In February, we decided to replace our old dishwasher. The old one was starting to leave bits of food in the glasses, even when we pre-rinsed, and the rinse aid dispenser didn't work. I took a look in Consumer reports to see which ones they recommended. The Whirlpool GU1200 was a CR BEST BUY, but I liked some of the added features in the GU1500 (shows remaining time, adjustable top rack, anti-bacterial rinse). This was the first time I've ever bought a dishwasher, so I wanted to make sure to get one I'd be happy with for years to come.

I went to our local appliance store to take a look, but they didn't have the GU1500 in stock. Apparently the GU1500 is so popular in our area they had even sold the demo. "Come back Wednesday" they said. So Wednesday arrived, I called to check they had one to look at, and arranged to meet my husband there so he could take a look. I brought one of our tallest cups and a bowl to make sure they would fit. Everything fit and hubby approved the purchase (I'm sure the fact I was only 1 week from my due-date for Baby #2 had nothing to do with his quick approval.) We arranged for delivery and installation the following Monday.

Features:

The GU1500 AccuWash (TM) Sensor determines how dirty your dishes are and then adjusts the wash time accordingly. If you add dishes after the cycle starts, the dishwasher will "re-sense" to see how dirty these new dishes are and adjust the time accordingly. The Automatic Temperature Control heats your water to the wash temperature if your water isn't hot enough.

The GU1500 offers quite a bit of room for loading your dishes. On the bottom rack, there are tines in the front (which is where we put the bowls) and a behind those is the Flip Away (TM) Plate Holder. You can flip away two different rows of tines, giving you more room in between the items. This can be useful if you want to wash a casserole dish or pots and pans. The tines hold the dishes very well -- the dishes hardly move when moving the rack back and forth (and I usually am not too gentle when doing this).

The bottom rack is where the "exclusive" Utensil/Cutlery Rack is located . You can use this for grilling tools or cooking utensils. I usually just put the cooking utensils on the top rack as this rack rests above and juts into the bottom rack area, so you will lose some space for your dishes and bowls (unless they're short enough to fit under the rack). My utensil rack usually stays folded up, out of the way.

Silverware gets washed in the Anyware (TM) Plus silverware basket. You can place the basket on the door, hanging off the bottom rack, or inside the bottom rack. You can also lift out the basket for easy unloading of your flatware. There are six sections for your flatware -- two have covers which can be removed. I use one covered section for sippy cup valves and took the cover off of the other one to have more room for flatware.

The top rack has two positions. You can move it down to wash tall wine glasses or move it up if you want to wash a tall pot. Wire cup shelves fold up for tall glasses and cups and fold down for coffee cups (not mugs). The cup shelves rack also offers integrated stemware holders so your wine glasses don't move around. There are slots for eight wine glasses, but if they have large bowls you'll only be able to wash four at a time.

The GU1500 has six wash cycles:
* Rinse Only
* Quick Wash
* China Crystal
* Normal
* Pots & Pans
* Anti-Bacterial

Most cycles have a pre-wash and a main wash. The Normal cycle takes between 82-90 minutes (according to the manual) and the main wash and final rinse water temperatures are 140 degrees F. The Quick Wash is for dishes that aren't that dirty. I've found that the detergent doesn't get fully used when I've used this cycle (there is still about ¼ of the detergent left in the dispenser). According to the manual, the cycle time for Quick Wash is 42-46 minutes. I don't bother with the Quick Wash anymore since the left over detergent makes me worry the dishes didn't get cleaned. The China Crystal only has a main wash and the rinse cycle water 135 degrees. Anti-Bacterial uses water that is 145 degrees for the main wash and the final rinse is 160 degrees F.

There are six options to be used with the wash cycles:
* Soak & Scour
* Hi Temp Scour
* Sani-Rinse
* Air Dry
* Delay Hours
* Control Lock

If you've really baked on some food, you can use the Soak & Scour option which intermittently sprays your dishes over 4 hours and then does the specified wash cycle. The Hi Temp Scour raises the main wash water temperature to 145 degrees. If selected for a Pots & Pans or Anti-Bacterial cycle, Hi Temp Scour raises the pre-wash water by 5 degrees. Sani-Rinse raises the final rinse to 160 degrees F. According to Whirlpool, "The Sani-Rinse Option is certified by the National Sanitization Foundation (NSF) to meet household sanitization levels." Sani-Rinse is automatically selected for the Anti-Bacterial cycle. You can specify a delay of up to 12 hours for when you want the wash to start. Control Lock allows you to prevent someone from accidentally starting the dishwasher or changing options while the washer is running.

The GU1500 Control Panel is located on the front of the dishwasher. It has push buttons for the cycle, delay hours, and options, time display, cycle status indicators, control lock, and cancel/drain. Cycle status indicators show you where the dishwasher is in the cycle. A "clean" light indicates the dishes are clean and a "refill rinse aid" light conveniently flashes to let you know when the rinse aid dispenser is empty. The GU1500 remember which options you selected for the last wash and will re-select them by default for the next one.

The manual gives diagrams on how to load the washer. The cycle selection chart shows the steps for each cycle, water temperatures, minimum cycle time, and water usage. The Whirlpool website states the GU1500 will hold 14-five piece place settings, but the manual only shows how to load 10 and 12 place settings.

The GU1500 features Quiet Partner (TM) IV. While it is much quieter than our old dishwasher, you still know it is running if you're in the kitchen.

The GU1500 is "Energy Star Qualified" and Whirlpool states they have reduced water consumption by 32 percent. The engery-usage is based on running a Normal cycle. Whirlpool recommends you conserve more water by not pre-rinsing your dishes as it's not necessary with this dishwasher.

And, last but not least, the GU1500 comes in white-on-white, black-on-black, black-on-stainless, and biscuit-on-biscuit.

How do I like it six months later?

Now I've had the dishwasher for six months and I'm very satisfied with it... except for the silverware basket. In fact, I hate the silverware basket. When it's on the door, the flatware has a tendency to slide out whenever you open the dishwasher. When it's hanging, the flatware doesn't dry completely and it's very easy to knock off. Usually my 2-year old manages to knock it off 4 or 5 times while she "helps" me empty the dishwasher. I manage to knock it off quite a bit too. I also don't like how it's so close to where the dishwasher liquid comes out. I've found some streaky stains on my flatware that I think are caused by the liquid releasing onto the flatware. I've started putting the silverware basket inside the bottom rack where it is more stable and the flatware dries better than it does when it's hanging, but I lose space for loading dishes. There are also big holes between sections where teaspoons and kid-size forks like to get stuck. In addition, it just doesn't have the capacity of my old Kenmore dishwasher's silverware basket. According to Whirlpool's promotional information, the GU1500 silverware basket is 15% larger than the regular "Anyware basket". It can't even handle my 10 flatware place settings, so I'd hate to have a smaller one!

The other feature that doesn't meet my expectations is the time display. Perhaps my dishes are just really dirty, or maybe the dishwasher is taking a long time to heat the water, but the cycle time on the GU1500 doesn't correspond to "real time". When I ran a wash where the dishes were clean (I was trying to remove some hard water stains), the displayed cycle time was more than 40 minutes off what it really took to wash the dishes. Usually the time display says the dishes will take 84 minutes, but it takes to 2 hours for the dishwasher to be done. This feature is a bit of a disappointment as it's just not reliable.

The only other annoyance is that water drips out of the vent when I open the dishwasher after it has completed a cycle. I assume this is water left over from the steam generated while the dishes are being dried.


Price
I paid $549 and $99 for installation. As a comparison, I checked the same model at Sears. While the price was the same, the delivery and installation charges would have been over $150 more. Sears offered a way to get around the sales tax (since it would be "delivered" in New Hampshire to the installer, I wouldn't have to pay 5% Massachusetts sales tax), but the sales tax was only $34.50.





Warranty (from the owner's manual):

1 year: replacement parts and repair labor for defects in materials or workmanship.
2 years: replacement parts for any part of the wash module if defective in materials or workmanship.
5 years: replacement parts for electronic control system and upper and lower dishracks if defective in materials or workmanship.
20 years: replacement parts and repair labor for tub and or inner door should either fail to contain water if defective in materials or workmanship.


Bottom Line
Excellent flexibility for loading dishes and glasses. Silverware basket is too small. Dishes come out clean and dry and the dishwasher is pretty quiet.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 549