Dishwasher FAQs

What types of dishwashers are available?

There are many factors to consider when scrolling the dishwasher market for the perfect fit for your kitchen – dishwashers come in a variety of sizes, styles, and capacities. The four main types of household dishwashers are: integrated, freestanding, slimline and tabletop.

An integrated dishwasher is designed to be built into your kitchen to match the existing décor of the rest of your kitchen cabinets. Their main benefit? Fitting neatly beneath the countertop and giving back control over the space’s interior design using wooden doors or panelling over the dishwasher door.

Freestanding dishwashers are standalone appliances designed to stand anywhere where there is access to water and drainage, for example, in the kitchen or a utility room. These dishwashers offer simple flexibility as they can be installed and moved with ease.

Slim by both name and nature, slimline dishwashers, integrated or freestanding, have a narrower design than standard dishwashers with a width of around 45cm – 15cm thinner than the average model. They typically wash between 80-100 items and make the perfect choice for those who are short on space.

Similarly, to portable washing machines, tabletop dishwashers sit on the kitchen counter saving crucial surface space and draining into the sink. As with an average size dishwasher model the small appliances save time washing up so you can kick your feet up while it washes small loads of six-eight place settings.

How eco-friendly are dishwashers?

Dishwashers these days are much more energy efficient. Assuming you utilise eco-cycles and only run a fully loaded dishwasher, using a dishwasher could reduce greenhouse gas emissions and be an eco-friendlier choice than hand-washing. As dishwashers can wash more in a single wash, they use less water so there is not only less waste from rinsing plates, but they also require less energy to heat up.

What should I look for in a dishwasher?

Unfortunately, it’s not just about how it looks in the kitchen. Dishwashers come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and widely varying price points. It’s important to think about the space in your kitchen to decide between a freestanding, slimline or tabletop dishwasher. Love cooking for and hosting a large family? A freestanding or integrated model washes the most place settings in one go and could be the best fit for you.

If this large family includes young children keep an eye out for dishwashers with a quiet mark. These keep noise levels down by using brushless motors that won’t disrupt the open floor living of today. Generally, dishwashers running at below 49dB will fade into the background noise.

To invest in an environmentally conscious appliance, look out for eco settings. Eco programmes wash dishes using around 30 per cent less energy as the water is heated slowly over a longer washing cycle making it more energy and cost-efficient.

The verdict: Dishwashers

Thanks to its superb, innovative features and excellent core dishwashing performance, we’re naming the Bosch serie 6 SMS6EDI02G our best buy. This appliance scores highly on just about every criterion, from energy efficiency to user-friendliness.

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