Quiet Kids, I'm trying to hear the dishwasher! KitchenAid 24" KUDP01FL Dishwasher
Written: Sep 09 '05
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Pros: Eerily quiet, 4 cycles, stainless tub, energy star model.
Cons: none
The Bottom Line: This dishwasher is quiet, the tub stays clean, no pre-washing is needed. The KitchenAid KUDP01FL is energy efficient and a wonderful addition to our kitchen.
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| nwinston's Full Review: KitchenAid KUDP01FL 24 in. Built-in Dishwasher |
The "Other" machine
When we built our house 10 years ago, we put in a dishwasher. We must have chosen on price because there was little else to recommend our dishwasher. We actually made schedules for running it when we were out of the house because it was so loud. Even then, I was never sure exactly why we ran it unless it was to sanitize the food which it baked onto our dishes. My husband became a pre-washer, but I refused on the basis that it wasted water. Being lazy also helped. When we had guests, we'd have to run the washer while we were home so we'd have clean dishes for the next day. We solved a small part of the noise problem by taking a piece of rigid insulation board and leaning it up against the dishwasher, covering it all with an old wool navy blanket, just so we could hear our guests shouting polite conversation at us. Although stylish looking (yeah, right!), it was not an elegant solution.
Color or stainless
Every time we thought about replacing our loud lemon, we felt badly. We are financially conservative and it seemed wrong to spend cash getting rid of something fairly new. With the insulation and blanket system, we managed fine. Our friends remodeled their kitchen and chose a KitchenAid KUDP01FL dishwasher. Initially, they loved it. We were over when it was running and were impressed with the quiet. But they became unhappy with it and offered to sell it to us. Why would we want their reject? After all, we already had a sub-par machine. A few probing questions later gained an embarrassed admission that their kitchen designer told them the color was wrong. They originally debated black, white and stainless, and chose white. But now they needed stainless to complete their beautiful kitchen.
Their loss, our gain
$300 later and we drove our new dishwasher down the hill. Quickly. In case they realized the transaction wasn't fair and decided to chase after us, speed was of the essence. A few hours later (I watched, my husband installed), we had a new dishwasher. Technically, 9 months old but 7 of those months had been spent in our friends' garage after the stainless replacement was installed.
First use
I was in a hurry to try my new KitchenAid so I made my 2 sons dinner. They are perfect product testers for all kinds of cleaners and I figured this task was tailor made for them. After dinner, I threw the dishes in our pristine stainless tub. My husband suggested that I pre-wash but I wanted the full Consumer Reports type of test for this kitchen workhorse. I don't feel that my habit of not pre-washing is on the same scale as having my children be raised by wolves. From what I know about wolves, I bet they lick their plates clean and don't leave huge gobs of mac & cheese or spaghetti sauce stuck to their dishes! Some Kirkland dish detergent granules followed the plates into our KUDP01FL, I closed the door until it felt latched, chose "Light/China cycle via the push panel and pressed start. The status indicator on the washer went to "Sensing/Soak. I couldn't tell if the dishwasher was running or not but sensing probably isn't a very active part of the cycle - according to the manual, the washer is checking soil level and how much heat and water to apply. My young guys were running around doing their normal after dinner activities which involve lots of loud toys, weird noises, running through the house and other quiet shattering fun. I left the kitchen for a few minutes and came back to check on the dishwasher. I still couldn't hear it running so I asked who opened the door and stopped the cycle. No one would admit guilt. I noticed the status indicator was on "Water Heating". This led to me uttering the title phrase of this review, in a somewhat loud way. Everyone quieted and put their ears up to the dishwasher. We could hear it, just barely. After about an hour, we saw the "Clean" indicator and opened the door. All the dishes were clean the stainless tub looked immaculate. Hurrah! We had a cleaning machine that not only actually cleaned but was whisper quiet!
Features
What do you really want in a dishwasher? Clean dishes seems a given and quiet is desired by most customers. We quickly established that our KUDP01FL had these 2 most important qualities. Other features of this 2 rack 24" washer include:
4 cycles:
Heavy for heavily soiled pots
Normal - normally soiled dishes
Light/China - saves water if dishes are only lightly soiled - this is the cycle we use most
Rinse Only - use to remove food if you don't need to wash for a while
Options:
Hi-temp scrub - adds heat, water and wash time - helps with hard water
Sani-rinse - raises final rinse temp to 155F
Energy saver Dry - dry dishes without heat - we use this often
Delay - delay the start for 2, 4 or 8 hrs.
Other Features:
Add-a-dish indicator - you can add dishes during a cycle if this indicator is on
Removable silverware/utensil basket
Rinse Aid liquid dispenser - I don't use Rinse Aid - haven't found the need
Clips for light items - small movable clips to hold items like lids in place
Flexible tines - on the top rack, tines are flexible to adjust to your kitchen items
12 place setting capacity - sounds like a good excuse for me to get a 12 place setting to try it out
13" tall items fit in lower rack
To clean, use a damp cloth on the exterior or mild detergent. Use dish detergent on a damp cloth for the interior.
Bottom Line
After 10 months of almost daily use, we love this dishwasher. Our friends liked it and were repeat customers, purchasing a KitchenAid in this same series with a stainless exterior. 4 cycles is plenty for us and the dish racks are very flexible for loading. And the quiet is heavenly.
Fact I learned from reading the manual
The manual says that built in dishwashers are quieter if you keep sink drains plugs closed during operation to avoid noise transfer through the drains.
Energy Guide tag
Based on standard US Government tests, the tag that comes with the KitchenAid KUD01 Series of dishwashers says this is an Energy Star machine, using an average of 371 kWh/year. Range of tested machines is 222 to 653 kWh/year. My costs are estimated at $31 with an electric water heater and $21 with a natural gas water heater. I don't know my actual dishwasher cost because I'm not sure how I'd break it out from my other electricity usage.
The opposite side of the card is Canadian and states the washer will use 449 kWh/year out of a range of 312 to 573 kWh/year.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 300 used
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Epinions.com ID:
nwinston
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Location: US
Reviews written: 272
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About Me:
Loving my boys and the summer weather in Oregon!
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