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Tuesday, March 19th
Frigidaire has been around since the early 1900s and has been well-known for generations. The dishwashers are very good at cleaning, can last up to ten years, have a variety of options and colors, and are reasonably priced. However, their drying power isn't as good as their cleaning power, they have a less-than-desirable rack design, and can be louder than their competitors' dishwashers.
Maytag has dishwashers with premium looks and features without the price tag of the fancier brands. Most of their models cost under $1,000 and have quite desirable features. Maytag's goal is to balance quality and value, perhaps better so than their competitors. Unfortunately, their customer service contact information can be hard to find, and once found, they may not get back to you, plus the parts you need fixed may not be covered under warranty.
Most of us don't think too much about our dishwasher. We load the dishes, it cleans, we empty. But when the dishes aren't coming out as clean as they should, it's taking more rinsing to get all the food off, you're drying your dishes by hand because the machine doesn't, or if the coating on the tines is chipping off, you might start thinking about replacing your appliance for one that holds up and maybe has some nice features that you deserve.
Did you know there are three types of dishwashers? There's built-in, countertop, and drawer. Built-in dishwashers are the traditional dishwashers most of us have had in our homes. They are full-sized or even narrow and apartment-sized, and are slid in below the counter. Counter-top dishwashers can be found in Europe and are just that - they are small and fit on the counter. The drawer models are shallow and fit below the counter. Because they are the most common type, we will look at only the built-in models.
Think about what you want in your new appliance. You'll obviously want a dishwasher that does a good job of washing your dishes. There are a lot of fun features you can have, such as a third rack, lights, and smart capabilities, but if the machine doesn't do a good job of actually washing your dishes, what's the point of any of the bells and whistles?
So once you choose a brand that you like, you can select your wish list features such as the third, top rack; a quick-wash cycle; a delay start; self-cleaning filters - yes, you should know if you need to clean your filters for maintenance, which is typical; food pulverizers; interior components made of stainless steel to promote longevity; child locks; sanitizer settings; sustainable materials; special jets under the silverware caddy; and smart capabilities, so you can control the dishwasher from your phone or smart home system.
And that's just the beginning. Here are several other criteria to keep in mind as you shop for your new kitchen appliance:
To help you make this important purchasing decision, Top Consumer Reviews has evaluated today's most popular dishwasher brands. If you're done spending too much time pre-washing your dishes, continually re-arranging them because the rack and tine design is poor, drying them after the dishwasher supposedly dried them, or re-washing after the clumps of old food just don't come off after a full cycle, do consider a new dishwasher. You can save a lot of time by not pre-washing, post-washing, and drying. And with all that extra time, you could relax reading a book or watching your favorite show while a super quiet dishwasher does all the work while making virtually no noise.
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