I have owned six dishwashers in my lifetime. 3 American, 2 German, 1 Scandinavian. The 3 American dishwashers were well before they made stainless steal interiors. They were noisy, troublesome, rusted quickly and expensive to repair. One of the German machines never needed service, the other needed service 2X in 7 years. The Scandinavian is new so I can't comment. The Scandinavian is by far my favorite so far. Not quite as quiet as the German machines, but the capacity this machine well outweighs its cons. I only wish it had a beam that shined on the floor like my last German machine. This would help me know when it's finished. I really haven't found one negative about this machine. Though it's not top of the line, it's second from the top. Six cycles vs. Twelve. I had 9 on my last German machine and only used AUTO daily! There is a slight learning curve loading this vs the German machines, but nothing so radical that it's hard. All tines fold down which make putting bulky pots in with no trouble. I would recommend this brand to any friend I have. Check this brand out. The four baskets are just fantastic. It beats any American machine out there.

Razzledazzled

Bartlett, TN

Researching dishwashing machines is a complicated process. Each brand will have reviewers who LOVE it and who HATE it. I found good reviews on one machine, only to stumble on a different review site who had terrible reviews on the same machine. How is this possible? Well, I believe the following factors contribute to the vast discrepencies in opinions: differences in user preferences, installation issues, not using the machine according to the mannual, household issues such as extremely hard water/pipe issues etc, and frequency of use. We had a kitchen-aid dishwasher that was put in with our kitchen remodel about 6 years ago. We were never really 100% happy with it and it did need at least 2 repairs in that 6yr period. I do use our dishwasher a lot - at least every day and in some cases twice a day. Our reason for going Kitchen aid was: it was less expensive and while we went high end on the oven and cooktop - we needed to save a little on the rest of the appliances; it matched the other appliances we purchased, and it got pretty good ratings at the time. So when the Kitchen Aid dishwasher broke, we decided to put the cost of service/repair into a new machine. I did tons of internet research which left me very frustrated and confused on which brand to go with. I was leary of European models because I have never had to clean a dishwasher filter before and didn't know if I would remember to do it often enough. I also wasn't sure I would like the non-heated dry cycle either. We decided to check them out in person (kick the "tires") and went to an appliance store in our area. The sales person there gave us a good understanding of all the brand's pros and cons. It was interesting because he focused on all models except the Asko. When I asked him about the Asko he said he felt it was one of the best dishwasher manufacturers out there but they are often out of most folks price point - so he doesn't typically steer folks in that direction unless they specifically ask for it. Asko is a Swedish company and admitedly, I was intriqued for that reason (I'm half Swedish). I didn't remember reading any reviews about them either. After looking at the models at the store, we really liked the D5253 for a few reasons. First, the loading capacity is huge! I love the third middle rack for spatulas, knives, random shallow dishes ect. It also has another small knife rack above the top glass rack as well. Since Wolf/Subzero own Asko, it came with the same handle as our Wolf oven and refrigerator, allowing our new dishwasher to coordinate into our kitchen. It also had several washing modes - delicate cycle which is important to me. So we decided to go with this model. I went home and looked up this model to double check what the sales person said. I could not find any reviews on this particular model but I found a lot of negative reviews on Asko in general which made me very nervous. I also found a few glowing reviews as well..... Installation was quick and easy and the machine was up and running in 30 minutes (we had a professional installer - who also said Asko is a terrific brand...). I made sure to read the manual because I was not used to a European dishwashwer and I knew they function differently. The main thing I read that could cause issues for folks is the detergent used. Asko recommends AGAINST any pelleted form of detergent because it typically does not disolve completely before the wash cycle is over. I used one in our first wash anyway and sure enough, half of the tablet did not disolve (although the dishes did come out clean!). So I stopped using the tablets and switched immediately to granules. Hard water can also be an issue on how much detergent you need - the harder the water, the more detergent you need. However, if you overfill the soap dispenser, it will not be fully cleaned out and may leave some residue behind. I have used the dishwasher about 10 times and each load has come out squeeky clean (and I mean that literally!). I even put in dishes that were very dirty with just the large food items knocked off. One of the things my Kitchenaid had trouble with were peanut butter encrusted flatware (my kids eat a lot of peanut butter!). I put in a bunch of knives that had peanutbutter caked on them and to my surprize, they came out completely clean! I was SO happy! I would have to rewash a lot of the flatware in my old machine which was a pain! There is a learning curve to loading this machine though. You do have to put flatware with the utensil side up (I am used to putting it utensil side down). If you don't, the bottom tray is very low to the door and the tongs of forks or tips of knives will prevent the drawer from pulling out. Some of the tray functions are new to me too but I am learning and loving it! So far I love this machine. If it is as reliable as it is good at cleaning dishes, I will be a very happy consumer. I will update this review in a year or so.

twinmomplusone

San Carlos, CA