Which dishwasher should I buy?

[Towerofjoyless]

I am looking to buy my first dishwasher soon but unsure what to go for. Do any of you lovely fellow MNs have any recommendations? Or ones to steer clear of? Thanks so much.

I’ve had really mixed results over hte years - some really cheap ones have been great, some expensive ones have been crap!

I have a Bosch now, which is brilliant but still a bit ..erm .. not my favourite, although actually my in-laws have now got the newer version of same, and it seems to be more or less perfect :-)

Things to look for, best water/elec rating you can afford, half load/ or load sensing option so you can do a smaller load if necessary (lovely to finish the day/mad moment of cooking by being able to chuck everything in and switch on the machine even if it’s not full).

But,, honestly, i”d just start with the ratings. And special offers - I got my machine for about half price.

I also think that how well it works is often down to packing technique. I’ve got that down to a fine art over the years, and that has made the biggest difference (eg, make sure there is a decent space between every item, if things are spooned inside each other, they will not clean properly and you’ll have to do them again. It’s actually more sensible to clean sightless fewer items, and just do it once).

Not sure if that’s any help, whatsoever!

PS - John Lewis reviews always seem quite fulsome, and helpful for appliances?

I subscribed to Which. You get a trial for £1 I think. Go through their Best Buys and Buy one of them! Don’t buys are there too but stick to the best buys.

I have only ever owned 3 dishwashers in this house. We have been here for over 32 years. My latest one, bought about 4 years ago is Miele. It was a Best Buy at the time and is A+++ rated (the highest!) and is very low on water consumption if you use certain programs. It is also extremely quiet. That was very important for us. You barely know it’s on. The fact it opens the door when it’s finished and it lights up on the inside is a bonus!

So, get a Best Buy. Shop around for prices and installation costs. Look for energy and water saving features and any extra features you value and will appreciate. Like low dB(A) noise measurement.

Cheaper ones tend to be noisy, use more water and break down a bit too quickly. Dishwashers are definitely a case of buy cheap, buy twice.

@BubblesBuddy please would you mind sharing the model number of your Miele dishwasher?

Apologies to OP for thread hijacking, I would also recommend Miele. My current Miele dishwasher is almost 16 years old and just now starting to play up intermittently. I won’t hesitate to replace it with another Miele.

P.S. I forgot to say, I love my upper cutlery tray but really fancy the newer 3D cutlery tray.

I have a Miele built in which is fab (quiet, efficient, easy to install and use and told us there was a leak when a mouse chewed through the pipe before it flooded the kitchen,) but pricey however mine is now 10 years old and has moved house with us so £1k doesn't seem so bad
In the past I have had a basic Bosch as does my mum which was good and pretty bomb proof
My MIL has a neff which is fine but noisy
Before my Miele we had a smeg which came with the house - it caught fire, thankfully someone was there when it went bang and smoke poured out of it otherwise we would have had no kitchen rather than a scorched worktop. Smeg made out it was our fault and nothing to do with them but within 6mths my dads Smeg (300miles away in another kitchen) had done the same thing now you couldn't even give me a Smeg appliance for free my trust with the brand and their customer service is totally gone

I have a Neff and it's integrated in an open plan kitchen living area. It is incredibly quiet, has a good range of programmes and a cutlery drawer. Best one I've had

I had a Bosch which was good and last 15 years.
I now have a Howdens own brand, it was ridiculously cheap at £139 but it’s absolutely brilliant. Quiet, quick and everything sparkling. Had it a year . So far so good!

Buy the biggest capacity possible so it can fit pots and pans, too. Also a cutlery draw is a must. My Miele is very quiet. Whenever we stay somewhere with a different dishwasher I am always surprised by now noisy the appliance is! And how little fits into it. So, can wholeheartedly recommend Miele.

My cheap Howdens doesn’t have a cutlery tray but a basket. No issues at all.

A Cutlery tray is much better than a basket. It is effectively an additional tier in the dishwasher, so doesn’t take away from the space on the lower tray. It also fits more cutlery and separates it in an orderly, neat fashion, so makes it easy to unload, too. Sorry, but there is no comparison.

I disagree on the cutlery tray, I'd never buy one with a tray again, our old basket one was way better. The lost height from the tray is far more annoying than a bit of space lost in the bottom rack and the cutlery doesn't get as clean in the tray because the spray has to reach it through a rack full of cups.

Thank you all for your input. Would love a miele but out of our price range unfortunately have seen one or two Bosch ones which look good

I have 2 dishwashers....but they are dishwasher drawers and are brilliant.

Like the picture but mine are built in so have the same frontage as the kitchen units (so they look like normal drawers.

They can be used individually or at the same time.

What's great is I never have the issue of waiting full load and having get things out to hand wash them.

Also each unit is more economical than a standard dishwasher.

If we have people for dinner it great to be able to put the dishes for the starter/ main course in one, switch it on and then use the other one for washing up the pudding/coffee/glasses etc by which time the first one has already finished its cycle.

Tbh I'd never go back to a standard dishwasher. My are by Fisher Paykel. You can buy a double like I did or just a single and have a regular drawer fitted underneath (which is a great option for smaller families or a small kitchen).

We've had 2 Bosch, they've been excellent, clean well and last a long time (10 years). In-laws rate Miele and Samsung.

I've had a succession of Bosch ones and the quality and durability diminished with each newer one.
Bought a very cheap indesit one as a stop gap and it's better by far than the Bosch it replaced.

We have a Neff and it is fabulous!

If I could afford it, I'd have a Miele. I've had my Miele washing machine for over 20 yrs, and its great. Currently using the Bosch Series 2 Silence Plus, which came out pretty well in the Which listings at the time. It's grand.

DeRig I have dishwasher envy! :)

Neff. I’ve previously had Bosch which was also excellent. Low on energy, almost silent and has a light that shines onto the floor so you can see it’s on, even though you can’t hear it!