Awesome Dishwasher
Written: Apr 30 '04 (Updated Apr 30 '04)
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Pros: Extremely Quiet, Large Interior
Cons: No Cycle indicator light
The Bottom Line: Expensive, energy efficient, large capacity, beautiful styling.
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| winshawn's Full Review: Thermador DW44Z Built-in Dishwasher |
I purchased this dishwasher to match my new Thermador 48inch range. The dishwasher is essentially a Bosch dishwasher with a SS front and handle to match the range.(the handle on mine does not match the picture shown above) Also, there are no controls on the front of the dishwasher, just a sleek stainless steel panel. The controls are on the top of the door and are only accessible when the door is opened.
For Comparison - Hard Food Grinders
In the past I have owned a Maytag dishwasher which had a hard food grinder and a Whirlpool Gold that had a hard food grinder. In contrast the Thermador does not have a hard food grinder. However, it heats the water to a much higher temperature than the other dishwashers (165 deg F). Supposedly this high temp dissolved the soft foods that may be washed off your dishes. Hard items end up on a screen in the bottom of the dishwasher. I generally scrape my dishes pretty well although I do not rinse them. I have never found any food item at the bottom of the dishwasher.
Detergent
Another thing which is different on this DW compared to the american brands is that there is only one small detergent cup. Which is great because I use much less detergent. It uses less water than other brands too.
Drying
This DW does not have an electric coil for providing drying heat. Since the SS tub is metal and gets heated up during the Washing/Rinsing cycles the stored head in the tub provides the heat to dry the dishes. Surprisingly it works very well. 15 min after the cycle ends the dishes are generally as dry as with my old DWs. This of course saves energy and prevents any damage to your plastic items.
Storage Capacity
The storage capacity is much much larger than the other DWs I have owned. I can put full size plates on the bottom and top rack at the same time. Plus the top rack can be adjusted up or down to allow more or less room for dishes on the bottom rack. I can put tall crystal glasses on the top rack and still put full size plates on the bottom rack. It is great.
Cleaning ability.
It cleans pretty well. Generally items come out clean. Due to the higher temps they seem more sterile. However,in my old DWs if I chose the potscrubber or heavy duty cycle I could get baked on black crusty stuff to be washed of pyrex dishes etc. However, even if I choose heavy duty and have the crusty stuff pointing straight down, it will not come completely clean.
Value
Outrageously expensive. $1000 for a dishwasher? Are you crazy? Well, it matches my beautiful range and it is the best looking DW I have ever seen, plus I got a $100 rebate so I forked over the cash.
Summary
This is an extremely energy efficient DW, with a huge capacity, sterilizes the dishes well, costs a fortune but, is just beautiful to look at. If I actually had the choice I would assuredly trade the lack of potscrubbing ablity for the larger capacity in a second.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 900 (net)
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Epinions.com ID:
winshawn
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Location: Danville, CA
Reviews written: 20
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
Mechanical Engineer, Dad, with Wife and two little girls.
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