Tips When Shopping For A Dishwasher (Psst… Kenmore Rocks!)

by Lynnette

appliances, kitchens

My new favorite magazine is Shop Smart. It’s a fairly new publication created by the ad-free, bias-free people at Consumer Reports.

I’ve seen a few Shop Smart reps on the national morning news shows lately. They’re usually running through “the best buys for gadget geeks” or “best green cleaning products” or something like that. I always find myself taking notes. I like that they’ve done a lot of testing in order to reach their conclusions.

So here’s what they said about dishwashers in their most recent issue…

From the January 2008 issue of Shop Smart magazine

QUESTION: If you are shopping for a dishwasher, which of the following items should you take with you to the appliance store?

  • Digital camera
  • Tape measure
  • Dishes and platters
  • None of the above

ANSWER: Dishes and platters!

It’s smart to tote a few frequently used items to the store for a ‘fit’ check. That way you can make sure there’s enough room for a favorite platter, tall glasses, and other oversize things.”

By the way, in their tests of dishwashers, Kenmore won hands down — with 2 different models ($650 and $580 each) ranking #1 and #2. Bosch’s $700 model was “a smart splurge”. At $500, Frigidaire’s Gallery model was “a quick cleaner”. And Maytag’s $400 model was “a bargain buy”.