Having recently purchased my first home, with a non-working 20 year old dishwasher, I was overwhelmed by all of the dishwasher choices. I was leaning towards Bosch because of the excellent service it has provided my friends over the years. They had started with a Kenmore that was a nightmare, and finally tried the Bosch based on advice from the repairman. (Good advice there, ask a repair person which appliance they have to service the least.)
I had seen this Ascenta line on some appliance site and the few reviews seemed a little bit conflicted. My friend has the Evolution line, so I was leaning towards that. Based on her advice, I was looking for something with manual controls, not a digital panel. But, let me tell you, that is hard to find. So, while at Lowes, not fully intending to even purchase, I checked out all of the models. It turns out, the Ascenta had just come out as a budget-friendly choice for a Bosch consumer. In fact, it was well over 200$ cheaper than the Evolution line.
Now, I had intended to do all stainless/black appliances but, the Stainless version of this model was 100$ more. I like the fact that there is a chrome trim on the handle here so that gives it more of a stainless trim feel. Eventually I determined that since I am putting in a kitchen island, and I have a dog, the black front might be a better choice, and to save $$.
Now, the real reason I chose this model. I am a single lady. While I am hoping to adopt and have some children, right now I am single. I rarely used my DW in my old apartment because I never could fill it up. So, when I saw the "Half Load" option on this model, I knew it was the right choice. So, I fill up the top shelf, put my silverware in the bottom bin, and off I go. The book will tell you the water savings, but it is significant.
The tub is mostly stainless, but the liner bottom is plastic. I was concerned about that but it doesn't seem to be an issue as of yet. I also like the delay start option, and the child lock. Now, I will tell you, the first cycle through, the dishes were all wet. I had a cheapo GE model in my apartment and was accustomed to leaving the dishes in and they would dry on their own. So, I was a bit miffed. But then I remembered, read the darn manual. Sure enough, this was listed as potential issues as well as the instructions on how to enable a more efficient dry mode. It is a little tricky, but follow the instructions, and it will be fine. So, this works on a condensation model, so the idea is the water is so hot at the end, that it will quickly evaporate with the stainless inside. After I made the adjustment, the dishes come out pretty much dry, unless something got upside down and has water in it. :-)
The top rack is tall enough to accept my Corelware plates, but not my slightly larger white dinner plates. So, when loading, just make sure the drawer will load, and that the spinning jets thing has room to move.
Now, if you want to know how well this thing cleans, let me give you an example, of which, I am surprised myself. I make a fruit smoothie with 3/4 c of frozen blueberries, one banana, 1 T milled flax seed, 1 dollup of honey, and one cup of soy milk. I drink that while I am driving to work. The cup then sits in my car all day. Normally, I have to soak it in hot water, and then use a teflon scrub pad to get it clean. Well, last night, I put in some of these smoothie cups expecting that they would not come clean. Well, imagine my surprise when I checked it this morning and they were squeaky clean! Amazing indeed.
Now, let's talk about the sound coming from this thing. Well, other than hearing the drainage coming through the sink (it drains through the sink disposer), it is so quiet, you can barely tell it is on. I think my friend's is more quiet, but she thinks mine is, so, it is a toss-up. In fact, I think that they are both rated as 53db. Keep in mind, there are three models of the Ascenta. This model seems to be the middle of the road of the 3. But, I am quite happy with it. The controls tell you when the load is done ,and sanitized. The only real complaint, and I hate to use that word, not really a "complaint" but the only thing I found a bit confusing was setting some of the hidden controls, like the aforementioned extra drying mode. But if you read the manual, and repeat the steps, it will work just fine. These hidden modes require pushing a combination of buttons to engage.
Rainbow Appliance
