2023 Dishwasher Buying Guide
Comparing the top features from budget to high-end
Are you in the market for a new dishwasher, but feeling overwhelmed by all the choices? Purchasing a new appliance is a big investment, so you want to be sure you’re choosing the right product for your needs. But how do you know if all the bells and whistles are worthwhile, or just a bunch of marketing jargon? Luckily, we did the dirty work for you – literally. We coated pots, pans, dishes, and cutlery with the stickiest, sauciest foods out there and put the dishwashers through multiple tests. From the most budget-friendly to the highest end, we compared 11 unique features to see which ones are worth paying more for.
Our test subjects were four different dishwashers all under $1000, with our most budget-friendly costing around $400. While these machines had various features being marketed as benefits, we wanted to see which were worth the extra money. The areas we reviewed were washability, drying power, third rack systems, stainless steel interiors, hard food disposers, noise levels, energy efficiency, leak sensors, Wi-Fi capabilities, steam cycles, and smudge-resistant finishes. We ran multiple wash cycles to get apples-to-apples comparisons of how these different dishwashers perform with or without these features. Our goal was to determine which features are worth spending extra to have, and which features don’t provide value.
This comparison does not mention brands, just strictly the features these dishwashers offer, and whether their claims hold up. These machines were thoroughly tested by our repair expert, who has seen every type of dishwasher feature throughout his 40-year career. This article breaks it down, feature by feature, for our unbiased review. We explain what the feature offers, why you may want this in a dishwasher, our testing process, and our results. We then give a final verdict on if the feature is worth paying an additional cost to have.
WASHABILITY
What Does Washability Mean?
When we use the term "washability" we're talking about how well the dishwasher will clean. We decided to start our comparison with this feature since that’s why you’re buying a dishwasher – for clean dishes! Does a budget machine clean just as well as a high-end dishwasher? The design of the spray arm is one of the most important factors when discussing washing power. Lower-priced dishwashers will typically just have a lower and upper spray arm, while higher-priced machines may have more complex designs or additional arms. Some spray arms may swivel, have four branches instead of two, or have an extra arm that rotates in the opposite direction from the main arm. All these extra features promise to provide you with a more powerful wash and cleaner dishes, but do these claims hold up?
Our Dishwasher Test Results
For this test, we coated dishes and cutlery in a tomato-based sauce and left them overnight. For each of the four machines we used their “normal” wash cycle. When the cycle was finished, we were surprised by the results! All four machines got the dishes clean, with a few food particles left behind in each. For the initial wash, all these dishwashers performed well. The true test is how they hold up over time. For the extra cost of the additional spray arm equipment, we don’t think this feature is worthwhile. The extra arms and swiveling pieces provide more points of failure without the extra benefits.
DRYING ABILITY
What Does a Dishwasher Drying Feature Offer?
Now that our dishes are washed, we want to see just how dry they are. If you've ever wondered how a dishwasher dries dishes, or what the "heat dry" button does, you'll be happy to learn that most dishwashers will have a heating element that is used to dry the dishes. This may be an exposed element under the lower spray arm, or it could be concealed from view. No matter the type, it generates heat to remove the moisture from the machine. Higher-priced dishwashers will start adding extra tools like fans to circulate the air, or a door release mechanism to promote better drying.
Our Dishwasher Test Results
We found that our basic $400 machine dried just as well as the $800 machine with the fans and door pop-open feature. There was moisture left on glasses, and plastic items were still holding quite a bit of water. If you’re hoping to take your dishes right from the washer to the cupboard, unfortunately you’d need to invest in a much pricier machine. With the sub-$1000 models we tested, all would need some additional time to air dry or the dishes will need a wipe down before storage. For these reasons, we don’t think paying extra for special drying features is worth it. Adding a rinse aid to the machine will help with your dishes drying at a fraction of the cost.
THIRD RACK SYSTEM
What Does a Third Rack System Do?
A third rack system in a dishwasher provides additional space for items such as kitchen utensils and cutlery. It’s a shallow rack typically at the top of the machine that you can spread items over. Using this third rack allows you to remove the cutlery basket to add more plates or pots on the bottom rack.
Our Dishwasher Test Results
We didn’t have any issues fitting all our dishes into the machines without a third rack, they just had a more crowded cutlery basket. Both the baskets and the third rack left food residue on the cutlery, so it’s not a perfect system. So, is the third rack in a dishwasher worth it? While the space-saving possibilities are a nice feature, we don’t think a third rack is something to pay extra for. It didn’t provide better cleaning capabilities, it is more finicky to load properly, and the added tracks, wheels, and spray arms are all added points of failure down the road. Replacing a damaged cutlery basket is a much simpler and cheaper repair if needed.
STAINLESS-STEEL TUB INTERIOR
Should You Get a Plastic or Stainless Steel Tub?
A stainless-steel dishwasher exterior is an extremely popular design choice, but have you considered having a stainless-steel interior? Some of the benefits of having a stainless-steel interior instead of plastic are its ability to heat up faster and keep that heat, it’s quieter while running, and it is easier to clean. Have you noticed how your plastic food storage containers will get residue or will stain from tomato sauces? The same can happen to a plastic dishwasher liner.
Our Dishwasher Test Results
Three of our four test subjects had a stainless-steel interior, and we think it’s a worthwhile feature. Along with the reasons listed above, it can also promote better drying as the water can sheet off the interior better than plastic. So, is a stainless-steel dishwasher tub better than plastic? The only “con” we have is the extra cost, but we think opting for a stainless-steel dishwasher interior is worth it.
HARD FOOD DISPOSAL
What Does a Hard Food Disposal System Offer?
In a dishwasher, a hard food disposal system is a feature that grinds up any food so that when it goes through the drain hose or pump it won’t cause clogs. This is supposed to eliminate the need to pre-rinse your dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. Some manufacturers also claim that the food disposer replaces the maintenance you'd need to do on your filter system, which sounds enticing to those of us with weak stomachs.
Our Dishwasher Test Results
With our test machines, only two of them had the hard food disposal system. We put them up against our most expensive machine, which has an impressive filter but no disposal system. For this test, we put some handfuls of solid food into the machines and let them run (please don’t try this at home). The machine with just the filter system trapped all the food, and none made it down into the pump assembly. The filter will require cleaning, but it did its job perfectly.
The machines with the hard disposers, unfortunately, left us disappointed. The filters on both did a decent job of trapping most of the solid food, but a good amount made it past the filter and didn’t make it through the macerating blade. Food that is trapped here is going to cause blockages and will start to smell. You still need to clean the filter, along with getting below it to clear the gunk, so the “no maintenance” claim doesn’t hold up. When you look at the macerating blades, they are tiny – our resident appliance tech doubts how well they would even work!
Based on this information, a dishwasher with a hard food disposer feature is not worth paying extra for! Not only is more maintenance involved, but they are also noisier while running. Your best bet is to invest in a machine with a great filtration system and to scrape solid food chunks off your dishes ahead of time.
NOISE REDUCTION
What is Considered Quiet for a Dishwasher?
Speaking of noisy dishwashers, is a noise reduction feature worth it? There are many different decibel ratings out there for dishwashers, and you may be wondering what level is considered to be quiet. Dishwashers with a lower decibel rating will have sound-deadening technology, stainless-steel interiors, and typically won’t have a hard food disposal system. The lower-priced machines are generally going to be the noisiest, as they don’t have any of these added features.
Our Dishwasher Test Results
Each of our machines had a different decibel level claim, with the least expensive being the noisiest. When we ran our tests, the least expensive machine was in fact the noisiest, and the most expensive was the quietest – about 15 dB quieter in fact! The mid-tier machines came out close to their manufacturer's claims.
If you run the dishwasher at night, or just enjoy a quiet home, the extra features are worth the extra cost. If you’re more cost-conscious but still want less noise from your dishwasher, there are some DIY options available that we’ll share in another blog article!
ENERGY EFFICIENT
Are Dishwashers Energy Efficient?
We all want to reduce our bills these days, and lessening our environmental impact is another important topic. Did you know that a dishwasher will also use less water and power compared to handwashing your dishes?! So if you want to reduce your energy consumption further, it just makes sense to buy an energy-efficient appliance. Something to keep in mind, however, is that the more features an appliance has, the more energy it will use to run those features. All of our test machines were Energy Star rated, but how did they compare to each other?
Our Dishwasher Test Results
We hooked up diagnostic equipment to our different machines, ran them on normal cycles, and compared their water and electricity consumption. We were surprised by the results! Our fanciest machine used the most power and water, by a significant margin. It used 17% more energy than our basic machine, and about 45% more energy compared to the mid-tier machines.
For water consumption, it used 65% more than the basic model and 100% more than the mid-tier! You may think that the most basic machine would be an energy hog, but this wasn’t the case in our trials. The mid-range machines were the most efficient options in our test.
So, we DO think that buying energy-efficient appliances is important, not only for the potential money savings but also for reducing your water and energy consumption. However, in this example, shelling out for the fanciest machine isn’t going to save you the most on your utilities.
LEAK SENSOR
What Does a Dishwasher Leak Sensor Do?
A leak sensor is a tool that can detect when water is leaking from your dishwasher and cuts off the cycle. Without this feature, a leaking dishwasher would continue to run, and you could be left with the entire tub’s worth of water on your kitchen floor. Having this feature can prevent a huge mess – think floor damage, or potentially flooding into the room or apartment below your kitchen.
Our Dishwasher Test Results
To test this feature, we took our machine with a leak sensor and one without one and rigged both to leak. Once the water started leaking, our sensor worked as intended and stopped the machine and pumped the water out. With the other machine still running, we ended up with quite a bit of water on the floor. This feature is like insurance; you hope you never need it but you’re glad you have it if the time comes. We think the dishwasher leak sensor feature is worth the extra cost.
WI-FI CAPABILITY
Is a Wi-Fi Enabled Dishwasher Worth It?
For those with a smart-home set up, Wi-Fi-enabled appliances may be intriguing. The designated app for our dishwasher allowed us to see more insights about the machine such as where it's at in the cycle, how much energy it is using, and we could download customized cycles. The app also came with model-specific cleaning instructions and a diagnostic tool if something goes wrong. These sorts of features could save you the cost of a repair person if something goes wrong.
Our Dishwasher Test Results
We found the app interesting and useful from a maintenance perspective, but it ultimately didn’t result in having dishes any cleaner than the other models. If you are tech-savvy and like data and insights on your appliances, this feature may be worth the extra cost. If you’re a “set it and forget it” type, or you’re not keen on having your household habits shared with the manufacturer, you can skip this. In our research we learned that less than 50% of customers with Wi-Fi-enabled machines are connecting to them, so it doesn’t seem to be a popular feature. If you’re looking for maintenance tips, user manuals, or new parts for your machine, you can download the Fix App for free instead!
STEAM CYCLE
Are Steam Dishwashers Better?
The steam feature in dishwashers claims to be better at removing tough, stuck-on messes from your dishes, along with helping with the drying process.
Our Dishwasher Test Results
Two of our dishwashers came with the steam feature, and two did not. To test the feature, we dried a sticky mess into four glass casserole dishes and placed them in each machine to see how well steam vs no steam performed. Once again, the results surprised us – the budget machine did an excellent job at removing the mess without the steam feature. We ran a second test, this time with a burnt-on mess in white roasting pans. This time around the steam feature was a big help. All the pans still had debris left after the cycle, but those cleaned with steam were much cleaner. The messes left on all the pans were much easier to hand scrub afterward, so we don’t consider the steam feature to be worth the extra expense.
SMUDGE RESISTANT FINISH
What is a Fingerprint Resistant Dishwasher?
This final feature is purely aesthetic, but still important and that is fingerprint- or smudge-resistant finishes. This feature comes with some models that have a stainless-steel exterior, to make cleaning and maintenance easier. It is supposed to eliminate fingerprints, smudges, and grease marks from showing on your machine.
Our Dishwasher Test Results
If you hate wiping down your stainless-steel appliances constantly, this feature will be worth it to you. This will be especially worthwhile if you have children at home and want easier cleaning. If you don’t mind wiping down your machines daily, this may not be worth the extra money to you. You’ve got to look at your appliance daily, so this is a feature that you will physically see the value in if you decide to go with it.
Final Thoughts
We know the amount of research and money that can go into a new appliance purchase, and we hope the information provided here makes your next dishwasher decision easier! If price is a concern, we found that the budget model ($400) performed nearly as well without all the fancy features. If your only goal is having clean dishes, this machine does the job! We found a number of the extra features did provide value and are worth the cost if your budget allows. However, we saw that the most expensive machine didn’t always provide the best results, so be sure to do your research ahead of time and prioritize getting the features that are most important to you. If you just need some new dishwasher parts instead of a new machine, you can find genuine OEM dishwasher parts right on our site!
