Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Help! Buying new dishwasher: where to start?

71 replies

CloneAViralMess · 08/02/2022 09:06

I have absolutely no idea what to look for in a dishwasher apart from vague price range.
I assume they will all wash my dishes so what else do I need to keep in mind when looking round?

(Integrated)


We can see this thread is a little old now so some of the suggestions may be out of date, but if you’ve landed here looking for recommendations, we’ve recently updated our best dishwasher page with plenty of great options, including info what features to look out for. We hope you find it useful. Flowers
MNHQ

OP posts:
Ariela · 08/02/2022 09:09

Personally I'm stuck with Miele so can't recommend anything else (Bought new 22 years ago, on strength of fact my parents one was 20 years old at the time, my brother now has their one , it's outlasted my parents. )

I like the fact it has a cutlery tray on the top which seems to take all the cutlery leaving the bulk of the bottom tray for pots and pans (I find loading anyone else's there's more big bottom tray stuff than there is room for once you have a cutlery basket)

TheSandgroper · 08/02/2022 10:04

If you are in the uk, buy a short Which subscription join.which.co.uk/join/offers?from=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.which.co.uk%2F. If you are in Australia, Choice magazine.

Daftasabroom · 08/02/2022 10:19

Make sure you get one with a top cutlery tray.

noworklifebalance · 08/02/2022 12:02

@Daftasabroom

Make sure you get one with a top cutlery tray.
Genuine question- what’s the advantage of a cutlery tray over basket? We have a basket in ours and have had no issues
ExtremelyDelighted · 08/02/2022 12:05

Make sure you get one without a top cutlery tray IMO, the basket in the bottom rack is easier to use, gets cutlery cleaner and allows for more height for big plates, pint glasses etc.

Shmithecat2 · 08/02/2022 12:08

Bosch or Miele. Having had both a cutlery basket and a cutlery tray model, I prefer the basket.

Hugasauras · 08/02/2022 12:09

I much prefer cutlery tray to basket, but think it's just personal preference! Which is a good shout. I think first month is only £1.

SkegnessShogun · 08/02/2022 12:14

Check how noisy they are, there should be a rating in the info, we've used dishwashers in holiday cottages that are annoyingly loud.

ExtremelyDelighted · 08/02/2022 12:19

I'd check energy efficiency too, with the way electricity prices are going

Nsky · 08/02/2022 12:23

Depends on budget, and choice currently, issues with white goods, Bosch ( which I have) and Beko good, so I’m told

WeAreTheHeroes · 08/02/2022 12:34

Is it a kitchen diner or open plan? If so, look for a machine that's quieter in operation. We bough a Neff integrated one for exactly that reason.

AgentCarterRocks · 08/02/2022 12:38

Read up on the different programs the machine offers - you may want a quick rinse option, something for heavy soiled pans, or a slower but more environmentally friendly programme. If it's built in how will you know it has finished, some project a light onto the floor. Mine isn't built in, it has a countdown on the front.

Cutlery basket or top tray is personal preference. If your cutlery drawer is a long way from your machine you can carry it all over in a basket to put it away. If you have a bad back a tray reduces the amount of bending you do. It keeps sharp knives safely out of the way of prying small hands, licking dogs etc.

September29th · 08/02/2022 12:47

@Daftasabroom

Make sure you get one with a top cutlery tray.
I would say do NOT get one with a cutlery tray.

We recently took delivery of a Siemens dishwasher, not our first choice but stock was low. Not a wise choice either and very much regretted as although the build quality is good it is cluttered with ridiculously fussy and useless features.

The cutlery tray is badly laid out and you need a certain kind/shape of cutlery in order to fit in on, it took far too long to fiddle about with it. I have since ditched it. Another reason being that in order to wash a tallish glass I had to fold one of the glass racks down and tilt the glass, a lot, otherwise the cutlery tray would hit the glass. Replaced tray with a normal basket.

Due to the cutlery tray taking up useful space in the top I discovered that plates in the bottom were in the way of the arm at the top so had to fiddle about to try and get the top rack higher up. There is a choice of heights, I have yet to discover whether it is high enough.

There are so many buttons it takes a long time to figure it all out, has to be set up first and the manual is comprehensive which is good, but it is akin to reading War and Peace. The buttons are pretty much impossible to see, so you have to bend down to see which is which until you are familiar with them. Some of them we will never need. They are invisible until you set the machine, when they will all light up like a funfair. A line of pretty bright blue flashing away menacingly. If you try to change the timer once set, you will think the day of reckoning has arrived, they will all flash non stop, and ignore all attempts to stop them until you get the manual and look up the problem, great fun when all you want is to go to bed and sleep.

Now, this stuff is possible to accept, although a complete waste of time and it has been like a 'build your own dishwasher' game. What is not acceptable is the failure of the stupid thing to actually dry anything, on any setting and then leave it dry.

It completes a cycle and apparently dries. If you arrange your day or night so that you can be there as it finishes you might just catch it when some of the contents are dry and manage to remove them. If you use it normally you will return to find that it has gone past the so-called drying stage and filled with a huge amount of condensation which has made every single item soaking wet. Leaving it in there for longer makes no difference. I bitterly regret wasting so much money on such a useless lump of crap as I now have to unload soaking wet washing up into a drainer every day instead of at least being able to put some of it straight into the cupboards. The 'dishtowel hack' does not work, neither does leaving the door open.

So, I would say, read reviews, independent ones as well as the ones on the site where you are looking to buy because they tend to only publish the good ones. It is a new energy saving drying system and you might struggle to avoid it so I will say this - if you want a dishwasher that actually does the job it is meant to do ie: wash AND dry, do NOT get a Siemens dishwasher. (Now the same company as Bosch).

It is quiet though, apart from sometimes sounding as if it is crying quietly in pain.

September29th · 08/02/2022 13:01

Sorry for the long post above, I am just so p'd off with the stupid thing.

I wanted a simple one, and read reviews, knew which brands to avoid and didn't want Bosch as our last one didn't dry very well, failed with that obviously.

Look at the options, and what is in stock/how long you have to wait for delivery (John Lewis lie and it is in stock until you pay, then it isn't and will take weeks). Look at Euronics which tells you what is in stock and deliver when they say they will.

If you want bells and whistles and have the patience, get Siemens, something simple, Beko, apparently the measurements are a bit random with Beko, also owned now by Blomberg.

Miele had a long waiting list about 3 weeks ago, months long in some cases.

The smaller number of bells and whistles you have, the less likely it is to go wrong. Decide what is important and look for it. I would not buy anything Hotpoint, from experience.

GiantKitten · 08/02/2022 13:08

I have a dead basic dead cheap Bosch which is 13 years old and has been no trouble (touch wood…)
Agree that basket is preferable to rack for cutlery, esp when fitting taller things in the bottom.

ExtremelyDelighted · 08/02/2022 13:48

Ours is a Bosch, the reasons above are exactly why I hate the cutlery tray. We can raise and lower the middle rack, but if it's raised you can't get anything taller than a mug in that rack, if it's lowered you can fit 12" dinner plates in the bottom. We have switched to 9" plates for most meals now for this reason. Also it is more fiddly to load the cutlery tray than just dropping things into the basket, if you have a plate, knife and fork you have to open two trays instead of just the bottom one every time, the holders on the tray aren't wide enough for anything other than table cutlery eg garlic press.

hesbeen2021 · 08/02/2022 14:01

On the advise of a brilliant salesman I bought the most bog standard and cheapest dishwasher in the shop some 17 years ago. It's not once broken down and just works.
I do the same for all white goods now and never have a problem

Geneticsbunny · 08/02/2022 14:37

With gas and electricity prices shooting up it is worth looking at the energy usage per run. It's normally hidden in the technical spec. Some dishwashers cost more than twice as much to run per cycle. I think which tells you which ones are energy efficient.

poetryandwine · 08/02/2022 14:40

We have a Miele basically because the whole family love theirs - some are over 20 yrs old - and it came highly recommended on Which?

It is fine but nothing more.

I don’t like the cutlery tray, much prefer a basket. Our kitchen crockery is styled with a little lip so it only fits in the sideways racks, not the main ones. And we have the same height problems as @ExtremelyDelighted with the upper rack. But it is extremely quiet

My best ever dishwasher was a mid-price Bosch I had in my home country a while back.

September29th · 08/02/2022 15:02

@Geneticsbunny

With gas and electricity prices shooting up it is worth looking at the energy usage per run. It's normally hidden in the technical spec. Some dishwashers cost more than twice as much to run per cycle. I think which tells you which ones are energy efficient.
This too.

Of all the others for sale on the same site the Siemens supposedly has the lowest usage, however the eco prog. is more than 4 hours long and doesn't wash very well, neither does it leave one single thing dry. As a result we use the 65 speed prog which is something like an hour and a half and no idea of the cost. If it is noted in the manual I have no more energy to spend on the stupid thing.

I had a basic Zanussi for years and years, then a faulty Hoover one which went straight back to John Lewis, next was something random that came with the house, then a Bosch which also came with the house, an Indesit, really old, which was OK and yes, came with the house, when it died we bought the Bosch that wasn't very good. I wish that this time round we had got the Beko one. Basic, cheap ones are best. Should have waited for them to come back in stock.

Floralnomad · 08/02/2022 15:10

We replaced ours last year and I wanted a cutlery tray , we had a basket before . My husband wasn’t convinced but he’s now a tray convert ! . We went with a Bosch as we had just replaced our washing machine and tumble dryer with Bosch ones and I do love him , he has a lovely variety of cycles and is extremely quiet .

CloneAViralMess · 08/02/2022 15:19

Wow thank you all so much!

Food for thought.

Yes my feeling is to get something simple that will... hopefully... last!

Ps. @September29th I really think you should get a different dishwasher!

OP posts:
LexingtonsHome · 08/02/2022 15:27

I have an AEG ComfortLift dishwasher and absolutely love it. The bottom tray lifts up, it's a totally unnecessary luxury but I love it! It also has a cutlery tray which I am now converted to, much better use of space.

De88 · 08/02/2022 15:55

We're about to replace our current kitchen and I won't be getting integrated appliances this time.. we've renovated a couple of kitchens and every time something integrated needs fixing or replacing its an absolute pain in the arse.

dreamkitchenhelp · 08/02/2022 16:04

For us it is a quick wash. We have a NEFF with cutlery drawer, quickest wash 1.06 hours. Our glasses go on the bottom.
Previous was a Zanussi, 30 min wash, door pops open when finished to dry and a cutlery basket.
Both good dishwashers