ADA dishwashers are shorter. That's it. It has nothing to do with appliance legs/feet. Cutlery trays wouldn't work well in those units. Cutlery trays were made possible by the introduction of "tall tub" units. I have an ADA compatible Miele dishwasher by default; I wanted a professional/commercial model and they're built to ADA standards.

Something else to note: ADA dishwashers are nothing more than the old standard size dishwasher that was found in every home that had a dishwasher for the past 40 years or so until the introduction of tall tub units.

I've been told that Miele ADA dishwashers are the SAME as their non-ADA versions, but the ADA versions have adjustable legs to enable them to sit lower. This is the thread where I got this info, it's one of the last posts in the thread: [https://www.houzz.com/discussions/ada-dishwasher-drawbacks-dsvw-vd~3348162[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/ada-dishwasher-drawbacks-dsvw-vd~3348162)

Also, according to AJ Madison ( http://www.ajmadison.com/product/compare/?skus[]=G6560SCVI&skus[]=G6595SCVIK2O&skus[]=G6565SCVI ), the ADA/non-ADA Miele dishwashers sound identical in terms of how many place settings they have and they all have a cutlery rack. Only difference is height which might be attributed to the shorter leg, and the ADA model has a child lock.

Can anyone confirm that the interior capacity is identical?

markb is right - ADA dishwashers are about two inches shorter; both, ADA and regular ones, have adjustable legs. You will lose some space in the upper rack, especially with the cutlery tray on top. The cutlery tray is available in both sizes.

According to Miele both the ADA and non-ADA dishwashers have a cutlery tray and both hold 16 place settings. Technicalities aside, does that mean the capacity is the same in both? I think we all know that TECHNICALLY an ADA dishwasher should have a smaller tub but it sounds like Miele found a way around this. True or false? I don't mean in general, I mean SPECIFICALLY the Miele ADA dishwashers.

The capacity is the same because, whoever rates it, only has to use "normal" dishes - excluding tall stemware, stockpots, cookie sheets, oversized plates and so forth. The width and depth of the baskets is the same, so, as long as you don't have extra tall items, you can get just as many plates, cups ect. in an ADA tub.

You are giving up height in the middle rack .

Before the ADA thing , Miele these models for use in kitchens with 6" and 8" Toekicks which were typical in Europe.

They still are typical in Europe, which is why I didn't get a Bosch with cutlery drawer, since I usually stack dishes.

I personally believe that the upper cutlery tray in the standard tub models is utterly useless in that it renders the middle rack suitable for washing only cups, juice glasses, dessert plates, etc.

Cutlery tray is far from useless- I wash cutlery much more often than I need to wash tall items in the middle rack. Why would you not put them on the bottom rack?? I find cutlery baskets useless myself. I will never go back to that option.

johnsoro25: Do you have an ADA height dishwasher? That's what he was talking about, not cutlery trays in general.

Aha- no. Then I retract. Thought he was talking about all cutlery trays. Thanks.

@markb So you think cutlery tray in an ADA dw is a negative? Instead you'd get a Bosch or some other ADA dw without a cutlery tray?

They both Miele versions say capacity is "16 place settings" is there a technical definition of what a "place setting" is? Are they being creative and intentionally misleading people to believe the capacity is the same or similar?

If Miele is being creative it sounds like my options are either get the Miele ADA with cutlery tray and compromised middle tray or go with another manufacturer's ADA and lose out on the cutlery tray but have full capacity in the top tray. Correct?

mark is just muddying the waters. A Miele ( the company that invented it) cutlery tray is the same in both ADA and reg. DWs.

IF , note I said IF, you go with an ADA model then the height in the MIDDLE basket is reduced somewhat but everything else is the same.

but......................

It may make no difference to you in the real world. I have crate @ barrel everyday dishes that are 10 1/2" tall and they fit in my mieleADA dishwashers just fine and still allow a pint glass or Tervis Tunbler to fit in the middle basket just fine. I can even get champagne flutes in there if I lean them on the folding stemware tines. And guess what - them get clean !

It really only makes a diff to a very small section of the dish buying public and those OCD specification sheet collectors.

Now, we could have another discussion about the merits of the third or cutlery tray , but I think there are already a couple of those around here already. The pertinent point is that now that Miele's patent has expired all the high level players have gone to to that arrangement. That should tell you what you need to know.

I see this thread is from 2015. I am now confronting the same decision. ADA vs non-ADA. How did this work out for you?

I don't know if this will help. Relatives wanted a new DW without messing with the floor or counter, so also had height restrictions. The opening was originally for an American dishwasher, and the immediate one being replaced was European (the Euro ones are slightly shorter because of the metric/American conversion).

An experienced salesman at a reputable appliance store told me I needed to look at the ADA models. A long time trusted member of this community told me that all of the regular height Mieles would fit. Sure, enough, when I checked the Miele specs, rather than the online filters, that proved to be true. They have adjustable feet and the space had a chunk more room than the shortest.

The other piece of good advice was to get one that has the feature that pops it slightly open at the end to let the steam out--said it actually worked for dryer dishes. I haven't used it myself, but I've heard no complaints and would have if they were unhappy with it. :)