack only" cycle that we haven't used yet, but expect to when our kids move out of the house.

Basic No Frill Quiet Stainless Steel Dishwasher

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corgimum

mydreamhome

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Nunyabiz1

jellytoast

JXBrown (Sunset 24, N San Diego County)

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annkh_nd

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Basic No Frill Quiet Stainless Steel Dishwasher

Comments (9)

corgimum

mydreamhome

Related Discussions

Nunyabiz1

jellytoast

JXBrown (Sunset 24, N San Diego County)

happsOriginal Author

deeageaux

happsOriginal Author

annkh_nd

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