Dishwashers: how important/useful is a macerator?

13 years ago

Hi,

We are looking to replace our dishwasher and have looked a quite a few brands and models. We've narrowed it down to two but can't decide. They are both Kenmore Elite's and are about the same price.

The first one (http://bit.ly/cyC62E) has a lot of nice features such as fold down tines, fold down stemware holders, an adjustable cutlery basket (the basket is in 3 parts so you can remove some parts to fit more plates etc.), a positive latch (you have to press a button in the handle to open it, not just pull). It doesn't have a macerator though, just a filter.

The second one doesn't have any of those features, but it has a macerator instead of just a filter. (It's an old model on clearance so I don't have a link for it)

The sales person said that having the macerator would mean that we wouldn't have to rinse dishes at all before putting them in the dishwasher as the food bits would just get ground up. I'm wondering if it's really like that? How much of a benefit is having a macerator? Would it's benefits outweigh the other features? Would it be better to get a plastic tub with a macerator rather than a stainless steel tub without a macerator?

Thanks!

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Comments (7)

weissman
13 years ago
With any dishwasher these days, you still have to scrape but not rinse - enzyme detergents take care of that. A macerator is not really necessary - people with DWs without them report having to clean the filter very infrequently. It's an ok to have but shouldn't be your deciding factor.
jakvis
13 years ago
A macerator is absolutely unnecessary.
It only purpose is to chop larger bits of food small enough to pass through the holes in the spray arms. Several manufactures have decided that it is better to filter out the food bits rather than just put it back on the dishes is just got washed off of.
If you get a dishwasher that properly heats the water and use the right detergents the food bits are broken down and flushed out the drain. There is no reason for the macerator blade.
Many salespeople sell what they have or what they make the best spiff off of. It they don't sell a model with a proper filtering system or they make a higher spiff off of a model with a macerator that then becomes the best dishwasher ever. Or at least until another model pays a higher spiff.
Anybody that tells you a macerator model is superior is a fool.
There is no proven data that indicates a macerator blade is better than a filter model.
In fact most of your higher end models with the best wash results are filter models without macerators.
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nerdyshopper
13 years ago
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carlose
13 years ago
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maks_2000
13 years ago
Go for the stainless tub, too.

Dishwashers: how important/useful is a macerator?

Comments (7)

weissman

jakvis

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