Dishwasher, Asko. Bosch, or Miele?

14 years ago

I am planning to replace our 15 year old KitchenAid dishwasher soon, it has never cleaned the dishes well and is noisy.

If I buy during this week's sale, I have a choice of;

Asko D5122XXLW for $820 minus the $100 rebate

Bosch SHE55M02UC for $720

Miele G2120SCWH (Last Years Model) for $875.

Which would be the best long-term purchase? I am leaning toward the Miele but I have no personal experience with any of these brands. The only dishwasher we have ever owned that cleaned the dishes without our prewashing was the cheap Whirlpool we bought for our first house (it is still working and cleaning well for my brother after 25 years). Although we spent more each time for a 'better' model with the three dishwashers we bought after that one, none has cleaned dishes as well.

So, my question is, will any of the above choices do as well at cleaning dishes as our first and cheapest dishwasher?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (15)

nesting12
14 years ago
Yes! The key seems to be the stainless interior, so you can save a little and get something like a maytag top of the line with the stainless interior. But there is a huge difference in the top ones now and the cheaper ones, and a huge huge difference between the top ones now and the cheaper ones from years ago. At least in my experience-- I had that same 15 year kitchen aid (I'm guessing!) and hated it with a passion and replaced it with a maytag and it was wonderful. I ended up giving the Maytag away last week to my contractor because I got a built in german dishwasher with my kitchen and he is in love with it, too.

As far as your choices above, the Asko and Bosch are probably comparable in quality and the Miele is way better. If you can afford it, get the Miele- that's an amazing deal! Miele's are beautifully made. I also think Bosch dishwashers are wonderful. I don't have experience with Asko but I can't imagine it would be anything but nice, too.

JMO!
mississippirose
14 years ago
Ok, let's get some info and representation for ASKO here. I bought an ASKO over 8 years ago when CR gave it a very low rating. I got it on the advice of a friend/salesperson who said they were very good and CR didn't know what they were talking about. Well many years later the ASKO has been a solid & quiet rock. Stainless interior comes with it. If you compare the ASKO to Bosch you will find the new Bosch's interior is not as solidly built as the older ones. Personally and from experience I would definitely go back with an ASKO if mine died today. I admit I have no experience with MIELE so you do what's right for you. Good luck.
Related Discussions
Asko vs Bosch Dishwasher
Q
Comments (9)
I have had mid level Asko, Bosch and Miele in the past 10 years in that order. I have preferred Miele, Asko, and Bosch in that order. I actually replaced the Bosch in less than 1 year after installing it because of its small capacity when compared to the older Asko. In the Bosch, I could not fit all of my daily dishes in 1 load as "easily" as the other brands. This was a big surprise to me! I really hated the lack of capacity in the Bosch that I had. Using my dishes, Bosch has a poorly designed upper side rack relative to the other two. Asko and Miele has metal upper narrow side racks (these are used to hold wine glass stems in general) and Bosch uses plastic rack. Only one side has the rack on the Bosch in the model that I bought. Both Asko and Miele, I can fit coffee cups under the side rack and put something flatish on the "wine glass holder". With Bosch, I could not (the pastic would not go down) do this with my coffee cups. So I had about 3 lineal ft less of usable rack. Bosch also does not have enough steepness on the rack to drain water off the bottoms of the upside down glasses and cups, so they were more wet. Miele has a flip down rack even on the lower rack which increases the capacity when compared to the others. I use this alot, again increasing the capacity. When I looked at the Asko this time, I really did not like the odd third rack that Asko was touting on their upper end models. I seriously thought of buying another Asko but I wanted to try using the cutlery rack. Asko had the cutlery rack in the middle section and I thought that this would make the handing of the taller items more difficult. I don't have real life experience on this, just a hunch. After using the cutlery rack, I do think the cutlery rack washes them better.... In terms of cleaning abilities, they are all about the same, IMHO. For me, Bosch was the most sensitive to the type of detergent I used. In the old Asko, I sporadically used a rinsing agent. When used, I saw minimal difference. I have a Miele with built in softener but I don't use it. Both of these factors are proabably due to my soft water. I think they are all about the same for the noise level, all pretty quiet but not silent. The models are not super high end models where the noise level drops off significantly on the spec. Bosch and Miele have express or short wash but they were not able to clean my daily dishes well enough to use them in my daily use. Many people seem to be able to use these settings but I could't. I just run the normal wash. In my old Asko, there was a heating coil that you could turn on and off. I always had the heating coil turned off after "burning" a few plastic items that dropped down. I think they don't make them that way any more. Hope this helps.
...See More
Dishwashers. Asko? Miele? Bosch?
Q
Comments (4)
girl - the sump of a DW needs a given amount of water to even run at all -"the fill". For a miele it's around 7 gallons. It doesn't matter whether it has 1 spray arm running or 5, it still takes 7 gallons to fill the sump. The half load options lessen that , but not by half , down to 3.5 gallons. The arms run on water flow and pressure - not electricity. Sure it takes a bit more to run multiple arms - but not enough more that you'd notice without some sophisticated equip. hooked up to your DW. I'd rank em : 3. Bosch - broader line and more $$$ options especially at the low end. Their entry level DW is nothing like their top of the line model, they aren't even made in the same place. The top models are quite good but are just as expensive as a miele so there's not a great reason to select it of that brand at the upper levels. 2. Asko - high quality across the line, but not as big and not as widely distributed. Started to produce some/all models outside home country. 1. Miele - high quality from entry level to top of range. The only difference is more insulation, more adjustment in the racks, and more wash programs. The very cheapest model is without a water softener to save $$$. Still made at home in germany.
...See More
How often do you clean dishwasher's filter? Miele, Bosch, Asko
Q
Comments (10)
I check my filter on my Miele, once a month. Its rare that anything is in there. It takes about one or two minutes of your time. I like to open up the basket on the filter and squeeze some dishwashing liquid on it and then run it under the hot water tap. Close the basket and insert the unit back into the dishwasher. You literally pop it in place and turn and that's it. Its truly no work or no hassle nor gross. I also just scrape my dishes, you really shouldn't be rinsing them off. The enzymes in the detergent need some debris to work properly. Before my Miele I owned 2 Maytags for a total of 30 years. They obviously had macerators that ground the food. I would never go back to a North American dishwasher, not ever.
...See More
Deciding among Miele, Bosch and Asko w/d for master closet
Q
Comments (4)
Vented will dry clothes faster, but also have to factor in the potential for cold air coming in through the vent when it's off, depending on your climate. Ventless (Condenser) requires some room around for air flow, and will raise temperature in the surrounding area slightly. Requires ventilation in the room/closet (cooler air is better to dry clothes faster.) Venteless (Heat Pump), Miele is coming out with a new dryer in the US that will be heat pump. Generally heat pump will give off less heat into the surrounding area than condenser, and is gentler on clothes but may take longer to dry but uses significantly less electricity.
...See More
steve_a
14 years ago
I will second the above testamonial for Asko DWs. Ours is about 7 years old. We did have to replace the pump, part was covered under warranty, labor was not as it was just out of the time limit. We continue to be very pleased with our Asko and i would buy another one. In fact, we just bought an Asko washer and dryer.
Denise Evans
14 years ago
Whatever you do....DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT, get the Fisher/Paykel double dish drawers. I hate them! Can't fit anything large in them and feel like I'm constantly running one or both drawers since they hold so little. I had Bosch at my last house and would go back to that brand in a second! Never had ASKO, so I can't comment.
User
14 years ago
The Miele in your list is the best unit of the three and represents the largest discount from retail also.

I disagree about Asko's build guality. It's a very nice, quality unit and has some nice features but they are not as solid as Mieles nor the Upper level Bosch units. Sorry just my well informed opinion from someone who has or had all three brands.

Fisher Paykel is a nice unit too but takes some getting used to. I like it as a glass washer in a pantry or bar.
teeoff
Original Author
14 years ago
I bought the Miele today, hopefully it will be great. The cutlery tray was the deciding factor for me. I will be sure to post a follow-up after I get it installed and tested. Thanks for all of your help.
lucypwd
14 years ago
I think you will love your Miele. It may take a bit to get used to loading it, but once you get the hang of it you will see that it will accomodate more than you think. I love the cutlery tray. Silverware comes out clean everytime and it's easy to load/unload. The Miele should be a cold water hook up. Have a miele authorized installer and double your warrenty.
cat_mom
14 years ago
Actually, your Miele does not need to have cold water hook-up if you're not going to run the C&C cycle (or not going to run it with delicate/fragile dishes, crytal, etc.).

As for the cutlery tray--if you mentally divide it into zones/sections (decide where things will just about always go), and then place items in their zone/section each time, it will become routine, and you won't even think about where things should go each time. Makes unloading very quick and easy. On those occasions when I need to fit some extra serving pieces or whatever, I just shift things around as needed. I love the cutlery tray!

The only "warning" is not to really slam the cutlery tray back in or pull it out with an overabundance of force--this sometimes causes flatware to pop out of their little slots, and then you have to re-seat things. Normal in/out movement doesn't cause problems though.
ebse
14 years ago
I just got a new Bosch w/ stainless steel tub. It's one of the ones ready for integrated panel. I don't know the model number.

I have to tell you, I'm not crazy about it. Although it's very quiet, I think it could do a better job at drying.
User
14 years ago
ebse - this is a common complaint with european DWs. Everything but plastics should come out dry. Are you using rinse aid?
berryfarm
14 years ago
Love my Miele, hope you will, too. At first I thought the cutlery tray was a gimmick, but it is great. The biggest problem I have with it is that when my husband loads the DW, I have to go and rearrange the cutlery tray b/c he doesn't know how to arrange the silverware the way I do!
jeanteach
14 years ago
I have a Bosch and am very disappointed. Although at first it seemed great (cleaned dried on egg yolk), it got louder and louder during the first year and then got very finicky and sometimes got stuck on "1" at the end of the cycle (the digital display would not go to "0"). Basically, it wouldn't turn off. I found Bosch customer service to be totally unhelpful. I haven't had it fixed, because 80% of the time it does make it through the cycle, but I sure wouldn't recommend Bosch to anyone. Also, the regular cycle is two hours long. I always use the quick wash, but the plastic stuff is always still wet.
kucharsk
14 years ago
As an aside, the cycles on all the dishwashers have gotten longer as they've become more energy efficient.
melinrk
14 years ago
3 appliances stores, 4 cabinet stores, and my builder - they ALL have Miele. And so will I in a month.
gomichaelkgo
14 years ago
We have been using our new Asko 5233XXL for 6 months now. Here's what we have to report:

It is very quiet in operation. We have an open floor plan, so this was one of the most important considerations. It does make a loud belching sound when the drain kicks in. I have considered plumbing in a separate P trap for it so I don't hear the gurgling coming from the sink when this occurs.

There simply isn't a good place on the rack to place the bowls we use. The tines on the Asko racks are more numerous and closer together than on our old dishwasher, which had fit our bowls great. I'd suggest bringing in a place setting or two to the showroom and making sure you can find a place on the racks for them.

I will say that the materials on this unit seem top notch. It is all stainless on the inside, even the spray arms.

I was initially worried about noise from the dry cycle fan, but it isn't audible.

No repairs to speak of yet.

-Michael in Portland OR

Dishwasher, Asko. Bosch, or Miele?

Comments (15)

nesting12

mississippirose

Related Discussions

steve_a

Denise Evans

User

teeoff
Original Author

lucypwd

cat_mom

ebse

User

berryfarm

jeanteach

kucharsk

melinrk

gomichaelkgo

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Dishwasher, Asko. Bosch, or Miele?

Comments (15)

Related Discussions

teeoffOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

teeoff
Original Author