When our dishwasher died with a pathetic little fizzle then my husband got straight into the car to buy another one, knowing how essential an item it is for me. I left the decision making in his hands and he came back with this dishwasher which he bought for £349. We got it in black but it can also come with a stainless steel front and its guaranteed for two years.

***Installation***

Very quick and easy. We had the required cold water feed and drain, plus a space under the worktop that measured 850mm x 598mm x 598mm. Oh and electricity!

Like most dishwashers this one has adjustable feet and it was very simple to connect it all up and slide it into place.

Before you use it you have to test the hardness of your water, they include test strips for this. The instruction manual explains everything and walks you through how to set up the dishwasher for your first wash.


***Features***

This is a nice mid-range dishwasher with plenty of useful features.

The little display on the front accurately counts down to the end of the cycle, it will also tell you what stage the machine is at in the cycle. There is a button to start/pause/cancel the current cycle which is very useful when you find that lonely fork on the worksurface (or in a shoe which is where my toddler likes to hide them). There is a button to press if you only want to run half a load or use a combi tablet. I was particularly pleased with this feature which turns off the salt and rinse aid release mechanism if you want to use a dishwasher tablet with salt and rinse aid in as well as detergent (a 2 in 1, or 3 in 1 tablet). Not only does this save you from having to replenish the salt and rinse aid so regularly, but it also means that the dishes dry better without a double dose of salt/rinse aid. Another useful function is the ability to delay the start of the cycle for up to 9 hours, should you want to make use of cheaper evening electricity or don't want to run the dishwasher at night (but don't want to forget in the morning!). There is also a little icon that lights up when you are low on salt or rinse aid, so you don't have to guess.

The on/off button is located on the top of the door which makes it impossible to turn on accidentally (lots of little fingers in this house) although I was disappointed that the machine doesn't have a child lock like the washing machine, as the machine can still be started if its left on at the end of a cycle. Next to the on/off button is a comprehensive and detailed list of all of the difference programmes and when it would be best to use them - very easy to check before you close the door on the load. In the booklet that comes with the machine there is a more detailed chart that gives the cycle pattern (i.e. Prewash-Cold Rinse-Hot Rinse-Dry), water used, electricity used and time taken for each programme. For the paranoid amongst us there is a 'Toddler Hygiene' cycle which gives bottles and dishes an extra rinse. Other programmes are Prewash, Rapid, Economy, Quick and Clean, Intensive, Active Wash and Auto Sensing (which apparently works out how soiled your dishes are and adjusts everything accordingly).

Inside the machine is well laid out with two shelves and a movable cutlery basket, which offers an extra bit of flexibility. Both shelves have a fixed set of supports and a folding set which are easy to move and fix into place. The cutlery basket is designed to fit over these supports and can be moved along them which is much more convenient than our old dishwasher where it was limited to one spot. At the back of the bottom shelf is an extra removable and height adjustable insert with two small folding shelves which stick out about ten centimetres. They are super for spatulas and long kitchen knives, as well as small cups and glasses (they have little ridges to hold things in place. The upper shelf also has small folding shelves on either side which are brilliant for things like sippy cup lids and small Tupperware boxes.

Other little clever and practical details are a deep drawer that holds all the different types of tablets and a rinse aid access panel that opens with a little lever - rather than the slippery little twisty wheel which we had on the old dishwasher. The only irritants are the fact that you still have to virtually climb into the dishwasher to load the salt and also there is supposed to be a little viewing window so you can check the levels of rinse aid - impossible to read in most lights (but then the machine will tell you when it is running out so this is spectacularly minor!).

***Performance and Capacity***

In terms of capacity it can fit a lot in. We are a family of four, two of whom are at home all day (and one of whom likes to have a new dish for every snack and meal). I can usually easily get all of our days dishes in with very little faff. Other sites say capacity 13 for those who really want to know. It is rated as an A+ in energy efficiency and an A for washing and drying. It certainly gets all of our dishes clean, even incredibly soiled and mucky dishes with caked on and baked on dirt. Even when I wash the lasagne pan with wine glasses there is no residue or lurking bits of herbs or tomatoes in any crevices. I usually use the Intensive programme which takes about 2 hours and uses about 1 kWh and 16 l of water. There are two cycles which use more electricity and water and four which use significantly less. It is a very very quiet machine at 44 decibels. The dishwasher is only two or three metres from the sofa where I am writing this and all I can hear is a gentle swishing sound, even when I concentrate.


I am very fond of our dishwasher, I am very aware of how much time and energy it saves me every day. This is a very quiet and efficient dishwasher that works very well, even on the most soiled of items. I can thoroughly recommend it.