Our Bosch dishwasher is more than 10 years old now and I still love it. Quiet and super reliable. Get the stainless interior (if there’s still a choice) – it will hold up much longer and stay cleaner. We did not get the highest end version – just mid-range and not that much more than other brands at the time. Have never had any odor issues.
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Bosch 800 series. The only downside: it is so quiet that we have to put a little label on it so it doesn’t get open by accident while it is on. Seriously.
The KitchenAid in the previous house required a ridiculously time-consuming cleanup every six months or so, and then it died after 10 years.
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We put in a Bosch about 6 years ago and I LOVE it. As far as cleaning the filter, I wonder if hard water plays a role. My sister has the same DW and has never cleaned the filter. She has soft water. We have very hard water and I clean the filter 2-3 times a year, soaking it in a vinegar and water mix. While it doesn’t make sense that hard water would make a difference, that is the only thing we have found to be different.
Weird coincidence that there is a dishwasher thread at all, and that it happens to be discussing our old dishwasher brand and our new dishwasher brand. I feel that I need to throw my $0.02 in the ring.
We had a Bosch dishwasher for 15 years (just about its expected lifespan) before it promptly exploded, both burning, and flooding, our kitchen, dining room, and the floor below. Nobody was home at the time so we very nearly lost our pets as well.
Please, please, before you buy a Bosch dishwasher look up “Bosch dishwasher fires” to read up on the matter—the company has a huge settlement fund because it’s such a common issue. And for current Bosch owners: consider replacing your machine before the end of its projected lifespan.
On the quiet Bosch - on our unit, there is a little light on the bottom right that is lit when it is running, so I look at that - esp if I add something and then restart it.
Wow on the Bosch dishwasher fire situation. Was the dishwasher running @pizneed2transfer while you were gone, or did the electrical situation happen on its own with the machine not running?
I have a KitchenAid that I installed eight years ago when we remodeled our kitchen. I’m not a fan at all – it leaves black gunk on the door and around the gaskets and frequently leaves food on the dishes. And I do clean the filter and even run some DW cleaner (Finish brand) through it every three months or so. Then I spend about half an hour with damp paper towels cleaning out the gunk wherever I can reach, which unfortunately isn’t everywhere. Also, the drying agent that I’m supposed to put in the door once a month or so (also a Finish product) just leaks out right away, so what happens is that I wind up using an entire bottle all at once and then nothing at all. I’ve stopped even using the stuff. I will gladly try a Bosch next time.
ETA: I looked up the Bosch dishwasher fires. It talks about a model that was recalled due to that problem.
Wow @veryhappy - that DW cleaning sounds like a terrible chore!
Interesting info about fires. I actually am a bit paranoid about leaving the DW or dryer running when not home. I do it on rare occassions, but typically try to only run when home. During covid, that’s easy - always home.
Yes dryers should not be left running. Which reminds me to have DH vacuum out the dryer vent for any lint; I clean the lint filter a lot, but it typically is lint catching on fire. Typically when lint filter is not regularly wiped down.
I tend to run the dishwasher when I can unload it after running.
Some utility rates are significantly lower at non-peak hours.
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Several years ago I debated the same two brands in the same upper-not highest price bracket. Take some dishes to the store and see how they fit. I found the Bosch with its close together and angle of spikes did not allow me to fit my cereal bowls the way I can with the K Aid one I bought. Could not have filled it with as many dirty dishes. I do like the top 3rd rack- we put spoons on one side and forks on the other instead of using the below containers- easy for H to unload (I’m the one who rearranges to get the most use of space). Having the second rack high enough for dinner plates (Corelle) on the first level means not enough room for stemmed wine glasses because of the third rack- worth having though.
To get a quieter dishwasher the filter becomes manual- no grinder noises. Since we run ours only every four days or so I rinse off particulates so I don’t have to unclog the filter. Likewise we rinse milk products to avoid the odor. Yes, rinsing too much off is not good as the wash sensors need the stuff to know to clean enough. But- I also rinse off sticky rice and oatmeal that dries on and sticks. That’s our tradeoff for not running a nearly empty dishwasher every day.
Had to have service done once when a broken glass chip ruined something. Need to watch those glasses so they don’t fall and break. Also drying does not completely work (despite Quantum Finish with the rinse aid) on plastic cups and containers- tops wet. No dishwasher is perfect, sigh.
Both will be quiet for same decibel level but do be sure you can max out the placement of your commonly used dirty dishes. And figure out how often you will run it and deal with particles that fill a filter.
Another vote for Bosch. We have had a 300, a 500 and currently an 800 3 rack series . The space efficiencies are great if you use standard sized plates, but terrible for the oversized ones. The latest ‘crystal dry’ models actually dry plastic OK, even without a rinse aid. I don’t want another chemical on my plates. You have to clean the filter every 1-2 loads if you just scrape your plates.
We put our pots and pans in the dishwasher and the Bosch is the only brand that lets us fit a meals worth of dishes, utensils and cookware in one load. It takes a long time to run, almost 3 hrs. but it is so quiet that you don’t notice it.
We bought a 2nd house with a GE dishwasher with the center rising spray tower and nothing fits. It has an exposed heating element which I hate. Plastic lids have fallen too many times and melted. In addition, the dishwasher had some vile yellow goo stuck on the bottom from congealed fats that were baked multiple times. It took hours to clean it and partial disassembly.
I just ordered a new Bosch to replace the GE.
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We had a GE for many years that worked well and was reasonably quitet. We had bought that because it was much less expensive than the Bosch at the time. When we went we bought a Bosch. I remarked to the salesman that the price was no longer that different, and he said it was because the other dishwashers had gone up in price.
I agree with @anon94785555 that my only complaint is that bowls do not load well in the Bosch. I didn’t think of bringing bowls with me to try. I actually bought some less expensive, shallower bowls that fit fine. Like others, we don’t run the dishwasher after every meal so the dishes need to be rinsed and need to use rinse aid. Clearing the filter is easy, but definitely need to do that.
It is incredibly quiet and so far so good.
If a quiet dishwasher is important—Miele and Bosch are the quietest.
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Lots of great comments here. I am a ‘creature of habit’. The only setting I use on my Bosch (Silence Plus dBA) is ‘Normal’ which takes 2:15, 2 hours 15 min. I run it fully loaded with all stuck on junk cleaned off first. I think some of the sales comments of cleaning better w/o pre-rinsing is sales pitch - to me, the dishwasher soap pellet or liquid put in the dispense along with the water and dishwasher action will clean better on dishes etc that are not heavily soiled going in. When you push ‘start’ you have 3 sec to have the door shut to have it start (and when you add items, have to push start and close the door in 3 sec). The little red light that reflects on the floor on the right side lets me know the dishwasher is running (light is hidden behind the face panel).
I add ‘Finish’ even if my soap pellet has a rinse pellet. I love having the crystal clear glasses coming out.
After 3 years, I just got the Error 22 message on my Bosch 800 series this morning - the filter was clogged. It took 3 stress-free minutes to remove, clean, and re-install it.
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That is amazing that it took 3 years!. Ours are full of goo, vegetable scraps, etc. , and some yellow congealed stuff after a few cycles. I also don’t want that contacting the cleaned dishes, it can hardly be sanitary.
On our previous Bosch I would pull out the filter every so often. Usually it would just have a slight film on it.
I probably had checked the filter on this newer Bosch machine after a few runs, but I just checked it now after running for probably 2 years. There were a few strands of hair (I have long hair) and a little wet dust like debree with the hair. Otherwise I just wiped down with a paper towel the dust like film on the machine end to get a shiny look. Rinsed off the filter which had nothing on it.
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I don’t know why it was not needed for so long. We use the Sanitize function every time but otherwise, I cannot see anything special about the way we use it, the water in the city is average.
Wish we had had better luck with a Bosch.
When considering brands’ quietness do pay attention to the quoted decibel levels. Various brands have differing dB levels among the models- more expensive the quietest. I decided on a price/quietness sweet spot when choosing.