It’s been a while since we checked in with my awesometastic new kitchen appliances. And today I’m going to tell you some more about my new dishwasher, but first: a bit of background.
I happen to believe in every human’s inalienable rights to life, liberty, and a machine that does the dishes. I mean, I am not anti-housework, per se—I actually sort of enjoy doing the laundry, and I don’t even mind scrubbing toilets because it’s not terribly time-consuming—but dishes just seem like never-ending drudgery to me. Having a dishwasher is part of what keeps me sane. And now that my kids are old enough to help with the dishes, I still really appreciate it, because I probably wouldn’t trust them to do a decent hand-washing, but it’s hard to screw up putting plates in a rack.
The dishwasher is an Extremely Important Appliance to me, is my point. And our old dishwasher often didn’t actually get the dishes clean, so I was more than ready to fall into love with this new one. Thank goodness, I was not disappointed!
What’s my number one requirement in a dishwasher? Clean dishes. Maybe it seems redundant to even have to say that, but if you’d had my old dishwasher, you’d understand. I have yet to remove a single dirty dish from this machine. And although I try to be good about scraping plates, let’s just say that my children are… less so… and as such, we’ve had all manner of caked on gunk go in there and the results are still sparkling. This means less effort for us and great results, so a great big “Yay!!” for that.
The top rack is adjustable, and the bottom rack has a very fancy silverware basket with sections that can be closed off (handy for things like the lids to little dip containers I pack in my kids’ lunches), as well as a second basket that’s perfect for things like spatulas or mixing spoons. Originally we wondered if this machine was smaller than our last one (it seemed like maybe it is), but it’s so well-designed inside, I swear we fit more into it.
I have but one less-than-glowing comment about it: The product page claims that it is “the quietest dishwasher in its class,” which may be true, but this is not a particularly quiet machine. It’s not crazy-loud or anything, it’s just not any quieter than our old machine.
Other than the dishes that are actually clean aspect, I have to say there are two little things that won my admiration with this model. Maybe they’ll seem silly to you, but to me they’re worth mentioning:
First, the “Stay-Put Door.” No matter where you put it, it stays. Why do you care? Well, maybe you don’t. But I do, because we have a new dog. And this new dog has recently discovered that the dishwasher is sometimes full of delicious things! Heh. Fortunately, she’s pretty little; if we position the door up enough that we can easily slide out the top rack and begin loading glasses, she loses interest and wanders off before we lower the door and slide out the bottom rack. I could also see where this would be a real boon in smaller kitchens.
Second, my son is the king of “Clean or dirty?” Normal mortals can look at the dishes inside the dishwasher and ascertain if they’re clean or dirty by, you know, looking at them. But not my son. The part of the brain he’s supposed to be using for that? Taken up with Pokemon, I’m pretty sure. Anyway. Now we no longer play “Clean or dirty?” with him, because he can just look at the little display and see for himself.
(Please excuse the smudgy fingerprints. Consider them proof that we’re actually using the dishwasher with regularity.)
It’s not a big thing, true, but it may be my favorite part. Aside from the clean dishes, that is.
But does the dishwasher still say ‘clean’ once you’ve opened the door? Because at my house, even though there is a lovely green light proclaiming clean dishes, certain people (everyone except me, it seems) will open the DW and then ask, “are these dishes clean?” or worse, start adding dirty dishes. Arrrgh.
Oh, I would love that stay put door!
If I designed a dishwasher, you know what I’d put on it? Bumper pads on the door corners. My shins would thank me very much.
I second Crista’s idea! How about *smooshable* corners! They look normal, they seal like they should…but when you run into them, they smoosh inwards. Lovely.
Katherine: It does go off once the door’s been opened, so we’re working on “You open it, you empty it!” 😉
#1 My husband does exactly what Katherine described, misses looking at the “clean” light, opens the dishwasher, sticks in some silverware and a plate and then asks “oh, are these clean?” …and of course we can’t figure out which piece of silverware he just dropped in so I consider the entire load written off and wash the entire load again.
#2 My dogs consider an open dishwasher = buffet
I would that door. We air dry our dishes, so only having it partially open would free up some room betw open door and island. Maybe it’s a guy thing – husband and two teen boys need to ask if it’s clean or dirty!
I meant “I would LOVE that door”
Our four big dogs love the “dishwasher buffet”, too. We call it dishwasher diving and we don’t mind it because we figure the dishes are getting cleaned and sanitized after the initial canine cleaning. (One of the dogs even lifts the plates out and takes them in the hall for a more detailed cleaning. I wish he would learn to put them back.) But once one of the dogs got her collar caught in the bottom rack, which scared her so much that she backed away, dragging the entire bottom rack, full of dishes, with her! It made a horrendous noise. Amazingly, nothing got broken and the dog got over her shock and continues to dishwasher dive.
You might try telling your son to smell the dishwasher first. Clean dishes smell like soap, dirty dishes smell like food. It’s pretty obvious, IMO.
Kristie, that story is hilarious.. I can just picture the dog running away w/ the dishwasher attached!
Wow! That’s so wonderful, Mir! I have to admit to being exceptionally jealous, as my dishwasher seems to be possessed. It has been working, on and off, for 6 or 7 months…it’s not working, more than it is, but we can’t afford to repair or replace it. It seems to be an electronic issue of some sort…every day, I walk by, I open it and check, to see if it will come on. Most days, I am disappointed to see that is is still in “hibernation” mode. But, very occasionally, I push the button and it STARTS!!! So, I very quickly load it up with some of the dished piled in my sink (because there are ALWAYS dishes piled in my sink, when my dishwasher isn’t working), and start it up. Sometimes I get two or three cycles out of it before it stops working again.
I agree with you…a dishwasher is not a luxury…it is NECESSARY!!! I am actually happier, when my dishwasher is working. That’s saying something, these days.
Congrats on your great dishwasher.
Is the dishwasher attached to the cabinet at the top and bottom on both sides? If not, that is probably why it is loud. Ours is supposedly a silent one too but because it doesn’t quite fit the hole it is only attached in one spot and rattles a lot. If you stand there and hold the door still while it is running you can’t hear it at all. A few additional screws may solve your loudness.