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Help with Diswasher selection

15 years ago

We just moved and the DW in this house is woefully inadequate ;)

It's a KA Superba - best guess is that it was the original when the house was built 16 yrs ago, but may be slightly newer. We can't fit much in this KA and there are several daily use items that won't fit at all.

Our previous house we had a Maytag tall tub from HD. Nothing super fancy, but the tall tub space was amazing, not as happy with the cleaning as we would get gritty residue on glasses so I don't think we will get another one.

Looked at some Bosch at Lowes over the weekend and liked the looks. I'm concerned about the rinse aid/drying issues I see in searches here. We have always turned off the heated dry both places and never use rinse aid (houses have softened water) and have been perfectly fine with the results. Will the Bosch non-heated drying give similar results?

What others would you suggest looking at? I would like to stay in the One last thing - we have granite countertops. Is there anything to be concerned about with the DW venting? I saw this mentioned in several posts but didn't see a clear concensus.

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Comments (6)

mangotoo
15 years ago
I have yet to be able to keep a DW for more than five years!
We relie heavily upon them. Four small /growing children. I'm on my third! First two were KA. Not worthy anymore. Now I opted for a bosch. Less than one year old. Repairman will be here today. I do like Bosch though because of the unquie filtration system void a micro processor. The fact that it heats the water w/o an exposed heating element is another plus. You don't really need a drying agent, however, it does make a difference with drying time. We just installed granite counter tops and I not aware of any venting issue. Of course as you may or may not be aware Bosch DW do not have an external vent. I want to give this appliance another chance before I give it the thumbs down. In my humble opinion, and do to consolidation, all appliances are the same i.e. crap! Poor workmanship,technology, cheap materials, overseas production, all contribute to disappointing results. That being said I've owned kenmore appliances and have had great results. Keep that in mind when searching for opinions. Good luck and best wishes.
mls99
15 years ago
I love my Bosch DW: had it for 3.5 years. The drying is fine except for plastic tupperware, for which I use a dish towel. Best of all, it's almost silent.
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I posted a response in your first thread. Which dishwasher in $500 range 1. You haven't included the model number in any of your three threads. Providing the model number would allow helpful people to check parts diagrams to get a handle on what is the mechanism of the machine of question. 2. With only a few exceptions, dishwashers are timed-fill -- the water runs in for a specific period of time per the timer or cycle control board (usually 1 to 2 minutes). If there's a float, it is only for overfill protection and does not control the normal fill level. That being said, a float stuck in the "up" position would prevent the fill valve from energizing. 3. The pump has nothing to do with filling the machine with water. Household water pressure (like from a running faucet) provides the water fill, through the valve when it's energized. The pump only sprays the water that is filled into the tub .... it can't spray what's not there. You've visually confirmed that there isn't enough water filling into the tub so the pump seemingly is not involved in the problem. 4. A water valve clogged with debris or accumulated mineral deposits (do you have hard water? a household water softener?) will obstruct the incoming water flow (the water runs too slow to fill enough in the allotted time). The valve can also fail mechanically (there's a rubber diaphram, plunger and spring inside it), or electrically (electro-magnetic solenoid coil). In some cases the valve may energize for a moment when cold, then the coil breaks-down and fails when it gets warm from use. The valve solenoid can of course be checked for continuity with a volt/ohm meter.
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Hi Theresse, Don't worry, it's the same for both paneled / stainless steel door, let's see why Whatever european brand of dishwasher doesn't have any push button or knob to release the latch, because of safety codes. Suppose a kid enters the DW. He/she has just to push the door from the inside to open it Freestanding (european portables with countertop but ... without wheels) and slide-in dishwashers (same without countertop - e.g. stainless steel door models) have a ready-to-use door, so door springs are already calibrated. That's why they feel easier to open than paneled models. I guess you opened some integrated (paneled) models without the custom panel : door is harder to pull cause its springs are regulated a bit harder to bear the custom panel weight. Once the panel is on its place they will be lighter. Now springs can be set properly "tuned" Again, no matter of the brand, prefinished or paneled, every DW has a couple of screws behind the toekick to set springs on the proper "fine tuning". So even in the future you'll be able to have the door calibrate If you go to Miele, check differences in rack configuration Excella/LaPerla vs Optima/Diamante Be aware that even the basic/middle line models have the same build quality and all the useful features and aren't noisy at all. Excella/LaPerla have IMHO too many cycles. You would pay 1000 dollars more than a Diamante just to have some bell & whistles. Go figure that here the entry level model cost 1/3 of a La Perla and has all the most useful features.
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poseyjungle
15 years ago
Repeat of what I posted in response to another Bosch dishwasher question:

I was thinking recently about the appliances we bought when we remodeled our kitchen three years ago, and I realized that both our Bosch appliances - a dishwasher and cooktop - have been a disappointment. The dishwasher doesn't come close to getting the dishes clean unless I scrub - not rinse, scrub - them before I run it. While the cooktop works well, there are little quality issues like screws falling off and loose parts that shouldn't be happening in such an expensive appliance. It also scratches terribly. These were our "higher end" purchases, which makes it even more disappointing.

To each his own, but I will never buy Bosch appliances again.
suero
15 years ago
When I replaced my dishwasher a few years ago, after the appliance repairman gave me the bad news, he also recommended against getting a dishwasher with hidden controls. Apparently water from the countertop often drips onto the controls and shorts out the circuit board.
lascatx
15 years ago
I have two Bosch DWs with Thermador name tags (with hidden controls that stay under the counter edge without any problems) and am very happy with how they clean, dry and quietly perform. I had a top KA and a Whirlpool before. These are far better than the Whirlpools and a bit above the KA I really liked and left behind in a move about 5 years ago. I think the drying is similar, but I do use a rinse aid. Our water is not softened (yet?).

When we were looking, all the Kenmores were made by KA/Whirlpool or Bosch (I think those were the turbo models). I'm not sure if that is still true.
rgillman
15 years ago
I would KILL for my 16 year old Kitchen Aid. I am so bummed that we didn't bring it with us. This new one is fine, but nothing cleans like those older ones - and there was a filter that covered the element so nothing fell down and melted. The upper rack was adjustable and had many features you pay extra for in today's dw's. Ah, well...

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