Dishwasher -cutlery drawer or not?

[QuirkInTheMatrix]

Need a new slimline freestanding dishwasher. Really don’t want a white one either so options seem to be limited to £250 ones like Sharp/Hotpoint/hoover. Or I’ve seen a £550 Bosch one which has a cutlery drawer rather than a basket. Have read mixed reviews about whether a cutlery drawer causes issues with there then not been enough vertical space for plates? Any thoughts?

Once I got a cutlery drawer I will never go back. Mines a Bosch. It has adjustable height if the middle shelf and I’ve never had any issues fitting my plates in.

Curve ball, anyone have one of these double drawers ones which I often admire….

Current DW has a drawer. I had limited choice as it had to be an integrated one and it was on John Lewis replacement warranty so bought from there. Got a Neff - first time with this brand.
Fits my huge plates ( big oval ones) tall glasses if they.re tilted.
I can wash oven trays Ninja Zerostick just need some careful placing .

When I had a basket , I had two so one in the DW and one being filled . Much easier

Just looked at the prices of Miele <faints dead away>

I honestly can’t understand this. Our drawer works brilliantly. In a basket I see the issue because things clump together but provided you are careful not to push things together the drawer is designed to ensure water reaches all surfaces of the cutlery. Ours works brilliantly.

Yeah that’s the issue in fairness. They are super expensive.

I do know someone who worked out she could trash and buy a new washing machine every 18 months and still save money via a vis the ten year guarantee she could get on a Miele.

Apparently they are brilliant. The top of the range is said to be Fisher and Paykel for this style.

Yes, I agree, having to open and close all the drawers several times during loading is a bit of a pain. That's the main downside of the cutlery drawer, imo.
I try to get all the cutlery together and put it in first, before the plates etc go in. But there are always a few strays.

Another thing is that I sometimes still forget to empty the cutlery drawer as I forget it exists, even though I've had the dishwasher for 2 years!

I have different kinds they are the biggest!

Mine was free as a MN product test about 15 years ago, but I would replace it now when it dies it's been brilliant

Absolutely yes, hate cutlery baskets. We upgraded our dishwasher in new house.

Specifically chose my latest dishwasher for the cutlery rack (at top). Within a week I had taken it out and haven’t considered reinstalling it. With the rack at the top there wasn’t enough height to allow tall glasses on middle level and dinner plates on the bottom level. So it’ s back to the cutlery basket for us!

It seems to be that if there's anything on the middle shelf the water spray doesn't effectively get to the top where the cutlery drawer is. A basket always gets the full jet from the lower sprayer, so as long as the cutlery isn't nested into each other it gets properly clean.

We have a slimline Miele with a basket. Definitely swapping to a drawer for the next one!

Oh that could be the reason as I do try quite hard to leave spaces on the mid level ie just glasses, mugs, small bowls and would not put a flat roasting pan or anything across it that would block water circulation over a large area. Can’t actually believe I’ve thought this through so much … the joys of getting older …

I've seen some reviews that suggest they tend to break.

Oh really? They always look quite robust vis a vis the folding/ slamming door kind.

In as my case we are stuck with our variety as it’s built in 😬

Just bought my second Miele dishwasher, the old one died after 18 yrs and we are trying to improve energy costs so went for a fancy one with B rating ( couldn’t justify the extra £500 for A rating).
Love the cutlery drawer and it was the reason I bought the previous one when they were the only one on the market with drawer.
It has its own spray arm so the cutlery gets the clean water during rinsing.
I’m totally anal when it comes to loading it and DH constantly took the piss but when he became chief loader, on retirement, he became a convert. The middle drawer is adjustable and there is multiple adjustable racks and holders so you can put large wine glasses securely in the bottom. The cutlery drawer is also adjustable in depth.

But the best feature is the AutoDos, you can buy detergent in cartridges that release the right amount of detergent for the programme you choose. You can also change the dose. There are only two of us at home now and a cartridge lasts over six weeks, working out more economical than branded wash tablets.
It is also blue toothed to my phone app so I can see when it’s finished and can operate it remotely.

We also replaced our tumble dryer with a Miele heat condenser tumble dryer. Again it is on the app and it messages me when it’s finished or if the filter needs clearing so I’m not scratching my head when it doesn’t work. Since it lives in the garage I don’t end up going out there only to find that the washing is still wet. The dryer is AA rated so energy use is much lower. It’s also much more gentle on fabrics and most things don’t need ironing. My DS’s shirts are much easier to iron as well.

Although expensive, they do last. My washing machine is 19yrs old but still going strong. It owes me nothing. Up until DS left for uni I used it daily. Now it’s just the two of us it is enjoying our retirement. It has survived two garage floods ( someone left the outdoor tap in the garage on after using the hosepipe when we went away for a few days and we returned home to 2inches of water in the garage - twice!) and apart from having to tip the washing machine to remove the water from the internal shelf in the base, it has continued to work.

Far too much faf organizing the cuttlery. I like my basket and I upend it into my messy cutlery drawer. Perfect !

Half the time the cutlery doesn't get washed properly if you have anything big in the middle tray

I hate my cutlery drawer

Mixed feelings. It’s definitely quicker to unload a cutlery basket as you carry it to the cutlery drawer easily and quickly in the basket.

Bottom rack is more intensive, so depending on how dirty the cutlery is, might be better. That roof location of the cutlery drawer/rack will deal with lightly messed stuff fine though.

I got a dishwasher with the cutlery drawer/rack and I found what I missed most was the ability to stack a baking tray or whatever against the side of the cutlery basket. So I bought a spare part cutlery basket and now I have both the basket and the rack. The rack is ok for some small items. I don’t hate it.