Good, quiet, dishwasher

The original dishwasher that came with the house finally gave out (electrical control failure) after many, many years of dependable use. The original dishwasher cleaned well right up to the last, but was NOISY. Could not listen to TV in the next room when running it.

Time to go shopping...

All the newer dishwashers (except for some low end models) are now of the tall tub style. Tall tub is definitely a major advancement in design. There is now much more height between the racks because of the increased inside tub height. Also the overall appearance is nicer since there is no longer that separate access panel.

My first priority when looking for a new dishwasher, was the rated the noise level (measured in dB). After doing much research on the web, it appears that most dishwashers today are within a few dB of each other for noise levels, that is except for some high end European models (which are considerably more expensive).

Next it was price. No surprise that the appliance market is extremely competitive, so similar dishwashers with similar features are nearly priced the same.

So the final purchasing choice was based on personal preference. I like bells and whistles, and this Maytag dishwasher had the coolest looking front control panel with lots of lights and buttons. Since electrical controls are usually what fails, a good warranty is important to me. Maytag provides a 5 year warranty on the electrical controls.

I installed the dishwasher in an afternoon. Beware, just as the directions and warning stickers indicate, do NOT push on the front door panel itself when installing. I examined the bottom of the front door panel and concluded that it is somewhat flimsy, has no stiffening supports, and if you were to push on it too hard, that it would probably collapse and crease the door permanently. So I was VERY careful.

Also when installing a dishwasher, do yourself a favor and for plumbing it up, get a dishwasher installation kit. Which is just a right angle fitting and a flex hose with stainless steel outside reinforcement braiding.

It is important to install the lower noise abatement pieces correctly. Actually it is just plastic pieces and foam, but it does the trick and gives a finished appearance to the installation. Remember, the smallest opening to the underside of the dishwasher will result in a substantial increase in noise. So I reiterate, install the noise abatement pieces carefully.

As of this writing, the dishwasher has been installed for two months now. No problems. Dishes come clean. And the dishwasher is quiet :-) The delay start is a nice feature that I did not think was necessary, but after having it, I decided it is pretty nice to have.