Kenmore: A Quiet Dishwasher
Written: Sep 09 '04 (Updated Apr 01 '09)
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Pros: Great features, very quiet, cleans exceptionally well.
Cons: None yet.
The Bottom Line: This has all the little features that make a big difference. Cleans great and is very quiet.
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| elzora's Full Review: Kenmore 16462 / 16464 / 16469 24 in. Built-in Dish... |
When we purchased our GE Dishwasher 10 years ago, we were told that it was "ultra quiet". NOT. We found the same thing two weeks ago when we started shopping for a new dishwasher. It seems when dishwasher manufacturers label their product as "quiet", they mean something other than I do. It was my mission to find a good reliable dishwasher that was affordable AND quiet .
Do Your Homework
Our GE dishwasher has been limping along for a couple of years now. After 2 repairs in 3 years, and spending $200 less than a year ago to fix it, (and we now have the same problem again ), it was time to replace it. But with what? There are so many brands and models on todays market that finding the one that's right for you can be a daunting task.
I turned to Consumer Reports to find some help. CR states that the #1 dishwasher with the fewest repairs is Whirlpool, and the second best in reliability is Kenmore. The dishwasher we purchased was a Kenmore (but made by Whirlpool). I also visited a few online appliance message boards. Kenmore seemed to be a popular choice for performance and reliability. Epinions was also a good place for information, and I found a review by "netKat" to be especially helpful. Thanks Kat!
Features
The Kenmore Elite Ultra Wash Dishwasher had many of the features we were looking for. Our Kenmore Elite 16464 dishwasher has:
* Energy Star Rating (Consume less energy) 374 Kilowatt
hours per year. Estimated cost per year with a gas water
heater is $10, and with electric it's $37.
* Nylon Rack System, the tines are wrapped with a nice
thick nylon that looks like it will hold up for years!
* Quiet Guard 7 sound reduction package
* Stainless steel oversized tub
* Soil Sensor with Automatic Temperature Control
* LCD Touch Screens along the front top, no knobs or
dials.
* Triple Action cleaning filter
* Stainless Steel food dispenser - for those who don't
scrape!
* Two levels, BUT, the top rack is adjustable for oversized
items!
* Water Filtration System
* Top shelf utensil basket. This is great for long handled
items like spatulas or wooden spoons.
* Three lidded (with hinges) baskets in the botton rack
Cycles
* Smart Wash
* Antibacterial
* Pots & Pans
* Normal Wash
* China/Gentle
* Quick Rinse
Options
* Hi Temp Wash (for sanitizing)
* Sani Rinse (high temps)
* Air Dry
* Delay Start (for 2-4-8 Hours)
* Cancel/Drain
Light Displays
* Washing
* Sensing
* Drying
* Sanitized
* Clean
* Rinse Aid Empty
I love it when a dishwasher tells you if the load is clean or dirty. This may seem silly to some people, but we are in the habit of rinsing dishes before placing them into the dishwasher, and with our family it can be hard to tell at times. I also LOVE the "rinse aid empty" light, before I always guessed about this. No more guessing!
More Features
* The top basket has two rows of fold down tines (GREAT
for wine glasses!)
* Rinse aid dispenser. There's a small window inside that
allows you to see when it's full, and also an indicator
light on the outside panel that lights up when you are
out of the rinse aid.
* Child lock out feature - a must for my daycare!
* In the lower rack the back two tines can lay flat for
loading pots and pans more efficiently.
* Colors available: White, Bisque, Black & Stainless Steel
* It is on wheels, (this was nice because I was concerned
about it scratching our wood floor!)
The top of the line Kenmore had a nice knife holder that snapped onto the side of the lower basket. I called the appliance parts department, and they told me this was interchangeable on all of their models. I ordered one for a low price of $6.00 and it is being sent to our home. If you find an option like this on a high priced model, see if you can purchase it and attach it to your lower priced model!
How we Like It
When something is new, you of course expect it to perform well, and this washer did. My main concern was the noise level, and I am very happy with this! When we first started the washer, we could hardly hear it. It did make a bit more noise during a few of the cycles, but it didn't last long enough to be bothersome. I actually read on a message board that one man wrapped insulation around the water hose and that helped cut down on his noise level considerably!
The tub is extra tall, but still fits into the space our old dishwasher vacated. I love the adjustable top rack, this allows you to load a large pot or other oversized items. In the past we had to wash these larger dishes by hand.
Even without the adjustable rack, this dishwashers capacity is extremely large. I measured from the bottom rack to the top of the washer, and it measures a generous 2 feet high! The installation guy called it a "tall tub".
Even though this is a standard size dishwasher, the inside is very spacious. There are washer arms on both the top and bottom of the unit.
Our two previous dishwashers had the utensil holder in the middle of the bottom rack. This new model has three separate utensil holders (with hinged lids) along the sides. This gives me much more room for loading dinner plates and I find this design very accomodating!
I was extremely pleased with how well this dishwasher cleaned my dishes. We have very hard well water, and I thought that the spotting on my clear glass items was from our water. Quess what? It was not the result of our water, but rather the old dishwasher. My dishes are coming out of my new dishwasher spotless! I am very happy with everything about this model!
Choose Carefully
The Sears salesman let us hear how quiet the Bosch machine was, and indeed you could hardly hear it. At one point he had us considering spending $1200 on the Bosch, but we went home to think it over and do some research.
We also spoke with a friend of ours who worked for Sears for 20 years installing and repairing appliances. He said the Bosch are made in Europe and are very hard to work on. One reason the Bosch are quiet is they do not have the food grinder (mini garbage disposal) installed in them, and this is one feature that does add noise to the cycles.
Another thing to consider is that several "top of the line" models now have what they call hidden controls . Instead of the controls being on the top front of the washer, they are on the top edge , the area that is under the counter top. Our appliance repair friend also suggested we avoid those models, because a lot of steam and moisture can accumulate in this area, and he felt that this design was basically flawed and was, in plain speak, asking for trouble.
Price
While shopping around, we noticed a huge difference in prices of dishwashers. We could have picked one up for under $300, but then we would have had the noise and none of the nicer features. If you want quiet, you are going to pay for it! This model was originally priced close to $800.00. With a sale, a Sears coupon and the floor model discount, we paid only $555.00. That included delivery, installation (of which there is a $90 rebate) and their discarding our old dishwasher. It is on sale at Sears.com for $569.88. Living in Alaska, we could not order online.
Quiet is Subjective
Many dishwashers we looked at stated they were a "quiet series", or had a "sound reduction package", or others called it "soft sound". After the experience we had with our old GE (remember we were told it was very quiet, but it was just the opposite!), we felt like this type of wording was simply a sales tool. In order to really know how loud your dishwasher will be, find out what the decibels are! Sears rates all of their machines from 1-9, with 9 being super quiet like the Bosch. Our model was a 7. There was not much difference in the decibel level between a 7 and a 9. Sears has this information available if you are ever interested. I believe our model was somewhere around 47 decibels.
In Conclusion
Our objective was to find an affordable dishwasher that cleaned well, was reliable, and most of all was quiet. We have found all of those qualities in the Kenmore Elite 16464. It is attractive, we chose the Bisque color (a light almond) as it matches our other apppliances perfectly. The handle is hidden in the middle, so all you see is the smooth touch display pads across the front, a very neat look!
Because this was a display model, they could not find the manual for it. I did the best I could putting together this review with information from my machine and the Sears website. A manual is being mailed to me. If you have any questions that I did not address, please let me know!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 465.00
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