Bosch. We bought our second one this year after the first died after 12 years. I run the dishwasher every day, frequently twice.

Not happy with my Bosch washer & dryer. You might want to consider a kitchenaid.

I will also recommend a Bosch but with the following caveat. We've had 4 Bosch dishwashers - the first 3 were fine appliances, meeting all of your criteria, that we lost only because we sold the homes. The 4th, however, was a dog. It simply fell apart one piece at a time over the course of 4 years. Nothing dramatic like broken motors. All the little pieces were made of plastic and did not stand up to our useage (2 loads/day, on rare times 3/day). We got sick of it and replaced with dishdrawers but they were a tad pricey (they've been with us trouble free for almost five year now though).

/tricia

Replaced a Bosch with a cracked front panel (after less than 5 years) with a Miele and I am MUCH happier now!

Our first dishwasher was a Maytag...it was great. The thing could chew up cherry pits. So when the plastic inside finally disintegrated we replaced it with another Maytag. eh. Junk. Now we have a Bosch and after six months, so far so good. It's very quiet and cleans way better than Maytag #2.

One thing I remember from shopping for the Maytag...We were told that the low-end high-volume places order cheaply made versions and we should watch for extra letters at the end of the model number. You might get rivets instead of welded seams, for instance. That was true w/ Maytag #2 at the local cheap building supply place and we bought the 'better' model. Still junk, but the Kid is glad to have it to replace the even worse one that was in her new house, lol.

I have an Asko, and I hate it. Like Tricia's latest Bosch, my Asko has fallen apart piece by piece. The plate rack's tines have all come off, but to replace it I have to replace the whole drawer, which is very expensive. The dishes all have etching, and I'm almost to the point I'd rather go without a dishwasher than use this one. The only redeeming quality is it's very quiet.

I had an old portable Maytag when we first moved into this house. It was noisy as heck, but it had lots of room, was easy to load, and got the dishes clean. I miss it.

Sally

I had a Kitchen Aid in this house when we bought it 40 years ago. It was about 6 or 7 years old at that time. I left behind a Maytag Portable and that was a wonderful beast wasn't it!
After maybe 15 years we replaced it, not because it didn't work but because we did some remodeling and...it seemed like a good idea. Replaced it with a Maytag...
The racke broke and rusted...one time I had the president of the Maytag co at my house for dinner (we belonged to a dinner club with 4 other couples) and he commented on the broken racks....next day a service man appeared at my door with new racks saying 'Mr. H asked me to put these in your dish washer!"...What are friends for? LOL!
Well they rusted and broke too in short order and I finally put a dish drainer rack into the dishwasher!....but the machinery just kept chugging along....finally died and I replaced it with a Jenn Aire. Largely because it has a 3rd rack for large flat stuff and a stainless interior....and hidden controls!...Yes the front is just smooth stainless!!
It's "fine"...sometimes I find things that get missed by the spray, the "flexible" racks some times fold down and I have to put them back into their slots....but it's "fine"....and it really looks pretty! LOL!
Linda C

I have a ten year old Bosch that I adore. That said, be aware that because it is so well insulated, and therefore quiet, it holds fewer dishes. Not a problem for me. The dishes are clean as a whistle and I can barely hear it running.

It requires the use of a rinse aid, so I use the gel pacs, which are perfect.

My Bosch washer & dryer's plastic housings are cracking away. The innards are fine, but the fascia etc are cr@p! JMHO :P

A dishwasher is not a very complicated piece of appliance.

Basically a motor drives two pumps, one in and one out, controlled by a timer.

Often there are other reasons why a dishwasher is not cleaning well:

1. Ineffective detergent.
2. Water too cold.
3. Water too hard.

dcarch

I also highly recommend the Bosch dishwasher. Energy efficient, ss interior, and QUIET! You can actually talk on the phone standing next to the dishwasher as it is running and hear the person on the other end. It replaced the Maytag that was there when we moved into the house. We used that for many years. It still ran well, but when we started the kitchen remodel we eventually put in the Bosch because it was more efficient and saved on water usage and electricity. NancyLouise

Thanks for your responses. It sounds like most people are 50/50 on Bosch - depending upon the model - is there a particular guideline for which ones to avoid? My sister has had one for about 10 years but it doesn't fit as many dishes as we use with an active family with kids still at home. Does anyone have a Samsung?

No, but my DD has a Samsung washer/dryer and it rocks!

Bosch has several tiers of dishwashers, the ones we've had have been the somewhat higher end ones. The tubs are stainless and the last one we bought on sale at Sears was about a thousand.
We also have a Kenmore dishwasher that has worked fairly well, no problems anyway, for the last 12 years. But it is so loud! I can hear it throughout the house and the Bosch can be crammed full of all sorts of pots and pans and dishes, they will all come out clean.
Rinse Aid is crucial. It's not just for spots and such.