Tell me about your dishwasher!

[WordInYourShellLike]

Never had one before so don't know what's worth having and what isn't in terms of features. Definitely not looking for a wi-fi connected model. £700 is our limit, including delivery and we would like a C energy rating if possible (I think a B or A will be out of our price range). What brands are best for longevity as that's probably top of the list? Do you prefer a basket or upper tray for cutlery? I've been searching online for weeks and getting more and more flummoxed as to what we should get so would really appreciate some recommendations of great dishwashers or warnings about what to avoid! 😬

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If you’re short on time, here’s a summary of the dishwasher brands Mumsnetters are recommending on this thread:

🏆 Bosch Series 6 SMS6ZCW00G Wifi Connected Standard Dishwasher, £649 - the dishwasher the OP opted for

🧽 Indesit D2FHK26UK Standard Dishwasher, £279

🍽 Hisense HV673B60UK Wifi Connected Fully Integrated Standard Dishwasher, £569

Plus for a deeper dive into the wonderful world of kitchen appliances, don't miss our guide to the best dishwashers according to Mumsnetters.

MNHQ

It washes dishes so I don't have to. Not much more than that to tell.

I have always bought dirt cheap Indesit dishwashers. They do a good job and last (in my experience so far) between 15 and 20 years.

Thanks so much everyone, this is so helpful. Having looked again at the Serie 6 model I mentioned it seems obvious to me now that it has wi-fi connectivity. All the Bosch C rated models have it so I think I just need to get over myself! Based on what a PP said, it seems that it doesn't really matter if you don't use it although having looked at the manual it says you can do software updates that way which sounds useful. Has anyone had any issues with Home Connect? You hear stuff about smart appliances giving scammers access to your data...

My dishwasher repair man said all dishes and plates need rinsing otherwise it just clogs up the filters a lot quicker and shortens the life span of the machine (even if you regular clean your dishwasher and filters). So we always rinse first.

dishes need scraping but not rinsing - the dishwasher does that.

you need to clean the filter regularly and keep salt topped up if in a hard water area.

We went for Blomberg when we replaced our dishwasher a couple of years ago - it had the longest warranty. We liked the Bosch ones and had read lots of reviews but the warranty was only 2yrs and if I'm spending that much on an appliance I wanted some reassurance that it would last.

Very happy with it!

Definitely prefer a cutlery tray rather than basket. No risk of tripping over the toddler and onto the knives and forks as they're all lying flat safely! Much quicker to empty the cutlery, too.

@WordInYourShellLike - we have had our series 6 about 10 months now. Dh looked at the home connect and added app when we first bought it, but never used it since. I have never used the home connect. So there’s no need to actually use the WiFi part unless you want to.

best part is the cutlery drawer.

Had my first Bosch for 14 years, we had a new kitchen in 2010 & replaced the dishwasher with a Bosch integrated one, never had a problem with either of them, plus Bosch machines are very quiet.

I use supermarket own brand all in one tablets, keep the salt dispenser & rinse aid topped up & clean the filter once a week.

Well I've bought one, I'm so excited! Thanks so much for all the advice and recommendations - I went for the Bosch Series 6 SMS6ZCW00G. So looking forward to cutting down significantly on washing up drudgery! 😃

@WordInYourShellLike enjoy and welcome to the world of arguments over who loads and rearranges the dishwasher 😂

I have a Bosch dishwasher, don't rate it any better than the generic forgotten brand it replaced.
What's the deal with the cutlery trays? I only have the standard basket but load it like-for-like for ease of unloading.

We have a NEFF.

Whatever brand definitely get one with upper cutlery tray. Leaves more space at the bottom for pans/plates; no getting stabbed and I find it cleans it better too.

I got the 5’11” 1960 model.

I hate ours with a cutlery tray with a passion.

It sounded great but I hate having to slot cutlery in so carefully. Would also much prefer the additional height from not having that tray at the top.

One of these days I swear I'll take a days holiday to work out how to remove the cutlery tray and just buy a cutlery basket to go in the bottom.

We just got a Hotpoint after our Bosch broke after 10 years. I can't be doing with the cutlery tray and the Hotpoint basket felt flimsy so I'm pleased I kept the sturdy basket from the Bosch.

The game changer with the Hotpoint is that when it finishes the cycle and cools down to 40 degrees it pops the door open a fraction so the steam escapes and everything is bone dry by the morning. Love it.

We have a 2 YO Bosch that does that. It's probably part of the modern day eco features.

My last one was a Bosch, it was crap. Never dried properly.

Replaced it with a Siemes which we didn't want (due to also being Bosch), at the time there were very few options due to Covid/Brexit etc. It is absolute rubbish. Waste of £600. It doesn't wash properly, the racks are not designed for normal loads of stuff, only for the kind photographed in the user guide, especially the cutlery tray which takes ages to fill as nothing fits or stays in place. I have removed it and got a basket to sit in the bottom.

I would get a cheap one (which I wanted to do in the first place) if I could justify the waste of money on the Siemens one.

Had cheap ones for years and no problems.

Ours came out easily, have a look on YouTube for yours to see what features it has and how you can move things. I also changed the height of the racks which improved the amount of space a lot as the top rack was too close to the top of the DW with the cutlery tray in and didn't leave enough space on the bottom with it on the lower setting.

Nothing fits in ours and it fall out of the slots. I would say don't get one with a cutlery tray unless you can't find anything else suitable, take it out and use a basket.

Defending the cutlery tray here. Love mine! You can move the top shelf down if you feel it's in the way.

Mine also automatically opens the door at the end of the cycle so everything is completely dry

We have always had Bosch with a cutlery basket and loved it. Now in new kitchen with Siemens with cutlery tray With the middle rack on high the dishes won’t fit, but on low the dinner plates won’t fit underneath. So hoping I can find my old basket instead. I think loving or hating the tray might depend on plate size. Although can think of better things to do with my time than neatly sort and place dirty cutlery, instead of throwing it in the basket and sorting when warm and clean!

Interested in the comments as using a Built in dishwasher Neff which was here when we bought the house must be at least 20 years old (noisy now)but still cleans well although only 2programmes

I have a Bosch serie 6 as well, but don't use the wifi bit. I'm very happy with it - cutlery tray and basket but you can take the basket out to do big things. Upper layer takes all the cups, small bowls etc with dinner plates, saucepans and big bowls in the bottom. I absolutely love it.

Have bought new cutlery basket and use it for all the regular cutlery. Have left the tray in - laziness - but use for some utensils and baking trays.

Over the years we've had a Miele one, a Bosch one and various others.

We have currently got a Hisense with a pull out cutlery tray at the top.

As well as the other cycles, it has an hour cycle that leaves everything super clean.

You can also set it so that the door opens slightly at the end of the cycle to let steam out so that plastic tubs dry better.

It is by far THE best one we've had.