Danby DDW496W Free-Standing Dishwasher Review

We live in an apartment. I'm in charge of all the kitchen stuff - cooking and cleaning. After a few months here, my partner mentioned seeing a counter-top dishwasher for under $200, and asked if I'd like her to buy it for me. At first I resisted, thinking that a counter-top dishwasher would bo nothing but a plastic bucket with a lame, weak motor. After hearing a million reasons why I thought it was a bad idea, my partner decided to ignoreme and just order the Danby. Am I ever glad she ignored me!

The Danby DDW496W is not a plastic piece of junk. It's exactly like a full-sized, top quality dishwasher...only half the size. Visitors usually think it's a big microwave oven, because that's what it looks like. There's no big plumbing thing to go through to connect it, either. The unit has a hose which latches on to the kitchen faucet, and stores away behind the dishwasher when not in use. Basically, you pull the Danby out of the box, hook it up to the sink, and you're ready to go. That's it. And it has a serious motor, so dishes and even pots and pans get thoroughly clean. It makes the same amount of noise that the full-sized washer we had when we lived in a house made. The unit washes up to four place settings, which is great when we have company.

The one and only drawback is the fact that the unit takes up counter space, which is valuable in an apartment. The fact that I no longer have to hand wash makes it a fair trade-off, though.

We've had it for well over a year now, and it's still amazes me how good this little dishwasher is, and how much time and elbow grease it saves me every day. I love this product.