Dishwasher features

Dishwashers vary in price -- and features -- from basic $300 models to stylish luxury units costing $1,000 or more. In general, the more expensive the dishwasher, the quieter it is and the more bells and whistles it includes. High-end dishwashers are often only a little louder than a running refrigerator, have highly adjustable racks, multiple wash cycles and sleek designs that often include hidden controls. Expensive dishwashers are often more energy-efficient, too. Although most dishwashers in all price ranges are Energy Star-qualified, luxury models usually exceed Energy Star standards for power use and consume less water without sacrificing cleanliness.

Budget dishwashers -- appliances costing from about $300 to about $500 -- lack adjustable racks, offer fewer wash cycles and are considerably louder. Most have plastic (rather than stainless-steel) wash tubs, which experts and owners agree are less durable and tend to stain over time. However, professional tests reveal that most inexpensive dishwashers clean as well, or almost as well, as their high-end counterparts.

Between these two extremes is a wide range of midpriced dishwashers, most of which cost about $600. Midpriced dishwashers are quieter than budget models but louder than luxury models and usually include several wash cycles and a built-in food disposer, which eliminates the need to scrape dishes before washing. Many have adjustable racks and a stainless-steel wash tub. Overall, we found this category receives the best feedback in owner reviews.

Here are some other things to consider when shopping for a dishwasher:

  • Contrary to popular belief, it doesn't pay to prerinse dishes. Dishwashers have become increasingly better at conserving water, with many using a scant 4 gallons per load. Yet the biggest water waste, according to ConsumerReports.org, lies with consumers themselves. Editors say that more than half of dishwasher owners prerinse dishes before washing, a step they say is completely unnecessary as it wastes water and makes little to no difference in cleaning performance. Most dishwashers had no problem handling stuck-on oatmeal and spinach-smeared dishes without prerinsing in professional testing -- even when left overnight to congeal.
  • As a rule, experts say the more places within the dishwasher that spray water, the cleaner the dishes get. This is expressed as the number of wash levels or tiers. The dishwashers included in the ConsumerSearch Best Reviewed section have three or more wash levels. For the best washing, there should be spray coming at least from the bottom, top and under the top rack. It is best to avoid the kind of bargain-basement dishwasher in which the water only sprays up from the bottom. What little water makes it past the dishes in the bottom rack doesn't spray the dishes in the top rack with enough force to thoroughly clean them. These units, known as builder's grade dishwashers, may be installed in your brand new home; be sure to check with your contractor.
  • Sensor washing can help save water and reduce the length of a wash cycle. This feature works by measuring the turbidity (cloudiness) of the water and using the information to determine whether additional rinse cycles can be skipped. This feature is becoming more commonplace, even on budget models.
  • Features such as folding tines and adjustable top racks give you more ways to position dishes. Another helpful feature is a self-cleaning filter with a hard-food disposer. Without it, any food particles left on plates will wind up accumulating at the bottom of the dishwasher, and you'll need to empty the filter manually. A high-temperature wash option is a hedge against germs, and a few extra cycles, such as china wash or quick wash, give you a way to protect fragile items or avoid wasting large quantities of water cleaning a lightly soiled load.
  • Other than ending up with dirty dishes, what's most likely to annoy people about their dishwasher is the noise it makes. Price seems to correspond with noise level, say reviewers, so more expensive models usually have better insulation. The lower the decibel level, the quieter the machine. Budget dishwashers may crank out levels as high as 60 decibels or more, and high-end dishwashers are comparatively quiet at 45 decibels.
  • A time-delay setting is handy, because it allows you to load up the dishwasher and set it to run when nobody's around to hear it. However, fire-prevention advocates say you should not run your dishwasher while you're away from home or asleep, for safety reasons. All the models included in the ConsumerSearch Best Reviewed section offer a delayed-start option.
  • A good detergent can make a world of difference. Today's enzyme-containing detergents are a great improvement over cleaners of the past, according to ConsumerReports.org. Enzymatic detergents, which use nontoxic, biodegradable chains of amino acids to break down food residue, are also much more environmentally friendly than traditional dishwashing detergents that contain phosphates. Bans on detergents that contain phosphates are in the works in several states because of the damage to local ecosystems that occurs when phosphates leech into lakes, causing overgrowth of algae -- a danger to marine life. See the ConsumerSearch report on dishwasher detergents.

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