Finally a Dishwasher That Actually Cleans Dishes!

Review of Whirlpool Dishwasher (January 22, 2008)

As I mentioned in my earlier review of the Frigidaire dishwasher, my wife wanted a replacement dishwasher in our kitchen. Although the old one looked relatively new, it just did not do a good job cleaning the dishes. After trying all sorts of variations in settings, detergents, pre-rinsing, and other things, we were just not satisfied with the final results. We believe the previous owners of our home purchased this newer appliance in order to sell the house (it looks great!). So, I did my research on the internet and kept an eye out for a good deal on one of the top make brands at our favorite place to buy appliances, Lowes.

That lucky day came in November last year. I went to Lowes armed with a Home Depot $20 off any $200 purchase coupon. I had my heart set on purchasing a new storm door I had my eye on, but the price went up on the door, so I decided to pass on it. I decided to look over the dishwashers, and just my luck, there was a display model for sale – half off the original price! Yippee! I asked the salesman if they would honor the Home Depot coupon, and of course they said they would. (Lowes takes Home Depot coupons and Home Depot takes Lowes coupons. Isn’t life great?)

So, the dishwasher was marked down to $225. With the coupon, I paid $205. It was never used and it still had the plastic wrap on it. I asked the salesman why it was being marked down and he explained it was an extra display model and they did not have the room for it. So I took it home that night. The nice thing about buying a dishwasher is it is relatively light weight, and easy to pickup.

The next day I had off from work. I was going to replace a storm door, but I used the time to replace the dishwasher instead. The old Frigidaire model came right out after disconnecting the power line, the water hoses, and the discharge tube. I was amazed at how flimsy the discharge tube looked on both models, but I guess it serves its purpose.

The new Whirlpool dishwasher is the exact same standard size as the old dishwasher. The only modification required was to adjust the direction of the discharge outlet to the rear, 90 degrees. No big deal at all! I connected the electric line first, then the water supply hoses, then the discharge hose. I was planning on using all of the existing piping, but the discharge hose had a different end piece, so I used the new one instead. For this replacement swap, it took me less than 20 minutes to hook everything up. The only tools I needed were a straight bladed screwdriver (grrr! Read my review about screwdrivers…), plumber’s pliers, and needle nose pliers (to pull the electric wires out).

Putting the new dishwasher in place was more cumbersome than pulling the old one out. The new machine has a fiberglass insulation coat that is used to absorb sound. This kept getting caught up on the bottom side of the countertop, and on either side. It smooshed up, so I had to move the new machine in slowly, and push the insulation in on all sides. A minor inconvenience, but that was the worst part of the installation. After the machine was in place, I checked to make sure it was level. It was perfect! So the next step was to screw in the brackets to the underside of the countertop and replace the bottom panel. I would estimate the total time to remove the old machine and put the new one in place completely as 1 hour, 10 minutes and 45 seconds (not that I was timing myself, but I was waiting for a show to appear on TV, and I had just made it!)

I then removed all the cardboard, paperwork, and other stuff the manufacturer sticks into the dishwasher. There is a sticker that seems to be permanently stuck to the door. It seems to be permanently stuck there, so I left that one on.
The machine is loaded with features! Some of these features I’m sure are just marketing buzz, because the machine seems pretty much standard. It just looks very nice! The inside walls and racks have a luxurious grey coating (I would have preferred stainless steel walls, like on some of the other dishwashers I’ve seen, but it would have made the machine heavier and done little more to help clean dishes). The racks can be adjusted in several ways. They fold down to allow for various sized pots and pans. Also, the rack for silverware is mounted on the door, making it very convenient to load and unload. The old machine had the silverware rack sitting in the lower drawer. Sometimes a piece of silverware would fall down to the bottom of the dishwasher, making it difficult to retrieve. With the new machine, it would be pretty difficult to drop a piece of silverware on the bottom.
The machine is rather quiet, although I would not say it is silent. In fact, it is louder than the old machine. It makes motor noises mostly. However, it is not loud and not annoying to me. Besides, the noise from the Frigidaire refrigerator drowns out the dishwasher. The machine has all sorts of modes that it runs in. One really cool mode is auto select – the machine determines how many dishes you have loaded and selects the best cycle. Bah! I don’t believe it. It is probably preset to a middle selection that will clean the dishes clean no matter what. I tried to find out more about this feature, but it was not clearly explained anywhere, and the salesman at Lowes just shrugged his shoulders when I asked him.
Likewise, the machine has a temperature and soil sensor “With Power Scour Technology”. I’m not sure what this is all about, but it sure sounds cool. It does clean the dishes nicely. Power Scour? Hmmmm….there are no brushes or other devises to scour dishes. It must be some sort of jet spray the machines supplies. It also has an auto filter system and hard food disposal. I am also not sure how this works, but sure enough, any bits of food left on the plates when loaded do not clog up the bottom drain like on the old machine. In fact, the bottom always looks squeaky clean!
The dishwasher does have the Energy Star rating. It fairs well, although it did not meet the best in class standards on this model. For those people not familiar with Energy Star Ratings, the government has a program that manufacturers may send their appliances to and have them tested. The appliances are rated based upon how other appliances faired in the test. The rating shows a simple line with one end showing the most efficient model’s results, and the other the worst. This model finished within the top 25% area.
My wife is very pleased with the dishwasher. She often remarks how much better this machine cleans the dishes, compared with the older machine. The one downside is that it does take a lot longer to clean the dishes. I asked the salesman about this and he mentioned it is because this machine dries the dishes, which takes time. Oh well, fortunately we have plenty of other dishes on hand to use while the dirty dishes are being cleaned.
The machine can be used with powder or liquid dish detergent, made specifically for dishwashers. It also has a chamber to put Jet Dry in. I did not find any recommendations for any specific dishwasher detergents. We find the best detergent is the Walmart store brand.
I would highly recommend this machine. If you are a gadget person who loves bells and whistles (I’m not), you will have a ball! Fortunately, this machine has a simple two button mode for me to use – auto select and start. My wife gets into all of the other fancy buttons, which is fine with me. Anyway, I will not have to wash the dishes by hand any time soon! Thanks for reading my review!
Mike