Buying a Cheap Dishwasher – Was it A Mistake?
I made the decision to buy the cheapest dishwasher I could find as an experiment to see how long it would last compared to more expensive brands.
Yikes! My dishwasher died, and left me with a water soaked floor. Yep it happened I started the dishwasher, it sounded like a small jet landing in my kitchen, and then water poured out from underneath the unit. All I could think was; what next!
Luckily hubby was home when it happened so we unloaded the very full dishwasher from it’s dirty dishes, stacked them in the sink, and pulled out the dying dishwasher to investigate what was going on.
I don’t know the technical term but something in the pump had failed. Hubby said we could order parts and fix it, that is if we can even get the parts, or buy a new one. The dishwasher was 5 years old and I figured by the time we invested a $200 in parts it probably wasn’t worth putting that much money into an old dishwasher. According to the experts appliances are only made to last around 5 years anymore so I thought it was silly to try and fix it.
The next morning I ran to Menards and bought their brand dishwasher in stainless steel , Criterion® 6-Cycle Stainless Steel Built-In Dishwasher for $499 and brought it home. Hubby hooked it up and I’m pleased as punch.
So far I’m in love with it and here’s why:
- Its stainless inside and out.
- It’s quiet, did I mention it’s so QUIET (something my last one was NOT)
- It has a short run time cycle (something my last one did NOT have)
- It was cheap.
- It has an air wash system to keep the stink out.
About the short run time cycle. I’ve never understood why dishwashers and washing machine manufacturers think it’s a good thing to make these appliances in a water saver version. It’s my understanding they need water and soap to do their job and just recycling the same cup of dirty water in every cycle seems absolutely absurd to me. But this new dishwasher doesn’t seem to use that method. It has a 60 minute cycle and it’s done. My last ones shortest cycle was 120 minutes and I thought it would never get done.
So we all know how over time dishwashers get that funky smell going on. Well this one has a fresh air intake they cycles air through the unit every so often to keep it smelling fresh. Genius idea! I’ve never heard of that before.
The only think I dislike about it was the shape of the handle, it’s not curved like those on my other appliances, but I wasn’t’ about to pay double the price for a curved handle. I’m sure no one other than me will notice and I’ll just live with it. It’s not a big deal and certainly doesn’t effect how it operates so I’ll quit complaining about it. In all if I get 5 years out of this one I will be happy.
hi there……great new dishwasher. The funky smell comes from the filter that is located in the floor of the dishwasher. They get built up with grease and crud over time and need to be taken out every 6 months of so and hand washed with soapy water.
Erika, Thanks for the tip:) I’ve only did that with mine twice since owning it. I’ll have to remember to do it more often now that I know.
I wonder when you made this post, and if your dishwasher has stood the test of time?