Help! Buying new dishwasher: where to start?

[CloneAViralMess]

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We can see this thread is a little old now so some of the suggestions may be out of date, but if you’ve landed here looking for recommendations, we’ve recently updated our best dishwasher page with plenty of great options, including info what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

I have a Which? subscription, not just for reviews. One of the issues at the moment is the shortage of chips meaning lots of things are out of stock. Also look at Good Housekeeping reviews online and websites like ao.com where customers review what they've bought. If there's an issue it'll be a common theme in reviews. The other thing to consider is buying secondhand when someone is replacing an entire kitchen. Fraction of the cost and a reliable brand will definitely last long enough until you can get what you want new.

We done that a couple of times and even sold the secondhand appliance for more than we paid for it originally.

I love our pretty basic Bosch. Cutlery tray at the top really works for me, no bending and it cleans well (not perfectly each time, but I think it does a really good job).

If you’re going to look at them in person, take one of your glasses and your dinner plate and see if it fits. Ours wouldn’t fit a pint glass in the top and a large serving plate on the bottom, at the same time, for example. Not a problem for us, but others might not want this.

@Zinnia

The Which? best rated dishwasher at the moment is this one [[https://www.johnlewis.com/bosch-serie-6-smv6zcx01g-fully-integrated-dishwasher/p5558591#product]]

It's OOS at John Lewis but if you can get hold of one, buy it. We've only had ours for 2 months but I love it like I never thought I could possibly love a houseful appliance, cutlery tray and all. It just works brilliantly.

That one is integrated though. The Miele came out best for non integrated.

OP over last 35 years o have had 3. They had all been heavily used at least once a day and sometimes two. I have not found much difference between any of them tbh. They all cleaned the dishes. I would look at if there are any on offer at the moment.

We have a Bosch and it's super quiet and no issues with the cleaning power! It's a mid range one so not too expensive

@WellTidy

I love our pretty basic Bosch. Cutlery tray at the top really works for me, no bending and it cleans well (not perfectly each time, but I think it does a really good job).

If you’re going to look at them in person, take one of your glasses and your dinner plate and see if it fits. Ours wouldn’t fit a pint glass in the top and a large serving plate on the bottom, at the same time, for example. Not a problem for us, but others might not want this.

That is why I removed the cutlery tray and raised the top rack, however with the Siemens there are many bits of rack that fold over so you can tilt things so they fit. Shame cutlery didn't fit in the rack, it was like a jigsaw puzzle trying to get it in. If it would dry it would be a useful thing to have, as long as you need to wash 100 plates at one time and never put bowls or cutlery in.

Our last one was a Bosch, it didn't dry.

With reviews, AO don't always publish them it they don't rate the appliance high enough.

Buying from them is a no for me. Issues as follows:
1.Dishwasher delivered and fitted. Guys were more concerned with who go the drink that had been in the fridge and who got the room temp one, did a shoddy job. Left d/w running and went. I went out and returned the water spraying up the wall, over the electric sockets and running along the floor. They did send someone to sort it out but it shouldn't have happened.

1. Washing machine ordered and delivered. It had the wrong fittings on the hose, offered to leave it and I could get a plumber or take it away and put the old one back. I told them to take it away.

1. Neighbour just bought a d/w from them, old one to be taken away. New one was left but not fitted because they 'couldn't find the stopcock'. I went to look and it was under the sink. She was left with a broken d/w full of stinky water and the new one in the hall and told to get a plumber. Plumber said they do that a lot. (I said I knew).

No more AO for us, would rather go without.

got the drink

Whoops sorry no not 4K! £400 max.

Don't know what I was thinking 😂

Thank you for all your comments. I think my problem is that I'm currently overwhelmed by life, looking after newborn and older child, work, juggle... and then the friggin dishwasher broke which is the last thing I needed.

Don't have time to faff around all the nitty gritty deets of brands etc. I just want a reliable dishwasher for about £300 so it's good to read the comments where bog standard basic choice isn't always a bad thing. Thank you so much.

But I might look into refurbished fancy ones too out of curiosity :)

There is too much choice in this world for people who have more important things to do 🙄

I hate those cutlery trays, as I think they restrict the height of plates/dishes you can put in.

If you have largeish dinner plates it is well worth checking those will fit in and not obstruct the spinners - SIL has to put hers in tilted forwards, which would drive me potty.

Don't go for integrated, a complete pain when they go wrong, or leak.

We have a Beko one currently - not a brand I was familiar with, but it had rave reviews and was really cheap. It's the best dishwasher I've ever had.

Earlier poster said they'd wanted a Beko which their neighbour had. We got one a couple of months ago, absolutely brilliant, it's pretty bog standard in lots of ways (white!) but it's super-quiet and does a fantastic job. Glasses come out like new (and they're far from new). I hadn't realised just how knackered our old one was. We paid just over £200 for it, can't remember the exact amount but you'd have lots of change from your £400! Honestly, I can't recommend it enough!

My old Bosch finally stopped working a few months ago. I bought the most suitable model that the shop had in stock which was a Bosch serie 4. It is fab! It washes much cleaner that the old one, is quiet, has programmes lasting from 29 mins to 3 hours 45 mins (economy).
We needed a cutlery basket because our cutlery drawer is the other side of the kitchen.
To be honest I wish I had upgraded a long time ago - our old dishwasher limped on for many years (it lasted about 20 years) but wasn't really washing properly towards the end of its life.

I have a Neff fully intergrated , cutlery tray
The adventage - as there's spaces between each piece so no spoons sticking together .
But when i had the basket , i had 2 so one in the machine and one being filled .

Very quiet , and a light that shines on the floor to show when it's on .

We have hard water so always keep the salt topped up.
If the salt or rinse aid runs low there's a warning light on the display .
Also do a monthly clean cycle with an Ecozone tablet

@BeginningBridge, do you happen to know which model yours is? I need to choose one asap!

@HBGKC I have checked the receipt and it says, Bosch SMS46II01G 6 programmes, VarioFlex baskets, 4
options, 46dB, 9.5L, (2660L), 13 place settings.
I bought it last August so models may have changed.
I hope you manage to get something suitable.

Thank you so much! I shall look it up right away.

Take a dinner plate with you when you go to look at them to ensure they will fit in. We have large dinner plates and were glad we did this.

Quiet. Quick wash (we use our 30 minutes 60 degree wash the vast majority of time)

We have AEG now (good but v expensive) but before that always had Bosch. Bosch have consistently been good whatever price we paid (never paid more than £400)

www.johnlewis.com/browse/electricals/dishwashers/freestanding/_/N-adoZ1z0rooj?sortBy=priceLow John Lewis are very good with their guarantees.

Well, my Bosch is now almost 20 years old, and still doing a good job. It had a recall fairly early on, where they changed a component for free, and no trouble since. Have just replaced the top basket as the original was starting to rust..... but honestly, still cheaper than buying new, as it runs perfectly. I have a cutlery basket, and it's fine. I get everything in there, including large saucepans.

Programme wise it has about 5 but I only use the ECO 50c setting. I run the very hot once a month to clean it out.

One other tip, the dishwasher repair man told me, always keep the salt topped up even if you use pods (which I do), as the pods don't give you enough softener in the system. Keeps all the gubbins from bunging up.

I like one that opens up once the load is finished, also shines a light on floor.