Thread Number: 55126
/ Tag: Modern Dishwashers
Calling all Dishwasher Aficionado's! - Wanting to Buy New |
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Post# 775175 , Reply# 1   8/3/2014 at 15:12 (3,524 days old) by pierreandreply4 (St-Bruno de montarville (province of quebec) canada)   |   | |
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Hello,
Have you tough about going with a vintage dishwasher from to 1990 to 1950 like these Credit to other aw member who pictures i had saved on my computer |
Post# 775187 , Reply# 3   8/3/2014 at 16:09 (3,524 days old) by funktionalart (Rison, AR)   |   | |
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I would highly recommend a good vintage KitchenAid as well. I personally have a 1993 Superba model....with the Hobart style chrome and black control panel. Very similar to the white machine in first pic...but NO fake wood grain. Framed door and kick plate panel can be removed and fitted with whatever colour or cabinet material you like. They are remarkably contemporary looking and suit new renovations nicely, believe it or not. They run FOREVER and actually CLEAN! Pardon my blurry photos...bad camera...but this is my unit in case you needed a visual reference.
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Post# 775234 , Reply# 5   8/3/2014 at 19:25 (3,524 days old) by murando531 (Augusta, Georgia - US)   |   | |
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Maytag is the only brand I'd currently buy new. Compared to every other dishwasher being made, theirs are still solidly built, have a substantial motor and pump, and still use enough water to clean well without being complete guzzlers. It's also one of the only brands currently that doesn't have a filter that has to be manually cleaned, and also operates all wash arms at once rather than alternating, which means the cycle times aren't near as long as the other models available.
If you can handle having a machine that is 5-10 years old, my recommendation is always the Whirlpool PowerClean. They're still new enough to look good with any kitchen, especially if you can find a black one in good condition, and they have the same features you'll find in new machines, minus the ignorant 2-4 hour cycles and anemic lawn sprinkler pumps. The big thing with these machines is the performance. Whirlpool and Sears' guarantee at the time was even that if you could bake a cake, and put it pan and all into the machine, and have a speck left after the cycle, they'd give it to you for free. Nothing on the market today can do that, besides possibly the Maytag. Possibly. They are also incredibly easy to work on and rarely ever malfunction if common sense is used. Parts are still pretty easily found. I have a 2000 model that is still running like a brand new machine, aside from a little cleaning and tuning that needed to be done when I got it. |
Post# 775272 , Reply# 6   8/3/2014 at 22:22 (3,524 days old) by jkbff (Happy Rock, ND)   |   | |
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I would also recommend a new Maytag. I have the MDB8959SBS and love it. Haven't had any issues with it yet. It has a food chopper and has lots of power. Plus this thing gets HOT when it needs to.
CLICK HERE TO GO TO jkbff's LINK |
Post# 776941 , Reply# 7   8/12/2014 at 14:59 (3,515 days old) by coreyare (Dullsville, Washington)   |   | |
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Thanks for all your help folks, we went with the Maytag MDB8959SBS NOW, what kind of detergent to use? |
Post# 776970 , Reply# 8   8/12/2014 at 17:51 (3,515 days old) by washerdude (Canada )   |   | |
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We had best luck with finish dishwasher gel with our new kenmore. I would also recommend cascade platinum tabs. |
Post# 777007 , Reply# 9   8/12/2014 at 22:03 (3,515 days old) by murando531 (Augusta, Georgia - US)   |   | |
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Post# 777041 , Reply# 10   8/13/2014 at 02:45 (3,515 days old) by jkbff (Happy Rock, ND)   |   | |
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In my MDB8959SBS I've tried Cascade Powder, Cascade Liquid, Finish PowerBall Tabs, Walmart brand pacs, Melaleuca Automatic Liquid, LemiShine Pacs and Cascade Platinum pacs.
I always go back to the Platinum. Don't get me wrong, some of the detergents do certain things better, the Melaleuca is awesome on glassware and crystal, the Finish is good on stoneware, I use the walmart pacs as my prewash soap on the jetclean plus cycle with power scrub, and I like the LemiShine for general stuff but the Platinum pacs make this dishwasher sparkle and everything in it comes out clean. Now, I am one that doesn't believe in adding rinse-aid in the dispenser, I fill it with water and let it run out. I hate hate hate having to rinse a glass before filling it with water. I hate the foam. But I have no issues, no spots or marks when I use the Cascade Platinum. My Stainless interior looks brand new, no water marks and my stainless cookware looks absolutely gorgeous. I don't use a lot of plastics, mainly stainless containers and cookware, stoneware and a lot of glass. If I don't run a quick wash, steam sanitize option is always selected. I know it sounds like a waste but the glass/stone/stainless items always seem cleaner and the hotter the non plastic items get the faster they dry. Again, I don't have water spotting issues. When a cycle is done, except for the quick wash (I only use that during prep with no dry cycle), I open the door and check that all the tops/dips of items are emptied (no puddles) and I leave the door partially opened to let the load air dry. I typically do this in the morning after I've ran a cycle and I am on my way to work. When I come home for lunch or supper I unload the dishwasher and I have no spotting issues, no dried on food, just clean dishes. I wouldn't say I have soft water but I wouldn't say I have extremely hard water either. Cascade platinum pacs are my go-to everyday pac, but thats what works for me. I know the dishwasher came with two sample pacs and some cascade rinse-aid, after the rinse-aid sample ran out, I never purchased more. Working in catering where we run load after load after load of dishes from a days' worth of prep, I began hating rinse-aid.. Depending on who was drying the dishes, if they didn't rinse the cookware etc, we'd have recipes flop because of the chemical components. I guess that dislike came home with me. The better quality the dish (not plastic) and the hotter you get it the faster it will dry. That is what I love the most about this unit -- it gets hot. I hope this helps and I wish you many years of enjoyed usage from this machine! --edit: Something I noticed when I was looking at lemi-shine's website is that their rinse-aid page says to turn off heated dry.. Cascade's says the same thing.. Finish doesn't mention it but.. I'm thinking with the way the pacs etc are made, maybe its ok/normal to not use rinse-aid if I am using heated dry... Oh, and this dishwasher is ... interesting when you listen to the noises.. When it fills, it starts and stops several times... If you open the door, the pump starts and stop 4 times before it takes off again and the machine can be used without the top rack, just make sure you are paying attention when you unclip all four clips on the top rack. I have a few oversized cutting boards and large beverage dispensers I can finally wash in the dishwasher. |
Post# 778680 , Reply# 12   8/22/2014 at 12:57 (3,505 days old) by brib68 (Central Connecticut)   |   | |
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I'm sure you made a sound choice on the Maytag. My mom's first DW was a MOL Maytag from the very late 70s or very early 80s, and it lasted for at least 20 years. Maytags of that era were "upside down"...plates went on top, glasses on bottom, but the washing results were great. We had a much newer Maytag Jet Clean with electronic controls at our first house in CT and the wash results were always great, and never had the sandy grit or random grains of rice left on dishes like with the GE and Hotpoint DW's we've had. The only downside with Maytag was the noise, even on the newer one. We put a new Kitchen Aid in the new house, and you can barely hear it run. But...you can't put anything 'challenging' to wash on the top rack. It's also had the same thermocouple replaced 3 times, but the last time they put in a re-designed part and (knock wood) it's been fine for quite some time now. (My mom got a much lower end KA when she remodeled, and she hasn't had a lick of trouble with it--kind of reinforces what you were looking for, doesn't it!)
As for dishwasher detergent, I get best results with Finish Powerball tabs and Finish Quantum tabs, at least in our water. The performance edge is rather slight over Cascade, but since Cascade is usually noticeably higher priced, it makes the buying decision much easier. |
Post# 781645 , Reply# 13   9/5/2014 at 13:12 (3,491 days old) by coreyare (Dullsville, Washington)   |   | |
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One last question on the Maytag MDB8959SBS, how does starting this machine work? Do you select a cycle while the door is open and then start it by pushing the button once the door is closed? Were trying to figure position and space with countertops and are not sure. |
Post# 781652 , Reply# 14   9/5/2014 at 13:40 (3,491 days old) by murando531 (Augusta, Georgia - US)   |   | |
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Post# 781711 , Reply# 15   9/5/2014 at 18:29 (3,491 days old) by jkbff (Happy Rock, ND)   |   | |
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When the start button is blinking it means it waiting for you to press it. It will stay solid after you press start.
I don't have a lip over mine so I just close the door and press the buttons but typically as you close the door you select the cycle and options then press start, the light will come on steady and you close the door. It will start after that. |
Post# 781999 , Reply# 16   9/6/2014 at 20:18 (3,490 days old) by mark_wpduet (Lexington KY)   |   | |
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I recently bought a new Maytag and I LOVE IT! I have yet to use the Jetclean plus steam cycle. I always use autoclean with tough scrub and hi temp. Finish powerball but I had a sample of Cascasde Platinum and I have to say it is a little bit better than finish. I haven't had any dirty dishes at all come out of my Maytag so far, but big difference I notice with the Cascade Platinum is the interior of the dishwasher does indeed look better.....That stainless steel really shows the least little water spot, that's for sure. But it sure shines with the cascasde platinum. I use rinse aid but I never have a problem with foam in glasses or feeling like I have to rinse them.....
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Post# 784994 , Reply# 18   9/21/2014 at 20:58 (3,475 days old) by whirlcool (Just North Of Houston, Texas)   |   | |
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For tea stains we bought a bag of the Oxi-Clean Dishwasher pods. It will easily remove coffee/tea residue from your cups. |
Post# 789937 , Reply# 19   10/21/2014 at 14:34 (3,445 days old) by coreyare (Dullsville, Washington)   |   | |
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Again, thanks for your help everyone, this unit really powers through icky dishes, and yes we did scrape the excess off before washing :) |
Post# 790020 , Reply# 20   10/22/2014 at 05:50 (3,444 days old) by appnut (TX)   |   | |
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Post# 790091 , Reply# 22   10/22/2014 at 17:47 (3,444 days old) by logixx (Germany)   |   | |
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Post# 790162 , Reply# 24   10/23/2014 at 05:56 (3,443 days old) by appnut (TX)   |   | |
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"Never use the heated options due to our abundance of plastic ware" I have a 7 year old Kenmore Elite Tall Tub that's the sibling of your new dishwasher. Spinach is the most difficult to remove. I find only the Pots & Pans Cycle (your Power Blast) cycle will take care of that. I have a bunch of plastic too and still use the PnP cycle, even high temp boost, but I won't use heated dry on those loads. Heated dry is what does the damage in my experience. |
Post# 790188 , Reply# 25   10/23/2014 at 09:41 (3,443 days old) by mark_wpduet (Lexington KY)   |   | |
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dry either. Most of the time (if I'm able) I open it as soon as it's done, give the racks a shake, and it an hour or so everything is dry. If you need dishes right away then I guess the dry cycle would come in handy. It's so funny because growing up, we were forbidden to ever use the dry cycle on our GE dishwasher because my parents said it would make the electric bill go through the roof, which I don't think is really true.
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Post# 790216 , Reply# 26   10/23/2014 at 12:12 (3,443 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)   |   | |
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Post# 792227 , Reply# 28   11/5/2014 at 15:01 (3,430 days old) by BoschExxcel ()   |   | |
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Keep it if it works fine and you still like it! |
Post# 792233 , Reply# 29   11/5/2014 at 15:50 (3,430 days old) by petek (Ontari ari ari O )   |   | |
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Post# 792234 , Reply# 30   11/5/2014 at 15:51 (3,430 days old) by murando531 (Augusta, Georgia - US)   |   | |
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Older is always better. Is your Whirlpool a tall tub or a standard tub? If it's the standard, it's most likely a PowerClean, and in that case don't EVER get rid of it until it all but dissolves into dust, but with common sense and good care that should never happen. If it's a tall tub, you're still in good shape, as they are still phenomenal performers, though slightly less powerful than the PowerClean and they take a little longer. If you post some pictures, that will give us a better idea.
The new Maytag is a great machine in comparison to what's on the sales floors now. They were revamped in the middle of this year. The pre-2014 models used the Point Voyager platform, the same that the Whirlpool/KitchenAid/Kenmore machines are built on with anything before this new “HE” version. The difference between the Maytags and its sisters was that while it used the same motor/pump/basically everything as the WP/KM/KA’s, the computer managed time, water, and heat more efficiently. It purges heavy soil from the accumulator while washing without having to do a complete water change, so that if dishes aren’t dirty enough to really need a prewash, it turns the initial fill into the main wash. The hard food disposal is also a four blade chopper rather than two. The newest version has been updated to use the same “plumbing” inside as the new WP/KA/KM resource-saver models, such as the pump location, the pump assembly, and the supply tubes to the upper rack, but they removed the flow diverter, meaning all arms are powered at once, and they added an accumulator filter in place of the manual filter along with keeping the four-blade chopper, which means that the pulverized debris is pulled out the drain during the mid-wash purges and during the drain itself. The wash arms have smaller diameter spray holes, but the motor is still a full-sized ~1/3HP motor just like the previous PV model, whereas the new WP built machines use the equivalent of what the drain pump motor is in a washing machine. |
Post# 794362 , Reply# 32   11/16/2014 at 21:21 (3,419 days old) by joeypete (Concord, NH)   |   | |
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I just purchased a new Frigidaire and love it so far. It's very quiet and cleans super well. Over the years I've had almost exclusively GE models and they were bullett proof and cleaned very well too. I haven't tried the new models but their lower priced ones and the Hotpoint's are basically the same as the older high end GE models. Noisy, but you can always add sound insulation. I've heard great things about Bosch too but they are on the pricier side. Maytag is built by Whirlpool and WP has an excellent reliability rating.
Good luck with your search! |