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Dishwasher

Who Started it?

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We are all so accustomed to having a microwave and dishwasher in the kitchen these days, but did you ever wonder who started it all?

In some cases the answer is Whirlpool, and they are proud of it.  Whirlpool introduced the first the countertop microwave and automatic washing machine. KitchenAid which is now owned by Whirlpool, brought us the automatic dishwasher.  Whirlpool also unveiled high capacity, front-load laundry units in the U.S.

Just a little bit of appliance history brought to you today by appliance.net.

Recall: Bosch and Siemens Model Dishwashers by BSH Home Appliances Corporation Due to Fire Hazard

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Name of Product: Bosch® and Siemens® Model Dishwashers

Units: About 476,500

Manufacturer: BSH Home Appliances Corp., of Huntington Beach, Calif.

Hazard: An electrical component in certain model dishwashers can overheat, posing a fire hazard to consumers.

Incidents/Injuries: BSH Home Appliances has received 51 reports of incidents, including 30 reports of fires resulting in property damage. No injuries have been reported.

Description: This recall involves certain Bosch® and Siemens® dishwashers manufactured from May 1999 through July 2005. The brand name is printed on the dishwasher’s front control panel. Model and serials numbers are located inside the dishwasher door panel on the upper right side.

Brand Model Numbers Must Begin With Serial Numbers Must Begin With
Bosch SHE43C, SHE44C
SHE46C, SHE56C
SHU33
SHU42
SHU432
SHU43C, SHU53A		 FD8503 – FD8507
FD8501 – FD8505
FD7905 – FD8505
FD8407 – FD8505
FD8004 – FD8211
FD8205 – FD8507
Siemens SL34A FD8308 – FD8505

Sold at: Appliance and specialty retailers nationwide from May 1999 through December 2006 for between $550 and $1,100.

Manufactured in: United States

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the listed model dishwashers and contact the repair hotline for a free repair.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact the BSH Home Appliances at (800) 856-9226 anytime or visit the brand’s Web site at www.boschappliances.com or www.siemens-home.com

Quick Dishwasher Loading Tips

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Today’s dishwashers really will do most of the work for you.  No more scrubbing before loading.  If you are the type of person who cleans the house before the housekeeper comes, this might be a hard habit to kick, but hey – think of all the other tasks you can do with the time you’ll save.  You can alphabetize your spices!

The tips:

* Soiled surfaces should always face the interior of the machine, where the spray is most likely to reach them. 

* Don’t put glasses over the prongs, because that impedes the water’s flow. Use the prongs to prop them up from the outside.

* Never overlap pans. Let the whole cooking surface lie face-down on the rack.

* Knife edges should point downward, forks should point upward, and spoons can go either way. (Just check that they aren’t nesting)

I have found that not rinsing the dishes works best if the dishwasher is being run right away, but your results may vary.

EnergyStar Standards for Dishwashers get Tougher

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We have a question on our forums here at appliance.net asking readers to post about their favorite appliance.  Surprisingly, no one mentioned their dishwasher.  Dishwashers save not only time, but energy and water as well. The Department of Energy (DOE) has not rated dishwashers for their water usage until now.  Currently, the EnergyStar rating is based on energy usage.  The change could save American families more than $25 million in energy and water bills in the first 6 months the criteria are in effect.

The criteria will go into effect in two phases. The first set of criteria will apply on August 11, 2009, and the second will apply on July 1, 2011. DOE estimates that by 2012, the new guidelines will save Americans 671 billion Btu and 1.13 billion gallons of water per year. With the new water saving requirement, consumers using ENERGY STAR dishwashers will save more than a gallon of water with each dishwashing cycle. Manufacturers are also eligible to receive tax credits for the production of dishwashers that meet the new ENERGY STAR dishwasher criteria under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.

In the first phase, ENERGY STAR qualified dishwashers will be required to be at least 48% more efficient than federal energy efficiency standards require, saving the nation over 71 million kWh of energy and more than 500 million gallons of water per year. Stricter federal energy efficiency standards take effect January 1, 2010. In the second phase, ENERGY STAR qualified dishwashers must be at least 13.5% more efficient than the 2010 federal energy efficiency standards, saving the Nation over 95 million kWh of energy and more than 830 million gallons of water per year. The ENERGY STAR criteria for dishwashers were last modified on January 1, 2007.

Dishwasher Power Wars-Plus a Little Advice

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Here’s a fun story straight from the Wall Street Journal:

Marriage counselors say one of the biggest issues that couples fight over is money. But many of us know what’s really the most contentious battleground in the home: the dishwasher.

Except for the family dog, perhaps nothing in the house is louder or wetter, breaks more things, or causes more fights than the dishwasher. It’s just an appliance, but in many families the dishwasher becomes a stainless-steel-and-ceramic metaphor for marital power. Who loads it, how it gets loaded, how often should it be run, and when did it last get emptied – all these questions are like a fuse on a pack of TNT. One spark and there’s a conflagration.

I, of course, know that my method of loading the machine is best: Don’t rinse first, which wastes precious water and time. And silverware goes in tines and blades DOWN, thank you, so you don’t skewer yourself unloading later.

But others disagree. Tines UP, please, and always prewash.

A straw poll around the office reveals that many couples staunchly stick to the method they learned growing up. That means visiting family members who want to “help” in the kitchen can compound the problem. Woe to the well-meaning in-law who puts pot lids on the top instead of the bottom. Or worse, moves things around. Marriages have broken up over less.

One colleague says he always runs the machine immediately once it’s loaded, so no one goes in to rearrange. Another says he divides people into two categories: loaders and emptiers. He’s an emptier.

Dishwasher manufacturer Whirlpool offers some advice on its Web site: “It is not necessary to rinse the dishes before putting them into the dishwasher. The wash module removes food particles from the water.” And for silverware: “Mix items in each section of the basket with some pointing up and some down to avoid nesting. … Always load sharp items (knives, skewers, etc.) pointing down.”

But that’s not likely to end the dishwasher wars. Apologies to those of you who wash by hand (maybe you’re happier people!) but readers, do you find you fight over the dishwasher? And if so, how do you reach détente?

Dishwashers Save Time and Water

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It’s official, running a fully loaded dishwasher uses less water than washing dishes by hand. If you use an Energy Star rated dishwasher you will save even more. An replacing an older dishwasher with a newer Energy Star rated dishwasher can save you about $30 dollars a year in energy costs too.
According to Frigidairee appliances:
If you still wash your dishes by hand, you’re probably wasting more than just your valuable time. Over an average eleven-year lifespan, Energy Star qualified dishwashers can save 55,000 gallons of water (that’s a lifetime supply of drinking water for more than four people) or $465 in energy and water bills (that’s like getting a 15-year supply of dishwasher detergent).

Here are some additional savings that come with upgrading to an Energy Star dishwasher:

Save Time:
Using an Energy Star qualified dishwasher instead of handwashing will save nearly 10 days of your time each year. So stop scrubbing – just load and go!
Dishwashers today don’t require pre-rinsing of dishes before loading. Pre-rinsing doesn’t necessarily improve cleaning and wastes water. Just scrape off food and liquids – the dishwasher will do the rest.

Save Money:
Cut your energy and water bills by more than $40 per year compared to handwashing.
You can save $465 in energy and water bills over the life of an Energy Star dishwasher compared to washing dishes by hand.

Save Energy:
Use half as much energy as washing by hand.
Fill your dishwasher to full capacity to get maximize the energy used to run it. Most of the energy used by a dishwasher goes to heat water. Since you can’t decrease the amount of water used per cycle, fill your dishwasher to get the most from the energy used to run it.

Save Water:
Use nearly 5,000 gallons less water per year, compared to washing dishes by hand.
Run your dishwasher only on the cycle necessary for the task to conserve water

Reduce Noise:
Energy Star qualified dishwashers run 50% more quietly than 10-year old models.

Help the Environment:
Less energy means less pollution and greenhouse gases in the environment. Less water consumption helps protect our lakes, streams and oceans.
Stay away from the heat-dry, rinse-hold and pre-rinse features and try the air-dry option instead.

You can read more here about choosing a Frigidaire dishwasher.

Assistive Kitchen Robot Takes Stanford’s Dishes to the Wash

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BoingBoing Gadgets reports:

The “Assistive Kitchen” robot picks up the dishes and takes them to the wash, thanks in large part to RFID sensors built into the plates and utensils in Stanford’s test kitchen. The team building the robot is also trying to teach it to surf the web to pick up new tricks, as well as self-optimize its routines to minimize the amount of running around it would have to do to pick up the dishes. (Pick up all the plates missing from the cabinet before returning to the dishwasher, for instance.)

Robot B21 today — Rosie tomorrow.

Robot chef gets a boost from wireless kitchen [New Scientist] (Thanks, Zoe!)

Hal 2000 as a dishwasher

KitchenAid Introduces its Quietest Dishwasher Yet

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KitchenAid is now offering its quietest dishwasher ever. Featuring the new EQ™ Wash System and Whisper Quiet Ultima Sound Insulation System, this latest KitchenAid undercounter dishwasher is exceptionally quiet with a sound rating of only 48 dBA, or decibels, a level close to that of a quiet room (40 decibels) and well below a moderate rainfall (60 decibels).

The EQ™ Wash System provides optimal cleaning performance and noise reduction while also saving water and energy. The system features a true variable speed motor that helps to minimize operating noises by starting slowly and adjusting its operating capacity to deliver the power needed based on the wash cycle. Alternating wash zones focus the washing action while using less water and energy for high performance cleaning. A three-stage filtration system captures food particles as the water circulates within the dishwasher to maximize efficiency of its pump. For enhanced drying performance, the interior of the dishwasher is heated by a dedicated drying element.

“In addition to being our quietest, our latest dishwasher is 58% more efficient than

Energy Star standards,” notes Debbie O’Connor, Senior Manager of Brand Experience for KitchenAid. “Beyond being Energy Star qualified, it also has an efficiency designation from the Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE), making it eligible for energy rebates in select states.”

Additional features include a welded tall tub with a stainless steel interior, a premium feature found throughout the entire KitchenAid dishwasher line. Other innovations include a ProScrub® Option that provides concentrated cleaning during the normal wash cycle for harder to clean items like casserole dishes with baked on food. An Optimum Wash Sensor adjusts the wash cycle to specific water conditions for maximum cleaning efficiency.

A culinary tool rack, an adjustable and removable upper rack, fold-down cup shelves, an extra-large silverware basket with three lids and a Sure-Hold® Small items pouch offer great versatility in accommodating a variety of dishwasher loads.

Available in stainless steel, white, black or a panel-ready model for a custom panel, the new dishwasher model will carry suggested retail prices of $1,449 for the stainless steel model,
$1,299 for the black or white models and $1,399 for the panel ready model.

How to Save Money Buying a New Appliance

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Buying a new appliance is expensive and everyone wants to get a good value for their money.  Sometimes getting less can be more.  According to Consumer Reports, some of the extra features offered on new washers and dishwashers are not needed and just add unnecessarily to the final cost.

Take new dishwasher cycles with names like “turbo zone” and “power scour.” For those, special nozzles are placed in the back of the dishwasher to take care of tough jobs.

Although those cycles do a good job, Consumer Reports testers say they are not essential.

“We find many dishwashers, using just the regular setting, do a great job cleaning our very tough challenge: baked-on brownie mix,” Consumer Reports tester Kim Kleman said.

You can also save by skipping the often-pricier stainless steel tubs and get a plastic tub in your dishwasher.

“People love the stainless steel look, but how many people are looking inside your dishwasher?” Kleman said. “The plastic tub should hold up just fine.”

Many washing-machine models come loaded with lots of extra features – such as cycles made specifically for bedding, active wear and sanitizing. Consumer Reports, though, says you should take a pass on those options.

“Stick with the regular heavy-duty, normal, delicate and white cycles. That’s all you really need,” Kleman said.

As for dryers, don’t be wowed by claims like extra-large capacity, super capacity and king-sized capacity.

“We find most dryers hold plenty, whether it says super capacity or not,” Kleman said.

Although matching washer-dryer sets look nice, they can cost more.

If you’re buying them at the same time, Consumer Reports recommends getting the best-performing, most efficient washer – one that extracts the most water from clothes.

Among dryers, get the one that has a moisture sensor.

Consumer Reports ranked its Best Buys among dishwashers, washers and dryers:

  • Dishwasher: Sears’ Kenmore 1374 for $650.
  • Washer: Frigidaire Gallery GLTF2940F for $650.
  • Dryers: GE DBVH512EF[WW] for $650; GE DPSE810EG[WT] for $500.

Keep to this strategy: Don’t pay for features you don’t need.

Fisher & Paykel is Moving to Mexico

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Fisher & Paykel, the New Zealand appliance manufacturer well known for it’s dishwasher drawers and washing machines is consolidating it’s manufacturing and moving to Reynosa, Mexico, just south of the U.S. border.

The range and DishDrawer factory in Dunedin, New Zealand, the refrigeration plant in Brisbane, Australia and the DCS manufacturing plant in Huntington Beach will be relocated to the new facility in the next 12-18 months. The DCS move is expected to be completed by the end of the year, and individual manufacturing lines will be shifted separately to reduce the impact on warehouse inventory. The U.S. operation will continue to employ sales and marketing, customer services, head office and an engineering staff of around 340 employees. The financial benefit of the DCS move is expected to be $6.6 million per year with a one off cost of $7 million, both at pre-tax level.

“This expansion is designed to streamline our manufacturing costs, and bring increased consistency and efficiency to the company’s production process in the U.S. market, “ said Mike Goadby, North American President for Fisher & Paykel Appliances. “It’s an emotional time for all of us, but this move will make us more competitive in the U.S. and strengthen our distribution efforts through making them more efficient.”

With the Reynosa acquisition and the new North American DishDrawer line announced last year, the financial benefits of the new strategy are expected to be around $50 million per year, at a one off cost of approximately $100 million. The cost of the move will be offset by the sale of surplus property in Australia and New Zealand, which could total approximately $100 million.

You can read more here.