DISHWASHER RECOMMENDATIONS

Our actual dishwasher is just a cheap Frigidaire, and it cleans surprisingly well. It is pretty loud, so i usually try to start it when we're leaving or going to bed. We'll upgrade eventually, but it does make me worry when people pay twice as much as what ours is worth & theirs cleans worse than our cheapo does.

My fridigaire cleaned fine as well. The buttons were starting to not respond any longer. Had to press several times and hope the pad worked. I did donate it to habitat for humanity and it was in working condition. I'm sure someone will be happy with it. However, we have a very open floor plan with essentially a breakfast bar separating our kitchen from the living room with TV. If the dishwasher was on, literally were unable to hear the TV. We couldn't use delay anymore because of the button issue.

Anyway, who ever said paying for the better dB isn't worth it....maybe...depends what you want. We wanted quiet. We paid for quiet.
 
Don't cheap out, buy a Bosch.

You won't regret it if you have a somewhat open floor plan.

The open floor plan comment is spot on. We have an open floor plan; we also have an old, noisy dishwasher. Fortunately it has the delay feature. If it didn't, we would have already replaced it. I would still like to replace it because we simply can't run it unless we're in bed or gone.
 
Our actual dishwasher is just a cheap Frigidaire, and it cleans surprisingly well. It is pretty loud, so i usually try to start it when we're leaving or going to bed. We'll upgrade eventually, but it does make me worry when people pay twice as much as what ours is worth & theirs cleans worse than our cheapo does.

One of the things that I haven't seen mentioned is that more of the higher end models from Bosch/Miele and I think KitchenAid have much better protection from water leaks. I installed a 500 series Bosch last summer on top of real hardware floors, so I was very tuned into what would happen should it break. I'm sure some of the GE ones have that too, but I didn't look at their models.
 
My fridigaire cleaned fine as well. The buttons were starting to not respond any longer. Had to press several times and hope the pad worked. I did donate it to habitat for humanity and it was in working condition. I'm sure someone will be happy with it. However, we have a very open floor plan with essentially a breakfast bar separating our kitchen from the living room with TV. If the dishwasher was on, literally were unable to hear the TV. We couldn't use delay anymore because of the button issue.

Anyway, who ever said paying for the better dB isn't worth it....maybe...depends what you want. We wanted quiet. We paid for quiet.

As I said before, to each their own. What I was trying to get at was that you might pay $100 more to go from a dba rating of 51 to 48 and a couple hundred more to drop that down to 43. What does 50 dba equate to? One scale labels 50 dba as "refrigerator". I don't see many people clamoring to find a few points lower on the dba rating of their fridge. You are going to be paying a huge premium for a unit that gets you down in the 30's but a dba rating of 40 is about the noise level of a quiet suburban night. We looked at these ratings but tried to look at what was necessary for our application.
 
I have an open floor plan and ours is 48db. Unless you are in the kitchen near it, you can't hear it running. If it wasn't for the red light it shines on the floor, we would constantly be opening it to see if it's done.
 
I have an open floor plan and ours is 48db. Unless you are in the kitchen near it, you can't hear it running. If it wasn't for the red light it shines on the floor, we would constantly be opening it to see if it's done.


This was my point exactly. Thanks. Sometimes people get so caught up in getting a quieter one, that they don't realize how quiet the mid range of the dba scale really is.
 
Went with a BOSCH SHP65T55UC from LOWES, Bosch is currently offering a rebate of the installation cost of $119.00.

They include a hi-end braided hook up hose in the retail price.

Kitchenaid came in second in our research, thanks to those that replied with advice.
 
I bought a Kitchenaid last year and love it. I studied the market for a long time before going with Kitchenaid.

Buy it from a local appliance dealer if you have a good one. They may actually be cheaper than the box stores as installation and disposal of the old one may be included for free. They know they have to compete on price or they won't be in business long. I bought my dishwasher from Home Appliance in Cedar Rapids. Also got a new washer & dryer from Iowa Appliance in Marion a few months ago. I got a microwave from Harris in Ames last year. All were good dealers and I got a good price.
 
Went with a BOSCH SHP65T55UC from LOWES, Bosch is currently offering a rebate of the installation cost of $119.00.

They include a hi-end braided hook up hose in the retail price.

Kitchenaid came in second in our research, thanks to those that replied with advice.

I deal with appliances all day at work, and the contractors that install them.

The Bosch was your best bet for a dishwasher even if you would have paid a little more, less headaches over the long run. Just anything but GE and Maytag. Maytag is cheap and GE just sold their appliance division to Haier from China.
 
I deal with appliances all day at work, and the contractors that install them.

The Bosch was your best bet for a dishwasher even if you would have paid a little more, less headaches over the long run. Just anything but GE and Maytag. Maytag is cheap and GE just sold their appliance division to Haier from China.

I wish someone would have warned us about maytag when we bought ours. Major pos.
 
I bought a Kitchenaid last year and love it. I studied the market for a long time before going with Kitchenaid.

Buy it from a local appliance dealer if you have a good one. They may actually be cheaper than the box stores as installation and disposal of the old one may be included for free. They know they have to compete on price or they won't be in business long. I bought my dishwasher from Home Appliance in Cedar Rapids. Also got a new washer & dryer from Iowa Appliance in Marion a few months ago. I got a microwave from Harris in Ames last year. All were good dealers and I got a good price.

I agree on the local appliance guy. Neighbor bought the same stove as us from a box store in DM and was crowing about how much cheaper it was. By the time we looked at his delivery, installation, and disposal fee, we paid over $100 less with a lot less hassle.

I deal with appliances all day at work, and the contractors that install them.

The Bosch was your best bet for a dishwasher even if you would have paid a little more, less headaches over the long run. Just anything but GE and Maytag. Maytag is cheap and GE just sold their appliance division to Haier from China.

So you better be around here next time I have an appliance die. I think I will be needing a new washer/dryer soon, the 40 year old Maytags are starting to make a lot of noise.
 
I wish someone would have warned us about maytag when we bought ours. Major pos.

Aren't whirlpool/maytag/amana/kitchenaid all basically the same thing?

when I was looking for appliances last year a lot of the time they had identical specifications with minor design differences
 
Shopping for new built in dishwasher, any brands and and advice appreciated!
Agree with others

you get what you pay for. The cheaper - the louder you'll get too. If your home has an open floor plan, a cheap clunky one will annoy you
 
BOSCH installed, used 4 times, quiet and efficient, dishes come out super clean and shiny, like the third top rack to put silverware etc. in.... more energy efficient than the 12 year old AMANA
 
We bought top end GE and are really enjoying it. Easy to use and is quiet. Much better than the may tag which came with our house.
 
Aren't whirlpool/maytag/amana/kitchenaid all basically the same thing?

when I was looking for appliances last year a lot of the time they had identical specifications with minor design differences
I think Whirlpool owns them all now, but I believe the product lines have unique designs and may be manufactured in different plants. I suppose that will continue to change over time.
 

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