I really wouldn’t recommend Whirlpool. We used to have a Whirlpool Gold model electric dishwasher that was not a cheap model ($650). It never cleaned the dishes all that great, left soap and film on the dishes when it was done, and stopped cleaning the dishes after only 4.5 years. And that rack they put in the door, is so annoying. Flimsy latches, and it’s just a bad place to put silverware if you want it to get cleaned well. It got so bad, I just started washing all dishes by hand. It was median noisy, not quiet, but not a refined model either. The problems we started having may be due to the fact we live in a hard water area, but we always used additives in machine to soften the water. (Purchased May 2005… Disposed of in July 2010)
When my housemate noticed I started manually washing dishes, we went out shopping for a new electric dishwasher. We bought a Bosch SHE55M12UC. ($722) This machine cleans very well and for the most part I’m happy with the new dishwasher, except for 2 problems. It doesn’t finish rinse the dishes thoroughly and it has no automatic rinse/hold cycle.. Call me crazy, but I don’t like traces of detergent on my dishes. I want them thoroughly rinsed. To combat this problem, I just rung a quick manual single rinse after the machine has completed its main cycles.
The Bosch is unbelievably quiet (46 decibels) and what little noise it does make is actually pleasant. It does a supreme job of cleaning and is skimpy on electricity consumption as well as water, but I really wouldn’t care if it used more water. The finish rinse problem we are having may be due to the fact we are in a hard water area, as people in these areas have unique problems with dishwashers compared to those that don’t live in these types of areas. But it makes one wonder why these ‘brilliant’ engineers wouldn’t think to add an “Extra Rinse” option to an electric dishwasher that costs almost $1000.
Keep in mind that Whirlpool acquired many nameplate brands over the years as a strategy of their aggressive competitiveness. Not a good thing for consumers, cause they ruined the KitchenAid brand. The engineering in KitchenAid dishwashers is now Whirlpool; whereas before 2006, it was solid, renowned, industrial roots Hobart brand engineering. Perhaps Hobart decided to sell their dishwasher division, because despite their stellar reputation, they just couldn’t gain significant market share or the market share they wanted in the home markets.
My recommendations for dishwashers? : Bosch, Asko, Miele, Gaggenau, Thermador and ‘Kenmore’-Bosch