You may have a retinue of hungry children, be a frequent host of dinner parties, or perhaps you simply love to cook; whatever the reason, dirty dishes are a daily part of life for just about everyone. Handwashing is one way to conquer the ever-growing stack of pots and pans accumulating in your sink, but it is also a time-consuming endeavor.

It’s no wonder dishwashers are an essential appliance for just about every home. Not only do they save time, but the right dishwasher can be powerful enough to fight even the worst grime and grease better than any handwashing ever could—at a fraction of the effort.

Efficient Cleaning and Sanitizing

Utilizing powerful water jets, heat, and various sensors, a well-made dishwasher will remove even the most caked-on dirt without harming your dinnerware. Indeed, choosing a dishwasher that has powerful cleaning ability but won’t damage your carefully selected dinner plates is a top consideration for many consumers. After all, what is the point of using a dishwasher if, in the end, the dishes come out dirty or broken?

A lot of factors go into choosing the right dishwasher, but we’ve boiled down a few of the most important considerations:

• Stainless Steel Tub – Higher-end models tend to have stainless steel interiors for a reason – they don’t show dirt and stains as easily and are overall more durable than their plastic counterparts.
• Most dishwashers come with several preset wash programs, from china and crystal settings to heavy-duty cycles. Don’t let all the fancy cycles fool you though; they don’t necessarily clean better. With a few exceptions, you will only need three basic dishwasher cycles: light, normal, and pots and pans.
• Dishwasher Noise Levels: Some dishwashers may boast about their low decibel levels, but beware—this number is usually the average of the entire cycle. That means the louder moments are averaged into the softer moments. If having a truly quiet dishwasher is important to you, read what other reviewers have to say about the cycle’s loudest moments.
• Dishwasher Cycle Time: A normal wash cycle is somewhere in the area of two to four hours, depending on the selected wash program.

Dishwasher Features

Dishwasher Style and Design Considerations

From stainless steel to pearly white, you will want to ensure your dishwasher matches the other appliances in your kitchen. There is nothing worse than mismatched appliances that make your kitchen look like a tacky checkerboard!

Dishwashers also come in a variety of sizes, some even small enough to fit in your kitchen sink, and others specifically designed for apartments. However, standard dishwashers measure approximately 18-inches wide and are unfinished on the sides and in the back, which allows them to easily puzzle into various kitchen counter spaces.

And while some dishwashers have controls along the front of the unit, high-end models place the controls along the top side of the door so that they are hidden away when the door is closed. This look is considered the most high-end—and stylish—in dishwasher design.

Dishwasher Safety Considerations

Anytime electricity, water, and heat co-exist, safety should be a consideration. Here are a few dishwasher safety features to be aware of:

• Although unlikely, if a fire does occur within the unit, a fire retardant dishwasher door will keep the fire contained.
• Child Safety Features: Some dishwashers include a child safety lock that prevents opening the dishwasher while it is running.
• Safety Drip Pans: Safety drip pans ensure that any water leaks are contained within the dishwasher unit, preventing external hardwood floors from getting damaged. Some dishwashers even include sensors that will detect leaks and shut down the wash cycle altogether.

A Dishwasher’s Hidden Costs

Energy-Star guidelines help you keep track of your dishwasher’s water and energy use in comparison to other models. If utility bills are on your radar and/or you would prefer a dishwasher that is easier on the environment, look for a model that carries the blue Energy-Star certification label.

In terms of other fringe costs, look for dishwasher brands with generous warranties. Almost all models come with a one-year warranty, while some manufacturers offer very generous warranties of upwards of ten years!

While the above features are fairly standard on most dishwasher models, there are a variety of accentuating features that you might find desirable in a dishwasher—even if you have to pay a bit more.

• Adjustable Racks – Like a game of Tetris, dishwasher racks allow you to reconfigure your dinnerware; this can be important because much of a dishwasher’s cleaning ability is created by the ability of the water jets to reach into various crooks and crannies. Adjustable racks also allow you to clean larger pots and pans that might not fit into other smaller dishwashers.
• Soil Sensors: Dishwashers equipped with soil sensors tend to be more efficient when it comes to water usage. They can also detect when the water is rinsing clean, which means the dishes themselves are also more likely to be sparkling clean.
• Some dishwashers have wash zones, which means that your delicate wine glasses can be situated and washed at a different power level than your greasy pots and pans. This bonus means everything can go in the same wash and you’ll not have to run separate loads.
• Dishwasher filters can be critical to ensuring food doesn’t get re-deposited on your just-cleaned dishes. Self-cleaning filters grind down larger food particles and send them down the drain, but they can be noisier. Also, these filters may have a greater potential to break. Standard filters are quieter, but they have to be cleaned by hand.
• Some dishwashers use a heating element to dry dishes a bit faster.
• Dishwashers that include a water softener component can result in more sparkling dishes by strengthening the cleaning power of dishwasher detergent.

hOmeLabs Compact Countertop Dishwasher

A convenient and small Energy Star-certified dishwashing machine for cleaning the dishes after dinner or cooking. Simply load the dishes in the dish basket and cutlery rack and let this white dishwasher do the dirty job. It easily sits on countertops or tabletops, requiring less space.

With a simple-to-use control panel and light indicators. The program selector has 6 wash cycle options: heavy, normal, ECO, glass, speed, and rinse for your different dishwashing needs. Delay button light to postpone wash cycle

It features a quick connect assembly with accessories including an inlet and drain hose and a faucet adapter for water lines that are compatible with round-shaped faucet outlets with removable aerators, and 55/64″-27 male or 15/16″-27 female threads underneath. Order Now

Farberware Complete Portable Countertop Dishwasher

If you have access to water, electricity, and 40 minutes, you can clean your dishes – anywhere and anytime! Whether it’s in your kitchen, camping on your boat or RV, or at an event, dirty dishes are a thing of the past. The Farberware professional complete dishwasher can be placed on any countertop or sturdy table and gives you the choice of using its built-in water tank or a quick faucet hook-up. It offers 6 different wash cycles and can also be used to steam-clean baby bottles or give your glassware a sparkling clean finish. Order Now

BLACK+DECKER BCD6W Compact Countertop Dishwasher

Hello Ease & Convenience, Goodbye Dirty Dishes

You won’t ever have to spend countless hours washing dishes by hand again with the BLACK+DECKER 6 Place Setting Portable Dishwasher! This Energy Star appliance is ideal for small spaces with its stylish working countertop and thoughtfully equipped with an LED display featuring remaining cycle time and delay start time of 1 hour increments, up to 24 hours. Let this portable 17.2” high dishwasher do the washing for you while you can go about your day, assured your dishes are thoroughly sanitized and cleaned. With Hi Temp and Heated Dry options, you can leave your home to run errands and return with fully washed and dried dishes just in time for dinner. Its 6 place-setting capacity means you can clean far more dishes at once than you ever could by hand. Give your hands a break and select one of the featured 6 wash programs do the scrubbing for you. Order Now

Magic Chef Energy Star 6-Place Setting 6 Plate Countertop Dishwasher

The Magic Chef Countertop Portable Dishwasher provides all the convenience of a full-size dishwasher in a space saving design. It features enough space to accommodate six standard place settings, making it perfect for singles, couples, apartments or the office kitchen. With easy-to-use, push-button electronic controls, it is designed with a durable stainless steel interior that includes a sliding rack, silverware basket and cup shelf for easy loading. Quick-connect assembly for ease of installation LED display is easy to read Easy-to-clean filter Automatic detergent and rinse aid dispenser Hygienic residual drying system avoids using air outside the dishwasher. Order Now

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