Indesit D2FHK26UK Dishwasher review: find out how this budget buy fared in a real family home

Price on writing: £259 | Buy now from Argos

Our verdict

• Ease of use: 5/5

• Capacity: 4/5

• Performance: 3/5

• Features: 3/5

• Noise: 5/5

The Indesit D2FHK26UK is a no-fuss, budget dishwasher that’s easy to use, quiet, and effective at tackling dried-on food – a real bonus for busy family life. The Push&Go function is a standout feature, offering a simple, one-button start with reliable cleaning results. With 14-place settings and an adjustable top basket, there’s plenty of room for day-to-day use, and it even handled family gatherings well.

However, it’s not without its quirks. The lack of a wash cycle timer and limited delay start options (two, four, or eight hours) feel restrictive, and the wash cycles can be quite harsh – my drinking glasses turned permanently cloudy after just a couple of washes. There are also some minor design frustrations, such as awkward spacing on the top basket and an issue with the top rack not sliding in smoothly after a few weeks of use.

Overall, this is a decent dishwasher for families looking for an affordable machine – however, just be mindful if you have delicate glassware or prefer more customisable settings.

How easy is the Indesit D2FHK26UK Dishwasher to set up?

Luckily the dishwasher didn’t need any professional installation. My husband and I managed to set it up ourselves, and it slotted neatly into our kitchen. The instructions were mostly clear and easy to follow, though the section on adding dishwasher salt could have been better. There’s only a single line mentioning that you need to fill the salt compartment with water first, which isn’t exactly obvious if you’re new to dishwashers. A simple sticker or label on the compartment itself would have made things a lot clearer.

The packaging was standard – plenty of styrofoam and plastic wrap to keep everything secure. That said, when I opened it up, the inside was surprisingly damp, and the door frame had a bit of what looked like rust, which needed a wipe-down before use. The water pipe also had a noticeable bend, which made us wonder if it would cause any issues, but thankfully, it worked just fine. On the plus side, Indesit includes two dishwasher tablets in the welcome pack, which is a nice touch.

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How easy is the Indesit D2FHK26UK Full Size Dishwasher to use day-to-day?

Very easy! The control panel is self-explanatory, with a chunky dial to select the chosen setting. There's also a handy 'Push&Go' button, which automatically sets and starts the cycle at the touch of a button – this was one of my favourite features of the dishwasher. There are no app controls available, though that's to be expected at this price point and lends to its overall ease of use.

If I could change anything, it would be how the delayed wash cycle works. Instead of having set options of delaying the start time by two, four or eight hours, I would prefer to choose my own time for extra convenience. I would also like a display that shows how much time is remaining on the cycle to know when the wash is near the end.

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What features does the Indesit D2FHK26UK Dishwasher have?

The Indesit D2FHK26UK has six programmes - Push&Go, Fast&Clean, Mixed, Intensive, Eco, and Pre-wash.

Unfortunately, there's no glass protect, and after just two washes on the Mixed (55°C) cycle, our drinking glasses developed a permanent milky haze.

I then tried the Fast & Clean 28-minute setting, as it runs at a lower temperature than the Mixed cycle. However, this setting had no drying phase so I had to dry the dishes with a tea towel after. The short cycle also struggled with dried-on food, making it better suited to a quick freshen-up rather than tackling stubborn stains.

Since then, I have been using the Push&Go option (my favourite!) as the temperature is low enough, the cycle is a bit longer, and the drying phase is activated. However, you can't use this setting with the delay timer.

How well does the Indesit D2FHK26UK Dishwasher clean?

We’ve got a busy household, and so our plates don’t always make it to the dishwasher in pristine condition. Dried-on food, stubborn sauces, and baked-on bits – you name it. We don’t bother with pre-rinsing either; we just scrape off the worst of it into the kitchen bin and chuck plates in the dishwasher.

To be fair, the Indesit cleaned well. If anything, I almost felt the cycles were a bit too abrasive at times as they caused damage, so if you’ve got delicate glassware or favourite mugs, you might want to wash them by hand instead.

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Is the Indesit D2FHK26UK Dishwasher's capacity large enough for families?

Yes, with 14-place settings and the ability to adjust the top basket and racking, there's plenty of space for pots in our household of four. We also had three family gatherings during testing and I was able to fit all plates and glasses into the dishwasher in one go.

I've tried various ways to fit plates into this dishwasher, and with the flexibility of being able to place the cutlery basket anywhere on the bottom shelf, I manage to fit in a maximum of three days worth of dishes. However, it's worth noting that this doesn't include pans - after my glasses were damaged, I opted to wash pots by hand!

The top shelf of the dishwasher is easily adjustable. However, after using the dishwasher for the last month there seems to be an issue when pushing the top rack fully in. As a result, I need to pull the top shelf out multiple times before I can close the dishwasher door fully.

I also don’t like the spacing on the top basket - there's a large space in the middle which means that cups can clank together and break. The spacing around the top front corners also means small glasses can topple to the side.

How noisy is the Indesit D2FHK26UK Standard Dishwasher?

While you can certainly get models with a lower decibel (this one's 46dB - for comparison a quiet library is around 45dB), all the wash cycles are fairly quiet.

We have an open-plan kitchen dining area and are able to turn it on whilst hosting guests, or playing board games and other family activities, making it a great quiet dishwasher.

Indesit D2FHK26UK Dishwasher: overall style and design

The Indesit has a simple, minimalistic design that blends in well with our kitchen. I like that there aren't too many buttons - the control panel is straightforward and does the job without feeling cluttered.

Is the Indesit D2FHK26UK Dishwasher easy to maintain?

There’s a handy alert when it’s time to add dishwasher salt, and the compartment itself is easy to locate and refill. The rinse aid compartment is similarly straightforward to find and top up. However, there’s no indicator for when rinse aid needs refilling, and it wasn’t entirely obvious when either compartment was full, which could have been clearer.

I normally use a standard dishwasher cleaner, but I've not had to so far as the machine still looks very clean.

How we tested

Mumsnet's Programmatic Operations Manager, Ute Schuster, tested the Indesit D2FHK26UK Dishwasher to evaluate how it fared in a real family home. During testing she carefully rated the dishwasher on its cleaning power, ease of use, features, overall design and ease of maintenance.

• Tested the dishwasher for six weeks

• Ran the dishwasher every two to three days

• Tested by a family of four

• Used to wash plates, cutlery and glassware

• Tested different settings

About the editor

Natasha Gregson is Senior Content Editor at Mumsnet, overseeing all home and kitchen appliance product round-ups and reviews. With several years of editorial experience under her belt, she has also had work published in The i Paper, Stylist Magazine, Gransnet and Exposed Magazine.

Natasha manages all dishwasher content on Mumsnet and has edited several round-ups and articles on the subject, including the best dishwashers, best tabletop dishwashers, and best energy-efficient dishwashers, to name but a few.

About Mumsnet Reviews

All Mumsnet product reviews are written by real people after weeks of research and testing. We work hard to provide honest and independent advice you can trust. Sometimes, we earn revenue through affiliate (click-to-buy) links in our articles. However, we never allow this to influence our coverage.

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