No great advice here, but our experience has been that a Bosh DW is just like a puppy. Very hard to ever say anything bad about them. IMO

 

I second the vote for Bosch. I've had 2 in 2 different homes and we just don't have problems with them.

My last Maytag (built by Whirlpool) lasted exactly 15 months before the control panel fried. Manufacture was going to send a replacement for a "one time special deal" at $250. I bought the OEM part online for $150 and fixed it myself. Less than 6 months later all the plastic structure inside the door stated to crumble and was beyond repair.
I used to be a fan of everything Whirlpool but not anymore. I won't buy any of it.

 

I'm keeping the one I've had for 40 years ...... but if I did need another it would be her personality.

 

Depends on whether she is your girlfriend or wife,
if wife it will be in the marriage contract, not a bad idea to dry run her before sealing the deal.
IF you already have a wife, I guess your looking for a new one.
That can be messy or expensive. I would move house, not leave a forwarding address.

 

usually I dont give a crap about the specs, its just a dishwasher, OH just wants something that matches in SS, which is god awfull in so many ways, but if your intent and you have the specs:

1> how much water they use
2> selection of wash cycles offered
3> their timing options

 

Another vote for Bosch.

 

It seems that manufacturers try to distinguish their products with how many different types of washing cycles they offer, but I’ll wager that 95% of owners end up using two or less.

One thing to look at is where the machine exhausts the steam. We had a unit that, for some unknown design rationale pushed it out the side of the unit, which ended up damaging the adjacent cabinet.

A lot of people manually open the dishwasher door to help dry the dishes when the cycle is complete, so this is one feature that I appreciate on our machine.

 

My only advice on what to look for is a stainless steel tub - much quieter than plastic, and it won't melt like plastic if the heating element goes wonky - BTDT; replacing kitchen subfloor is not fun.

 

My son has a few dead 2-3 year old Bosch dishwashers you can have. The parts are too expensive to make repairs so they are on the way to the dump. We have had good luck with Whirlpool dishwashers that are one or two steps up from the bottom of the line. We only use one or two cycles and more bells and whistles means more complexity with more problems. You don’t need an expensive stainless tub, plastic is fine. I have replaced dozens of dishwashers in rentals and never saw one failing due to a plastic tub failure. A white plastic tub is brighter inside. HotRod has different experience, that is very unusual. It would have to leak for a while to ruin a subfloor. I always put the finished floor completely under the DW so a leak would make water run out to where I could see it.
We don’t buy expensive appliances. We buy a model or two above the bottom of the line. I would rather have a broken $400 dishwasher to throw away than a broken $1200 dishwasher that needs $500 in repairs (BIL has a Bosch like that). If ours breaks, out it goes and a new one is in its place before dinner is on the table. I will not wait a week or a month for parts and repairs.

 

HotRod has different experience, that is very unusual. It would have to leak for a while to ruin a subfloor. I always put the finished floor completely under the DW so a leak would make water run out to where I could see it.

It was a slow leak that went for months before anyone noticed. The heating element got a little too close to the bottom of the tub and melting the plastic just a little. You are correct that it's not a common problem, though.

I still recommend a stainless steel tub for the reduction in noise. It doesn't add that much to the cost. Also, for anyone like me who keeps their DW for the long haul and replaces parts, the durability of the steel tub makes it worth it, IMHO.

My Whirlpool has been used daily, sometimes more than one load a day, for the last 9 years. I've replaced the recirculation pump 3 times, a couple of brackets and wheels for the racks, and the control board and heating element, but it's still going. Before that, I was lucky to get 3 years out of one.

 

We have a Kenmore that was highly rated by Consumer Reports 10 years ago. I suspect it's a Whirlpool. All kinds of cycles we never use. But, I really like the delay timer. Set it to run in the middle of the night. Don't have to listen to it, and wake up to clean dishes.

 

In the appliance world and IMO, there is never a "set in stone" rule for what may be the best brand name of appliance. As there may be 570K Bosh lovers or 570K Maytag lovers or 570K LG lovers giving their opinions, on which brand name appliance to buy.

As really, anytime we buy ANY brand of appliance and get it home and plug it in?

It will be a" roll of the dice" whether or not, our new appliance that on the day it was manufactured? That it got, all the known and good working parts installed in it. That it got, all of the necessary and good control boards/wiring connections on it.

Or that it, had all its hose clamps torqued correctly and the final QA check done on it correctly, by the person that may have just found they had cancer.

And this ^^^^ goes IMO, for ALL name brand appliances being built today.

 

And this ^^^^ goes IMO, for ALL name brand appliances being built today.

That's true for most of them, because most of them are produced by publicly traded companies, with their executive focused on short term financial results. When one of our seven Miele appliances dies, I'll buy another of theirs, for the reasons that I described in the following posts.

https://www.diychatroom.com/threads/1st-time-home-buyer-longest-lasting-appliance-questions.723831/page-2?post_id=6573949#post-6573949

https://www.diychatroom.com/threads/consensus-on-samsung-appliances.765238/?post_id=7088792#post-7088792

 

Just bought a new Bosch last month. Replaced a Kitchenaid that we had for 13 years. Wife liked the look of the Bosch. Does a good job and is very, very quiet.

 

The number one thing I am looking for is quiet.
After that, I want a visible display that I can see how much longer before it's done. An LED that reflects off the floor would be a deal breaker for me.

And for number one, that is likely going to be a higher end Bosch. Look at the specs - not all Bosch are equally quiet.
After I bought the Bosch at my last house, no way the dishwasher at my new house was going to be anything other than a Bosch.

 

The number one thing I am looking for is quiet.
After that, I want a visible display that I can see how much longer before it's done. An LED that reflects off the floor would be a deal breaker for me.

And for number one, that is likely going to be a higher end Bosch. Look at the specs - not all Bosch are equally quiet.
After I bought the Bosch at my last house, no way the dishwasher at my new house was going to be anything other than a Bosch.

Our Bosch has such a light, my wife hated it. A bit of duct tape cured theat.

 

Bosch used to have front mount controls, or top of door mounted controls and LED pointed at the floor. I guess some people like the clean look of having the controls hidden (top of door mounted controls).

When I bought most recently (2020) Bosch had updated most of their top mount control dishwashers to having an LED status display on the front.

 

Buy yourself a nice one during the next appliance sale. Stainless, low decibels. Stay away from $500-600 (retail price) junk.

 

Buy yourself a nice one during the next appliance sale.

You can even ask the salesman when it's going on sale.
He told me "Bosch is doing a promotion in XXX - can you wait until then?"

 

I would get another fisher & paykel. Extremely quiet, separate / independent top and bottom drawer wash cycles.

 

When buying a new dishwasher, pay attention to noise level (below 50 dB is ideal), energy efficiency, and stainless-steel tubs for durability. Hidden top controls look cleaner but make sure they’re easy to use. I usually check Dishwasher Service manuals to compare design and maintenance access, which gives a better idea of long-term reliability before choosing a model.

 

Next time around the only thing I’ll look for is the word Bosch on the front. The one we have now is the best we have ever owned in every way.