18" dishwasher worth it in small kitchen?

11 years ago

I have a small 2 bedroom rental in Napa. Kitchen is cozy small, open shelves above, few cabinets below. We have mostly couples who rent for the weekend, occassionally

we get 4 people. There is no dishwasher. There is a deep 30" sink, and bamboo dish rack and a good amount of counter space. 2 out of every 10 renters say it would be nice to have a dishwasher. Most people seem to eat out, but occasionally they whip up a meal.

If I install a 18" dishwasher, I lose VERY precious cabinet space as there are no uppers for pots/pans, etc.

Is it worth it? Can it hold more than a few dishes to make it worthwhile or should I just skip it?

Comments (9)

maryl1
11 years ago
I don't think a dishwasher is an absolute necessity in a rental, but it is a nice feature. What is stored in those cabinets? An 18" dishwasher can hold quite a few dishes. I have the Bosch and it works fine. I have a small galley style kitchen. Perhaps a dishwasher drawer or a portable model?
bostonpam
11 years ago
For this type of rental (weekend - short term) I don't think it's required but you may want to compare it to other similar rentals in your area. I just bought an 18" DW for one of our rentals - it's expensive. I don't know the cost of a DW drawer but I think it would be a better choice in your situation if you don't have any room for pots with a 18" DW.
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There is no easy solution. A portable dishwasher would be a drag to use and take out and store - and then the sink is being used to drain the water. An 18" dishwasher is quite small so you undoubtedly have to do multiple loads all the time. I live alone but when I cook a "real" meal I often can't fit everything for prep and cleanup etc. in my full size dishwasher. If there is any money in the budget, I would contact a cabinet maker to see if you can change out the cabinets so that one is 24" for the DW and the sink cabinet is smaller. As others have posted, a smaller single bowl sink with a dishwasher would provide way more functionality than your current double bowl sink. ETA - Honestly if your choice is 18" or portable 24" then I would just opt for hand washing while you save whatever is necessary to modify cabinets for the 24" built in dishwasher. With the 18" you are going to wind up hand washing almost everything anyway. With the portable, the logistics are so terrible that hand washing would be more convenient and you would probably wind up hand washing rather than hauling it out and setting it up a lot of the time. I had my Cuisinart stored in an inconvenient place and I often decided NOT to make something using it because I didn't want to deal with hauling it out and putting it back in.
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I really appreciate all these comments, suggestions and perspectives. For the record, I definitely agree that the design of the whole kitchen is the problem, especially at the sink area. The reason I’m trying to keep costs (and work) very limited is that it is likely we will be doing more of a full kitchen renovation in future years, so it doesn’t seem to make sense to do half the job short-term (plus there are other home projects that are more pressing at the moment). When it comes time to re-do the kitchen, for instance, we will likely want to remove that defunct brick chimney that’s to the left of the sink. I’m not sure it makes much sense to get new counters and cabinets with the chimney still in place. We might add some square footage to the kitchen, or we might possibly move the kitchen into the current dining room. My secret dream is to build a big addition with the kitchen in a totally new space—but that’s probably not realistic. So that’s why it might not make sense to redo cabinets and counters at this stage. But I will likely HAVE to replace the dishwasher, which is what got me thinking If it’s worth kicking a small amount of money to lessening the issue, even if the issue isn’t fixed. A new dishwasher is something I could probably keep in a kitchen renovation, if it’s still doing well when the time comes. Anglophilia, can’t agree with hand-washing instead! ;). Did that every day in our last house, and again now whenever the dishwasher breaks. I’ll grumble and moan about the layout but still prefer it to hand-washing, especially now that I have kids! Nhb, no worries :) Dadoes, thanks for clarifying and correcting. The terminology isn’t my strong suit. Example: I also realized my first post referred to a French door fridge when I really meant a side-by-side fridge. I meant the double-drawer unit.
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scoutyyy
Original Author
11 years ago
I found a Haier on Craigslist for $100 (good reviews) and realized I could put it where I have a counter depth rolling butcher block table next to the stove. I'll take the butcher block top off table and put it on DW in a little built-in cabinet (DH is very handy). I guess it's better to have than not have...people really like their dishwashers!
lalithar
11 years ago
We rent in napa at least twice a year as it is driving distance from bay area. I think a dishwasher is a must have if your rental accommodates 6 people or more.. Then families have kids and may prefer to eat home home (eating out for all meals in napa can add up fast). Doing a round of dish washing by hand takes away from the precious vacation time. I would also suggest a single dish drawer instead of an 18 in as there are severe limitations to what can fit in the 18in. You cannot wash big pasta pots etc.
steph2000
11 years ago
My best advice is to actually see an 18" DW before you decide. We were leaning towards one due to our limited real estate in the kitchen, but actually got to see one this weekend. That 6" might be the biggest, baddest 6 inches of real estate in the world, not just the world of kitchens. I was amazed at how much smaller the unit was on the inside.
CEFreeman
11 years ago
I had an 18" DW in my condominium where I lived for 18 years. When we moved and it became a rental, granted, long-term, it was a huge selling item.

It held enough to make running it for 2 people an ever 3rd day or so.

When I crapped out -- after 18 years -- I replaced it for my tenants. It wasn't cheap, but it sure wasn't all that expensive. Lowe's. If it last 18 years, it pays for itself with great tenants.
scoutyyy
Original Author
11 years ago
I just saw the Haier - super small on inside and wouldn't hold any plates over 9" and maybe only 3 plates at that size!

My rental only sleeps 4 max. so I don't really have to worry about large meals & lots of cooking...the kitchen was also
designed to look a bit "farmhouse" so maybe DW would ruin the charm. I guess I should look at a few more 18" DW, I think others are bigger inside.

*Due to drawer layout - I can't fit a Drawer-DW in there
mgmsrk
11 years ago
What about a single drawer dishwasher?
crl_
11 years ago
Well, for such a short term rental and not aimed at families, I would really hesitate. Mostly because of concerns about the dishwasher breaking, flooding, etc.

18" dishwasher worth it in small kitchen?

Comments (9)

maryl1

bostonpam

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scoutyyy
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18" dishwasher worth it in small kitchen?

Comments (9)

maryl1

bostonpam

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scoutyyyOriginal Author

lalithar

steph2000

CEFreeman

scoutyyyOriginal Author

mgmsrk

crl_

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scoutyyy
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scoutyyy
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