Depends which model you have.....My GE GLD5900NWW has a Sani Cycle, Heavy duty, Normal and Light Cycles. It NEVER takes a few hours to do a load, It goes from 36 minutes to 84 minutes in Sani. If you don't have the choices, you have to buy better next time. So far it's Quiet and honestly, I ran it through a cycle in the middle of the kitchen to check for leaks before I installed it under the counter, and it was a very quiet unit considering it wasn't packed away uner the counter. ....No runs, no drips, no errors! :)