Who else has a Bosch dishwasher? How does it work?
Folks: In an effort to become the consummate condo-dwelling yuppie, I replaced my 10-year-old (mid-priced) Whirlpool dishwasher, whose cleaning power was beginning to fade, with a $1200 Bosch. The new Bosch leaves food on silverware and dishes and can’t clean pots or pans. The Whirlpool, at age 10, did a far better job. Compared to the Whirlpool when new (throw in any dirty dish, without scraping or rinsing, and pots with all kinds of stuck-on crud), the Bosch is a joke. (full story) Anyone else have a Bosch dishwasher? How does it compare to your old American-style dishwasher?
[Update: After four service visits, Bosch figured out that the circulation pump on this machine was defective. Service visits number 5, 6, and 7 were devoted to bringing out a replacement part, opening the box, discovering that the replacement part was also defective, and driving away. We’re still waiting for service visit number 8.]
Matt Haughey
March 11, 2008 @ 3:04 pm
Really? That’s odd. I went from a crappy old american dishwater (kenmore something) to a $1300 Bosch last year. I shopped on noise levels mostly and picked Bosch’s second quietest model available (the highest end one was 1dB quieter for several hundred more, didn’t seem worth it).
Two things immediately jumped out after using the Bosch. One, it was really, really quiet. It has a light on it to let you know it is running and you shouldn’t open it and I thought that was a bit of boastful marketing by Bosch but I literally can’t hear it running during most cycles and have accidentally opened it a few times. Now I look for the light.
The second thing is that it’s really amazing on food left on plates. With my old ~$500 crappy dishwasher I had to wash everything first with a sponge and soap to get everything off, but I’ve loaded the dishwasher with an entire Thanksgiving table full of plates, covered in caked on food, and it all came out sparkling.
Maybe it’s the soap or water hardness/softness where you live? For me, the Bosch I got is a bulletproof tank that can seemingly wash anything I throw at it, and it does so without sounding like a jet engine taking off in my kitchen.
Larry
March 11, 2008 @ 3:31 pm
Funny, I had a Whirlpool that I put in in 2001. In the 5 years I owned it I replaced one part (the macerator) 5 times, and reseated it countless more. When the macerator was working it did a decent job of cleaning. However it would soon break again and then the dishes would get little bits of sh*t stuck all over them.
The Bosch has yet to have a problem, is much quiter, and only leaves food on if the dishes are touching when loaded.
I would imagine you have a defective unit, and I would get it repaired. Or maybe my $800 Bosch is much better than the $1200 units.
abe hollander
March 11, 2008 @ 3:52 pm
Our Bosch came with the house we bought in ‘04, and it’s pretty dern nice. Like Matt says, it’s churchmouse emulation is commendable. Cleans as well as any washer we’ve owned (admittedly a small collection).
My only peeve with it is that it often stinks to high-heaven. Dirty or clean, anytime you open it more than - say - 12 hours after it’s been run, it stinks. I check the trap, and sometimes there’s food product, othertimes not. That part’s inconsistent, but the stink is not.
It apparently doesn’t deter our 2 Boston Terriers from their “pre-wash” duties, but that’s my only beef.
DC
March 11, 2008 @ 3:58 pm
I have a Bosch. As you say, it is very, very quiet, and looks cool. It’s also very water efficient. It doesn’t clean very well unless you rinse the sticky stuff off first. It’s especially bad at cleaning the silverware unless they are rinsed. So much for water efficiency. Did I mention it looks cool?
Colin Summers
March 11, 2008 @ 4:10 pm
I bought a $500 unit at Sears. I think it’s a Kenmore. It works great, even on pots crusted with cooked-on cheese and pasta.
massmarrier
March 11, 2008 @ 4:13 pm
Funny (not ha ha). We’ve been using a Bosch dishwasher for about five years and are delighted. We had an old U.S. one that came with the house. It did a middling job. It sounded like a cement mixer.
We did the ratings thing and coughed up $100 or $150 extra for the Bosch. We had existing connections, so I could just put it in myself. I think that saved $50 or so.
We and any dinner guests are extraordinarily pleased at how quiet it is. I think it sells itself to many who have the old style. We leave the kitchen door and are not aware of it running while we talk in the adjacent dining room.
Also, a former boss (engineer, of course) is really into appliances. He found I had gotten a new dishwasher and just had to know what. It was the same make and model he had. He’d go on about its glories in cleaning, plus how quiet it is.
My only complaint is that it seems to take longer to run through the pot-scrubber cycle. So, if we have a large party, we usually have to do a full load after dinner and run a second in the morning after the washing and drying cycles complete.
You should have it checked out. Ours is vastly superior in cleaning dishes. We can leave a decent amount of food on plates and its mini-disposal thing eats it up. Oh, and if the kids all take showers, its warm-up-lukewarm-input-water is a great touch.
I think German engineering is great on these.
Len VT
March 11, 2008 @ 4:24 pm
When we remodeled 3 years ago we were looking at Bosch dishwashers because we had heard good things about them. Two different appliance stores had the same story about Bosch, they used to be great but when they moved production to the US they started using cheaper parts and quality declined. Both advised strongly against buying a Bosch. Who knows if the story is true but I am glad we didn’t buy one, a quick search shows a lot of folks are having problems.
We ended up buying a KitchenAid dishwasher. It was almost as expense, just as quiet and has worked well. It has “hung” a few times where it gets into a state that causes it not to run. A quick search on google and I found out how to do a hard reset, then it works fine.
We also bought a KitchenAid stove which I really like except for the 2 times it broke down because of bad circuit boards. Fortunately it was still under warranty both times.
It’s funny that both these appliances have problems caused by their computers, I shouldn’t be surprised.
Preston L. Bannister
March 11, 2008 @ 4:31 pm
The Bosch dishwasher I put in a few years ago is excellent.
Replaced the basic American model put in when the house was new, with a mid-range Bosch (pretty sure it was much less than $1K). Mainly I wanted something quieter - now I cannot hear the dishwasher from the upstairs loft/study, and the noise from washing is unobtrusive even in the same room (no doubt the more expensive models are even quieter).
I was accustomed to a bit of pre-washing with the all the other dishwashers I’d ever used … not a bother, and seemed to get reasonable results. What I did not expect is that the Bosch does a *much* better job than the old dishwasher. With the Bosch I get cleaner results with less prep, and less spotting (to be honest, better than I expected from an automatic dishwasher).
But Philip … isn’t it a bit late to become a Yuppie?
mc
March 11, 2008 @ 4:31 pm
I second the odd bit. My decision rule at the time I got my Bosch was ‘get the cheapest one that has the controls on the top edge’. Seven or eight years ago, that meant ‘painted, not stainless’ and ‘no floor-illuminating led’. I really have no complaints on the unit, and it works better than the american unit it replaced.
Dave Magliano
March 11, 2008 @ 4:36 pm
We put in a nice Bosch during a remodel a few years ago. We had the same problem. Cloudy glasses, dirty silverware and grimy plates. I was complaining to a friend and he asked me what detergent I was using (this was not the manliest conversation I’ve ever had.) He suggested I try Cascade Complete brand detergent. It seemed like a cheap experiment to save a new dishwasher with which I was very unimpressed. Worked like a champ. Shiny and clean. We’ve been using it ever since.
Best of luck,
Dave
(not affiliated with Cascade)
philg
March 11, 2008 @ 4:39 pm
Dave: Cascade Complete? I checked out their Web site and it seems to come as a powder and also a gel. Bosch says to use only powered detergent. Are you using gel or powdered? [Note that the Whirlpool’s performance was the same regardless of detergent used.]
Charles
March 11, 2008 @ 5:00 pm
Phil,
We got the mid-range Bosch a few years ago. My wife was at first not very happy with it because the dishes were never dry and let me know about it. But one morning we were watching the house-porn show (AKA, “This Old House”) and they were doing a tour of the Bosch factory and the manager told Norm that you must use rinse agent because the new energy efficent models don’t get as hot as the older models. Problem solved and my wife now loves the quieter Bosch.
Matt Haughey
March 11, 2008 @ 5:08 pm
For what it’s worth, we use Electrasol (those little cube things) detergent in our Bosch and we load up the rinse with that standard name brand blue no-spots stuff to get our stuff clean. I forgot to mention we have pretty high water pressure, which might also help — the times I have opened the door while it is running, tons of water is spraying all over the place inside of it.
ah
March 11, 2008 @ 5:25 pm
The stink is an installation issue, btw (to one of the commenters, not Philip). It means that the flex pipe connecting the dishwasher to the drain is at the wrong angle, and a kink somewhere is filling up with macerated garbage. Call the installer to fix it.
Our Bosch rules. Eats everything, unless we throw at least 1.5 cups of cooked rice in there (did it once, the trap overflowed, and the dishes got kinda starchy). We’re happy. Philip, you have a defective washer.
SwirlyGrrl
March 11, 2008 @ 5:45 pm
My first reaction was “cascade complete”. It has all these enzymes that eat food, and was so thorough that Consumer Reports completely redid their dishwasher ratings when it came out. We get ours at Costco in powder form.
Other than that, check that it is installed correctly. I have heard that if a dishwasher is put on a cold water line, problems like this will happen. Also check that the drain is draining properly.
philg
March 11, 2008 @ 6:04 pm
Everyone: I am using rinse agent. The dishes are reasonably dry when they come out (albeit not much cleaner than when they went in). My water pressure is probably lower than average, since I’m on the 3rd floor, though that did not slow down the Whirlpool.
SwirlyGrrl: Thank you. I’m 99% sure that it is hooked up to the hot water line (just checked). There is only one hose going over to the dishwasher and it plugs into a tap from the previous Whirlpool installation.
I have a feeling that there is some sort of pump in this one that is not strong enough. The sprayers are never pushing water very hard. It seems about the same as leaving a dish under a running tap.
Eddy
March 11, 2008 @ 6:30 pm
I’ve had a Bosch mini (45cm) dishwasher for the past nine years, and found it excellent. Replaced it three years ago with an updated version, due to a catastrophic failure on the inlet valve caused by our friendly road maintenance department letting a lot of grit into the mains water supply.
Replacement Bosch is more modern (the countdown LCD displaying time left until program completion is particularly nice) but cleans just as well. We’re moving to a bigger house in six months, and the full-size replacement dishwasher we buy will almost certainly be another Bosch.
I’ve found the key to consistently good results is keeping the salt for water-softening topped up, and using decent detergent. That said, my habit is to briefly rince heavily stained plates under the tap before it has a chance to dry-in; this may help some.
janine
March 11, 2008 @ 6:33 pm
I’m on my second Bosch. The first one was recommended by an appliance salesperson (the kind of small shop in a small town where they actually know what they’re talking about) and the second I chose myself. The dishwasher was the one appliance I could not live with in the new house and a new Bosch went in along with the refrigerator. I love it, and it does an excellent job (I never rinse the dirty dishes, just sort of roughly scrape them off).
I am no appliance expert but it sounds to me like yours isn’t draining properly, so the dirty water is being recirculated and redepositing food bits back on the dishes. The Bosch doesn’t have a built-in grinder like some other high-end models; there are several filters at the bottom that you are supposed to periodically check and rinse off if needed. Maybe they were installed incorrectly and/or filled up with gunk?
I use the Electrosol cubes from Costco; not very environmentally friendly since each comes individually wrapped in plastic, but they get the job done. The Cascade gel packs would seem better since the outer “skin” dissolves, but Consumer Reports says that the Electrosol cubes do a better job. Bummer.
Dave Magliano
March 11, 2008 @ 6:49 pm
We’re using the powder. I was surprised by the difference between using Cascade Complete and the recommended little soap nuggets that can as a sample with the Bosch. YMMV
Mike R
March 11, 2008 @ 6:56 pm
I’ve been having the same doubts about my Bosch. When we bought a new house in 2006 we splurged on one after having nasty problems with the GE unit in our old house. It was $1300 (CDN$) and far more than any other brand. It’s a middle-of-the-road unit, with the buttons on top of the door but no readout. There’s no delayed start.
It’s very quiet but our crappy old GE did a better job on most things and seemed easier to load because the tines were better placed. For our dishes, anyway. I was finding the washing performance was pretty…meh. I did notice the odor thing a bit. The ‘Power Wash’ mode seems quite good though. After Xmas I found the trap was pretty full of yuck and this was affecting the performance. I think it was draining poorly because of it.
I recently started buying powdered Cascade and it smells a lot better; it may be washing better too but I can’t tell yet.
m.
steve roberts
March 11, 2008 @ 7:04 pm
I use both gel and powder in my bosch-replaced a sucky highend GE profile washer- works well regardless- actually a little too good at times and has faded some of the custom coffee cups I have with cheesy pics of my kids on them.
It is amazingly quiet. They do say they need to have their solid food strainer cleaned out at times but even slapping nasty barely scraped clean dishes in it I am happy to say the need for cleaning the easily removable filter is very rare- maybe twice in the 9 months I’ve had it.
Line pressure matters little to a dishwasher- they load a few gallons of water in then recirculate with their own pump- thats why dishwashers are actually “greener” than running warm water in your sink which just goes down the drain.
Only problem- my “cheapo” wine glasses which I do put in the dishwasher have been etched a bit in spite of the soft water at my house. Maybe from the times I use gel? No problems with other glassware though- I just pull out the Reidels for company.
Picked my current model on a Consumer Reports from last year and couldn’t be happier
Michael J.
March 11, 2008 @ 7:36 pm
My two thoughts on the Bosch: 1) Rinse the dishes in the sink prior to placing them in the dishwasher; 2) Run the water at the sink to make sure it is hot before starting the dishwasher. I know, you’d think you could avoid both of those with a $1,200 dishwasher…. but if you do them the results should be much better.
philg
March 11, 2008 @ 7:39 pm
Michael: We are already doing what you suggest (pre-washing all the dishes in the sink and running the water until it is hot). I didn’t do either with the old Whirlpool and it still did a far better job.
Jay Levitt
March 11, 2008 @ 8:06 pm
Check out http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/ … it’s the biggest appliance-geek gathering I’ve ever seen. When I was renovating a house in 2000, I sifted through all the advice there. At the time, the consensus in fancy European dishwashers was “Miele is worth the money; Asko and Bosch don’t quite perform.” (I can’t remember what they said about Gaggenau, Fischer & Paykel, et al.)
I’ve never actually tried the Miele dishwasher, but I love the washer/dryer so much that I actually re-washed all my clothes when I got the washer, because they came out stunningly soft. (Keep in mind that I’m normally so lazy, I’ve been known to take wrinkled clothes from the dryer and run a new washer load so I didn’t have to fold them.)
Michael R. Bernstein
March 11, 2008 @ 10:51 pm
A couple of years ago we replaced the standard Kenmore dishwasher that came with the house (cheapest piece of crap the builder could get away with) that we had been suffering with for about five years with a near-top-of-the-line Kenmore Elite (stainless interior, white exterior, etc.). This new washer is quiet, eats chicken bones if necessary, and in extremis has a pot-scrubber mode that makes short work of dried-on egg yolks, brownie batter, and similar substances for the rare occasions that the regular cycle is inadequate, so no pre-soaking or rinsing is needed.
andrew
March 11, 2008 @ 10:53 pm
I bought the $800 Bosch about a year ago. It works quietly and cleans very well (I use regular Cascade powder and the recommended rinse agent). I’d recommend it to anyone who is willing to spend a couple hundred extra for looks & quiet.
Out of habit, I quickly pre-rinse dishes before putting them in, and I always run the “rinse and hold” cycle on an incomplete load. “Rinse and hold” just runs the hot water jets for 10 minutes, no soap, etc — so there shouldn’t be much food matter remaining on the dishes to dry out and harden over the next day or two before the unit is full.
My only complaint about the Bosch is that the regular cycle takes ~120 minutes (mysteriously, the initial countdown timer doesn’t start from the same point consistently — this is immediately after selecting the cycle, can’t imagine it’s sensing water temperature or anything else…)
Two hours seems like a long time. But it’s quiet, and doesn’t use a whole lot of water or power…so the duration isn’t that important to me.
I’m with previous posters — I think your unit is defective. Good luck.
James
March 11, 2008 @ 11:45 pm
Check to see if any built-up lime is clogging screen in the water line. This is also a good fix for your kitchen sink faucet if you notice the water volume decreasing.
Kitchen Aid is the gold standard when it comes to dishwashers, even the low-mid models.
Ry4an
March 12, 2008 @ 12:14 am
The be all end all of appliance information, especially as pertaining to value, comes from Samurai Appliance Repairman at http://fixitnow.com/ .
He takes a hard line with respect to computer controls in wet appliances, and while that eliminates the sexy LCD displays it really does improve reliability. He also does a great job of sussing out which appliances are expensive because they’re well marketed and which are expensive because they’re actually well built.
http://fixitnow.com/wp/2003/09/24/mailbag-appliance-brand-recommendations/
Michael
March 12, 2008 @ 12:28 am
Yet another vote for the Bosch works great. Plus I am in your neighborhood so the water chemistry is probably the same. On the second floor. Never used any rinse agent and not much detergent and they still come out fine. Interesting that you mention the Whirlpool was “beginning to fade” before you got the Bosch.
Hmm… seems like there is some kind of water pressure issue.
One thing a plumber mentioned to me was that Cambridge is notorious(?) for calcification build up in the pipes leading to restricted waterflow/ damage to fixtures. He then recommended a water filter or softener be put in at the supply entrance. (He is a friend of family so I don’t think it was an upsell tactic.)
philg
March 12, 2008 @ 12:51 am
James: Water pressure at the kitchen faucet is excellent. We had the water line from the main to the house replaced a couple of years ago when they replaced the water main along our street. Over the 100+ years that the water line had been been in place, it had definitely become restricted.
Michael: You don’t think the Whirlpool’s fading could be related to its age? The thing was 10+ years old and I don’t think American dishwashers are designed to last more than 10 years.
Colin
March 12, 2008 @ 1:17 pm
Love our older Bosch DW. Worth every penny. New Bosch washer is good, too.
I’d call for service under warranty.
Jeff Wasilko
March 13, 2008 @ 12:41 am
I’d say you’ve got a lemon, or an installation problem.
I’ve had 3 Bosches, one in each of the condos I’ve owned. The most recent one was purchased in 2001 and has been perfect since.
A friend of mine just bought a recent high-end Bosch to replace a Viking, and he said it was much much quieter and washed better…
ray
March 13, 2008 @ 12:08 pm
Just for kicks, check that your line into the hot water is turned on all the way. It could also have a blockage in the input pipe that is causing there to not be enough pressure.
It really does sound like you aren’t getting enough water pressure into the dishwasher, this might be independent of the water pressure in your sink.
philg
March 13, 2008 @ 2:12 pm
Ray: Okay, I checked the valve. It is warm, so it is definitely hooked up to the hot water. It was open 98% of the way.
Everyone else: I tried Cascade Complete and it seems to work somewhat better than with the previous range of detergents. Thanks for the suggestion!
David
March 13, 2008 @ 3:41 pm
We purchased a Bosh to replace a failed Maytag(horrible piece of crap) about two years back.
Agree with all the comments about (lack of)noise levels.
Haven’t had any issues with dishes being dirty after a wash.
Our current issue is the dishwasher failed last week, it stopped draining fully at the end of the wash cycle. No resolution yet, the repairman is due on Wednesday. I’m guessing a water level sensor. Possibly we have one of those bad ones made in the USA.
Update: The service man replaced the pump, free of charge.(2 year parts). Everything came out clean and the water drained normally.
dilbert dogbert
March 13, 2008 @ 11:16 pm
Got Bosch, two, both years old and they work as well as any DW we have owned.
Use Cascade, green gel, and the glass items come out sparkling. No problems with heavy crud encrusted stuff. We like quiet as the kitchen is open to the TV room. No smells or stink.
We never let the load dry via the heating element. We just open the door and let it air dry.
Your unit needs service of some kind.
philg
March 15, 2008 @ 10:35 am
One last question for the Bosch crowd: How intense is the spray coming out of the arms? If you open the door while the unit is operating, do you get splashed with any water? Mine never generates enough spray to cause a splash.
Mike G
March 17, 2008 @ 12:48 pm
2 years ago we replaced our dying 8 year-old Whirlpool with a high-end Bosch simply because we wanted something quieter. It’s so quiet you can hardly hear it and cleans much better than our Whirlpool ever did. I think your problem is with the detergent. We do a very quick rinse before loading (no scrubbing) and use Cascade Complete 2in1 ActionPacs or Electrosol 3in1Powerball Tabs; both work fine.
The only “problem” we’ve had is that, since there is no vent fan or drying element, the unit needs to be left open overnight in order for plastic items to dry completely. This isn’t a problem since it also helps to ensure that mold and rust aren’t problems (the same thing we do with our horizontal washing machine).
Greg W
March 22, 2008 @ 12:35 pm
I own a bosch that worked great for the first few years then started showing the same symptoms you mention. I called service out and they fixed it and it went back to working great. I never prewash anything I put into it, just scrap big stuff into the trash. BTW, the service guy also recommended Cascade Complete.
philg
March 24, 2008 @ 4:51 pm
I’m out of town and delegated the challenge of dealing with Bosch to a friend. Here is his report on service visit #4: “It was the same guy who claimed that the drain tube was improperly installed underneath the sink. This time he tested the unit and claimed it needs a new circulation pump. I made an appointment for him to come back next week.”
alexander
March 25, 2008 @ 1:23 am
So does anyone have this oil or tar like smell coming from the top of the dishwasher. Not inside the machine but the top insulation part.
Bosch replaced my first dishwasher after my complaint, now the replacement smells worse.
They know there is a problem since the first repairman called Bosch and he confirmed the problem.
Maybe different models do not have this problem.
philg
March 31, 2008 @ 6:13 pm
Service visit #5 report: “The Bosch guy brought a broken part. He is coming back again next week.”
Jeanne
April 4, 2008 @ 8:56 pm
I just bought a Bosh model SHV45M03UC. Am I the only way whose soup bowls and tall drinking glasses fall over and crash on top of one another in the top rack? It’s driving me crazy. I can’t figure it out. I have to be SO CAREFUL pushing the top tray in and out to prevent the bowls from fall over. Very aggravating.
Finally I decided, all right, I’ll just have to deal with it - treat the top rack like it’s explosive or something. However, even if I do that, and I get the rack pushed all the way in with everything still standing…when I click the door shut to turn on the machine, the bowls fall over.
I’ve only found one or two other mentions of this on the internet. Does this happen to anyone else here with a Bosch dishwasher? Help!
Jeanne
philg
April 7, 2008 @ 3:38 pm
Service visit #6 report: “The exact same thing happened again today. He is coming back again next week (with the promise that they’ll send two units, both pre-inspected).”
grace handley
April 8, 2008 @ 2:13 am
not too pleased with my bosch dishwasher–not real quiet and dishes do not come out that clean. and seems cycle runs forever. grace
Jan
April 12, 2008 @ 7:44 pm
I bought an $800 Bosch because my old GE was just too noisy. I at first was very impressed with the Bosch because of how quiet it is. Then I started noticing this awful smell coming from it. I have tried everything from constantly cleaning out the filters, mopping up any excess water under the filter, putting baking soda and vinegar in and running a cycle (this recommended by Sears) and it still stinks! Also my cutlery is never really clean and I have to pre-rinse the dishes, contrary to what the Bosch repairman told me when he came out. I have tried all the different soap powders and use rinse agent but the dishes are still not spotless. I wish I had never got rid of my old GE because it was great compared to Bosch. I would not recommend it except for the noise level is excellent.
philg
April 18, 2008 @ 6:09 pm
Service visit #7 report from my patient friend who keeps meeting the Bosch guy: “It happened again today. [the replacement pump] was broken. On every occasion he has come with a sealed package. Upon opening it up on location, he’s found it to be defective. Three times. Then he usually calls up the company and complains. Supposedly he can’t open up the package before he gets here (I don’t get it). He said he’s going to come with two next time (inspected by the company beforehand). He said something similar last time, though, so who knows.”
Jill
April 19, 2008 @ 8:01 am
Has anyone ever had this problem with their bosch dishwasher?
After about 3 months of everything running fine, clean dishes etc, I opened the door one morning to find that all the plastic components in the dishwasher plus a plastic sandwich box had all got a blue dye on them.
The crockery and all the cutlery were fine, all clean, dye free and dry.
Just the plastic, as in, the cutlery basket, the spray arms, the drawers and the plastic interior were covered in blue. When I took the filter out to clean it, the blue dye came off on my hands.
I rang the electrical store where I bought it and the engineer came out and said he had never seen or heard anything like it before and to ring Bosch direct. The person on the line had never heard anything like it before and they are sending out an engineer next Tuesday to have a look.
I’m just worried that it could be toxic.
I’m using the same dishwasher powder, rinse aid, salt and dishwasher cleaner that I have used with my last dishwasher and this one since I bought it last October. So I am at a loss to just what is causing this, any ideas?
Dave B
April 24, 2008 @ 12:25 pm
I have had experience with two Bosch dish washers. We got the first to replace a dying DW in our first home. It was quiet, efficient, and we never had a problem with it during the 3 years we lived there. We wanted to take it and the new refrigerator with us when we sold the house, but they were both selling points…so we left them.
We moved to a new state and even though we had a dishwasher in the house, it was a noisy thing without adjustable top rack (which is so handy for big pots in the bottom or tall cups on the top as needed). We bought the exact same model for the new home…and again I installed it myself. We’ve had this one about 3 years now and three problems emerged.
First, we had a problem that the door seals got dirty (we now have kids, so…) and the seals started leaking. Cleaning them fixed the problem, but I have to clean them fairly regularly.
Second, the dishwasher stopped entirely during the cycle although the LED was still on. It was under warranty, and so we called. The repair person came out and suggested the problem was that we hooked up the drain hose first to an air vent on the sink and then to the drain. Apparently this model is NOT supposed to have that connection (although the manual which we still have shows such an installation). He removed the drain from the air vent and stuck it directly to the drain and … problem solved.
Third problem, my back was facing the dishwasher when I saw a blue flash reflected in the kitchen window and heard a sharp SNAP! The LED on the dishwasher was out, the circuit breaker was blown. I reset the circuit, but the dishwasher was deader than the proverbial door nail. A call to the service company is in and I await the results (he comes tomorrow).
Until that point, we use liquid blue rinse and have used gel packs, liquid and powder detergent with success, although we have been using powder for the last two years. We don’t pre-rinse, but I do scrape food (especially starches like rice and glutinous like oatmeal) into the trash. Oatmeal flecks can be found on dishes if I don’t and rice can clog the drain. But sauces, burnt/baked on cheese and other items come off and dishes are clean on a regular basis.
I’m guessing that somehow when the bottom faceplate was put back on by the last visit, something was left where it could short out and that’s the blue spark I saw happening. I checked the seal and it was not leaking at the time. I’m worried that they’ll open it up and find a small item that my toddler shoved in there somehow.
So overall I’m happy, but there are some issues that have not made the experience this time as happy as the experience with our first.
I’ll post later when I find the results of this repair visit.
Sharon
May 8, 2008 @ 2:11 pm
I replaced my 4 year old Kitchenaid that just flooded my kitchen and ruined my brand new wood floor ($9,000+ in damages) with a $1300 bosch and other than getting used to loading it different we love it. Quiet and does a superb job of cleaning. I even ran a load of dirty dishes on the 30 minuite cycle the other night because we needed the silverware for dinner and amazingly everything was spotless. I am using the dishwasher tabs that came with the dishwasher and I keep the rince agent filled.
The only negative is the dry cycle. I try to remember to crack the door when the cycle is finished. It does leave things damp otherwise but I have always been a energy saver dry user so this is not an issue for me!