I started real basic and then just tried things to see if it works. I put a lot of large trays and cutting boards down the right hand side. I put a lot of small bowls on the shelves to the left. Large utensils like bbq tongs in the place they say serving dishes. I learned how to load glad bowl lids by trial and error. I will say that unlike standard dishwashers you can really pack this thing and it still gets everything spotless. The upper right front corner on top is the only spot that is a dead zone. They have diagrams. One for New Zealand has a lot of wine glasses. One for UK has a lot of tea cups and serving dishes. One for US that uses both drawers. Best part is that the captain of the dishwasher loading police, my bil, is rendered speechless since he doesn't know the right way to load it.

There are spring latches at back of the cabinet for each drawer that grab the end of the drawer rails to hold them closed. The latches flip open when the drawer is opened, grab the rail and flip closed when the drawer is closed. One of them probably somehow got flipped closed when the drawer was open and now isn't functioning properly. Remove the lower drawer so you can get to the back of the cabinet and clip the affected latch open. Another possibility if the the latch isn't the problem is that the link support that holds the water supply and drain hose so that they fold properly behind the drawer when it's opened and closed has broken and the hoses are interfering with the drawer.

I have the F&P DD24DCHTX6, it has a tall drawer on top and a regular one on the bottom. I think it's great; no splashing, no open door to block traffic or bash in your shins again. Like Bireland it took awhile to learn how to load it. Unlike Bmorepanic I've found the cleaning to be great. Some things are much cleaner than ever before. Tea strainers etc. very nice. Coffee and tea stains never on mugs anymore. Tired old wineglasses so sparkly. For the first little while I tested it daily with incrementally cruddy pots and plates and it always got them clean. Like Kimkitchy, if I could do it over again I would put a single drawer on either side of the sink. I love not having to bend over at all to load or unload the top drawer which I use most of the time. I live alone but I cook & bake all the time and there are always lots of dishes. If I could do one on either side of the sink I'd select a tall single and a regular one and put pot drawers underneath them. Others have mentioned how useful the 2nd drawer is for loading when the first one is already full or running. I do that as well but also love it for a drain-board for hand-washed items. No stupid ugly rack on the countertop. With regard to the noise I think they are very quiet and friends have commented on just how quiet. There is some sound but it's not annoying at all. Silly to admit but I wait until bedtime to put them on because then, when the house is completely quiet, you can hear them and I like the lulling swishing as I drift off to sleep.

I can't emphasize enough how important it is that the F&P DD installer KNOW what he's doing. The vast majority of F&P DD problems have been caused because the installer "thought" he know how to install them, and did not install them properly...which caused many, many problems. I recommend you ensure the installer really knows...and then follow along with the install instructions to ensure the guy is doing it correctly....He may have "installed" many of them, and done them all wrong. The F&P DDs do have a different install process....not complicated, just different. And, like one of the posters above wrote, be sure to read the manual and follow the instructions for loading the drawers. That's the other source of problems....people don't load them properly. The instructions on my F&P DDs (603 models, purchased in 2005) clearly state that very little detergent should be used. As the instructions specify, I use a scant teaspoon of detergent in each cup. (I have a whole-house water softener, in case someone wonders.) Be sure to read & follow the directions, and that will eliminate the vast majority of the problems. Finally, there will always be a very small amount of water in the filter area -- a couple of TBS, or so. This does not cause any problems, smells, etc. It's the way the DDs are designed. Over the 5 years I've had this current set of DDs, I've cleaned out the filter annually...that's all. It is absolutely no big deal...easy to get to & rinse off. If I were ever to have a problem with dish cleaning, the first thing I would do is check the filter, to ensure it's not been clogged. But it is not a problem at all in normal operation. On the Appliance forum, DADOES is a wonderful resource for helping people with F&P DDs. He's very knowledgeable and very generous with his help.