Refrigerators can last a long time. I have a KA top freezer unit that's 12.5 years old, never any trouble. Been in my garage for the past 5 years for drinks/spare storage. My grandmother has a Whirlpool top freezer bought in 1984, no repairs. My neighbor had a Whirlpool top freezer unit bought in 1985 or 1986, replaced a few years ago ONLY because the door liner cracked. He tried to align the crack by flexing the door, it broke worse (NEVER do that with an aged/brittle door panel, he should have asked me first, LOL). He wanted to repair it, but the liner was NLA. He checked the old unit and the new (KA SxS) with a KillAWatt meter and found that while the old box did use more power, the difference is such that it'd take a LONG time to get a payback if the old unit had been replaced specifically for the reason of saving energy.

We had the same issues with a frigidaire dw. It sounds absurd, but it truly may just be the detergent. I scrubbed and cleaned and did everything possible to try and fix a dw that only produced dirty and GREASY dishes. After also trying several different detergents, I finally found a combo that works: finish quantum combined with finish power up booster. Your DW and water may like something else, but trying other detergents is a pretty inexpensive fix!

So glad to see more people post their experience with their machines. Thank you! alexamorrie, good to hear you're happy with your Kenmore Elite. I liked our old DW but I have to admit that I also like the 3rd tray Bosch and Miele feature. We always have a lot of flatware, spatulas, knives and such, more than we could fit in the flatware baskets in our old machine. Our old Kenmore had a small, long basket at the back of the top tray that came in handy but the new Kenmores don't have that, unfortunately. Buehl, good to hear from another happy Bosch owner. Thanks for letting me know that your dishes fit. I'm familiar with Pfaltzgraff (our previous dishware was Pfaltzgraff) so I know it's roughly the same thickness as our current Fiestaware. Thanks, rococogurl, for answering my question. I don't know how often I'll fold tines down or lift sections out but it would be nice to have that flexibility. Thanks, somersetlass, glad to hear you liked your Mieles. I'm glad you've had good experiences with your KAs, catbuilder. Our Kenmore badged KA was great, the previous KA not nearly as good. That said, neither lasted much beyond 10 yrs. And that's just crazy! Seriously, when did a 10 yr appliance lifespan become the norm? Karenseb, glad to hear you're happy with your Bosch. I'd love it if you'd take a pic of it in action. I'm curious to know what you mean by " more versatile double sided utensil rack." Thanks! sjhockeyfan, I think our old DW had fold down tines that we never folded down. But since the tines on the Bosch and Miele aren't quite as generously spaced as our old Kenmore, it might be an issue for us when we wash casserole dishes and fry pans. I think I'll need to take another trip to the appliance store to look at the machines again. A2, you are awesome for posting a pic of your Miele DW in action! I can't believe how much you fit in it! Do you remember which model it is? You mentioned on your 3rd year anniversary thread that you had a service call on the machine. What was it for? Thank you, everyone!

I've had a Hobart KA. Then to GE. Wash and dried okay - it was extremely loud. At least the delay start on the GE allowed us to be out of the county when it started up. Swtich to a top of the line Bosch SHU6806 which lasted about 12-years. Washed okay but didn't dry very well without rinse-aid. Currently we have an Asko entry level dishwasher model D5424XLB which washes & drys far better than the top of the line Bosch. A couple of my family members also have Asko too. They're also happy with the Asko selection..