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Dishwasher Buying Guide

miele dishwasher and my buying guide

At last, we bought a new dishwasher to replace our old one that broke two days after my husband’s big birthday bash. At least all the mess from his party was cleaned.

Although I dreamed of a Miele’s dishwasher for a long time, we looked at other brands to compare. I analyzed the features carefully and made a list of what I consider important. I then check which models have the features I need and the ones I wish for.

Miele Dishwasher Sale

I am glad we didn’t have the time to place the order earlier because Miele Canada has a sale right now. The first ever Miele dishwasher sale runs until December 31, 2008. You can save 15 to 25% on any dishwasher. We used the rebate to indulge and got a superior model.

Fit Your Lifestyle

Before you buy any new appliances, take a moment to explore your lifestyle and how you like to use an appliance. All my entertaining tableware (dinnerware, glassware and flatware) is dishwasher safe. Easy entertaining means that you simplify your life from start to finish. For me, putting everything on the dishwasher improves my quality of life.

My Must Have Dishwasher Features

  1. A Delay Start
  2. Cleans better than average
  3. Run quietly
  4. Some type of barrier to make sure the broken porcelain and glass pieces cannot enter the mechanical parts. This is how my old dishwasher broke down for the second time.
  5. Excellent basket configuration tailored to my dinnerware. My everyday dining plates are big and square. I bring it with me to try it. The basket configuration is a matter of personal choice, so make sure to have a look at it. I put all my pans and pots in the dishwasher. It was also important that I can easily fit my big pots.
  6. My wine glasses are taller and they never fit inside my old dishwasher. I made sure they fit inside the new one.
  7. Be energy efficient and low-water consumption
  8. Good and long warranty

My Nice To Have Dishwasher Features

  1. The utensil drawer exposes all surfaces of the utensils. Moreover, I own a modern, organic stainless steel utensil set for entertaining that I rarely used because the handles are so thin that it does not stay inside regular utensil trays. I did not try but I hope this will solve the problem.
  2. Easy to operate
  3. Fits more place settings: useful when I entertain

The scheduled date of arrival is tomorrow. After more than a month without a dishwasher, I am very excited since I will be the proud owner of the dishwasher of my dreams.

By the way, the Canadian Web site of Miele looks like a 1998 Web site. The photos are not at pair with a high end brand. I went to the Australian Miele Web site to find inspiring pictures for my post.

  • Sylvain Caron
    December 9, 2008 at 15:50

    Congrats on your purchase Kim. We too recently had to recently change our dishwasher due to a mysterious leak and a color my better half no longer liked (no, I did not investigate to find out if the problem was causes deliberately).

    We also believed a delay start was an important feature, but not since we’ve installed our new Bosch unit. Higher end models are so quiet you don’t hear them or so little it doesn’t bother anyone. One model we looked at was from Asko and it did not feature a delay start. We understood why after “listening” to it in the show room.

    Saying high end dishwashers are quiet is a little misleading however. Noise no longer comes from the unit, but from the sink during the drain cycle! This happened before, but wasn’t as noticeable. The solution relies in a good sink stopper.

  • At Home with Kim Vallee
    December 9, 2008 at 19:21

    Sylvain: Thank you for the advice about the sink stopper. But I love too much how my Blanco Pop-up Basket Strainers works to change anything.

    After looking at many brands, I believe the European dishwashers are superior. We carefully explore the idea of getting a Bosch or an Asko dishwasher. These two brands works very well. At the end, it is the flexibility of the trays and baskets of Miele that wins my heart.

  • Helene
    March 11, 2009 at 11:02

    We bought an ASKO 5 years ago (november 2003).
    After 5 years and 3 months, the circuit board fail (when we look at it in fact we saw it burn- by chance we were at home).
    We wonder if we should repair ($350 parts) or simply buy a new one.
    ANy comments

  • SamLaTricoteuse
    March 25, 2010 at 13:59

    Asko – my in-law had the same problem and got it repaired – that was 6 years ago and it is still running. I had an Asko too : not the one with the electronic board – mechanical and it lasted 10 years. Right now I have a Miele – hahhhhhh ! – and loooove it. The best appliance I have ever bought. Enough said, we bought one too for our place up north.