Cleaning Capabilities
Cleaning is what a dishwasher is all about; its design and features mean little if a dishwasher cannot wash dishes effectively. Make sure to look for dishwashers that deliver the cleaning power that you’re looking for. There are a lot of features available in dishwashers in the market which boost the cleaning power to provide a more thorough dish cleaning experience. For instance, some dishwashers come with a concentrated wash sprayer to clean sports bottles and touch to clean glasses. Similarly, some machines have specially designed power-spraying cycles that are meant to get rid of baked-on foods. It would help to focus on features that matter for your specific usage rather than ones that look appealing to have on an ad or website. In areas that have hard water, it pays to consider dishwashers that include water softeners so that you can get crystal clear glassware without any water stains. Lastly, the placement of dishes within the dishwasher also greatly affects how well they’re cleaned. A number of dishwasher manuals provide useful guidance in this respect.
Drying Power
Cleaning dishes may be mostly what a dishwasher does, but it’s incomplete without a decent drying performance. It’s important that a dishwasher can dry dishes effectively so that you don’t have to end up drying each of them by hand. Some dishwashers feature heating elements, i.e. large metal pieces that can heat up to dry dishes. While this may be effective for drying out water, it also further bakes food which can then become almost impossible to remove. Moreover, this can end up melting plastic pieces accidentally placed near these elements. It may be wise to consider this before investing in a dishwasher with a heating element. Alternatively, a much more advanced and energy-efficient drying feature is the inclusion of a stainless-steel tub. These stainless-steel walls are designed to provide condensation-based drying that doesn’t melt plastics or bake on food and effectively removes moisture from dishes after each cycle. The proper arrangement of dishes also plays important in drying effectively. A dishwasher with auto-open door features makes for an even better drying experience.
Noisiness
With kitchens increasingly adopting open floor plans, a noisy dishwasher can prove to be quite annoying for some. It becomes difficult to have full use of the kitchen and dining area while a noisy dishwasher is running. There are plenty of options available in the market now that are designed to offer impressively quiet operation. One just has to learn how to understand decibel ratings. A normal conversation between people is measured to be between 55-65 dB, while a quiet room may be around 40dB. So, it works if you can find a dishwasher whose noise falls somewhere between these two. With better insulation materials, quieter machines are now also available at lower prices. Generally, dishwasher noise levels are either greater than 50dB, i.e. noisy; between 44 dB and 49dB, i.e. moderately quiet; and less than 44dB, i.e. extremely quiet. In a regular home environment, a dishwasher that falls below 49dB is good enough unless you are wanting something almost noiseless.
Conclusion
Consider these tips and features before shortlisting dishwashers for your home, and you’ll find yourself buying and enjoying the convenience and satisfaction of a particularly useful home appliance that is ideal for your home. For more information, you can check out the latest dishwasher reviews on our website.
