I just recently posted about Ecover dishwasher tabs and mentioned our cheap old Maytag dishwasher. Well… it had a good life, but recently started acting up and we chose to replace it with a brand new Bosch 800 Series dishwasher
By the way, you might have noticed that I’ve been somewhat AWOL recently both on the blog and on facebook – I’ve actually just started a new job and it’s been a very challenging couple of weeks! I’m super excited about this change, but also completely exhausted at the end of the day, so not much energy left for internet things. Hopefully soon I’ll get into the swing of things and get back to my regular blogging routine.
European vs American Dishwashers
In the meantime I thought I’d put together a quick post about the new appliance addition to our household. Let’s start out by clarifying the main differences between US and European dishwashers:
- On average, just like with washing machines, there is a big difference between the two: US models take less time to wash a load, but use more water and electricity. European models are slower but more efficient and usually much more quiet.
- American dishwashers have heating elements for drying dishes after the wash cycle, European models rely on condensation for this. With European models your plastic items will not be completely dry (plastic conducts heat differently and condensation drying doesn’t really work with it), but they will also not warp no matter which rack you put them on.
- European dishwashers require the use of rinse aid to help with the drying. I always use rinse aid, and my favorite natural one is from Seventh Generation – while it doesn’t get dishes quite as shiny as Jet-Dry
, it does a solid job and gets an A rating for safety from the Environmental Working Group.
- US machines typically have food grinders that grind up any leftover food particles, European ones have a removable filter that can be rinsed off and is much easier to replace if something happens to it.
- The spacing between tines can be smaller in European models, making it more difficult to fit larger and thicker dishware.
Having lived most of my life with European appliances I was at first a little bit confused by our US Maytag. In the almost 5 years that we owned it I never once used the heated dry feature (I actually manually turned it off every time I ran a load – if I forgot I’d inevitably find something gross caked on the dishes), we always scraped the dishes before putting them in (so no need for the food grinder) and considering how high electricity rates are in our state I was mindful to not run it unless absolutely necessary since I knew it was not a very efficient model. So when it came to choosing a replacement I knew right away that I wanted to go Euro, and quickly narrowed my options down to the Bosch lineup.
Bosch 800 Series Dishwasher vs 500 Series
What was more difficult than choosing a manufacturer was deciding which model to get. This was a present to myself for landing a new job, so I decided against the basic entry-level Ascenta or 300 Series, but also didn’t want to pay extra for the made in Germany Benchmark Series (if I were willing to spend that much I would probably have gone for Miele), so it came down to two models: SHX65T55UC
By the way I found the model numbers pretty much impossible to tell apart, and that was frustrating when I just started researching the options. The trick is the number in the middle, after the 6: if it’s a 5 you’re looking at the 500 Series and an 8 for 800 Series, i.e. SHX68T55UC for my 800 Series model. 300 Series and Ascentas still confuse me though!
The Bosch 800 Series dishwasher offers some folding tines on the bottom and middle racks – the 500 Series does not have this option. With the tines down the bottom rack easily fits our Le Creuset 6 3/4 quart oval dutch oven
A lot of consumer websites such as Reviewed.com and TheSweetHome recommend the 500 Series over the 800 Series. The reasoning? Both clean equally well, so why pay more for the additional features of the 800. But I think this is where testing in a non-household environment can skew things, so let’s take a look at the actual differences between the Bosch 800 Series vs the 500 Series (the price difference is around $100 at MSRP, and closer to $75 real world):
- The 800 Series models offer several rows of folding tines on the bottom and middle racks – this for me was the #1 reason I chose the 800 Series. The existing Bosch tines are quite narrow and all of them are at an angle. This is great for loading plates, but if you need to load larger items such as bowls or pans, it can be very limiting. With the folding tines I can be super flexible depending on my load – for example if I’m washing the Le Creuset pan pictured above I will fold down the tines, but if I have a large amount of plates I’ll keep those up.
- The 800 Series offers an Eco Cycle: a shorter and cooler wash cycle for delicate dishes and/or saving electricity. I have used this cycle previously on a half load (with the Half Load setting activated as well – it is the fastest option after Express), and was pleasantly surprised with the results!
- The 800 Series has touch controls while the 500 Series has buttons. I personally don’t see this as a huge advantage or disadvantage, and don’t have a particular preference either way.
- The 800 Series comes with an accessory kit, consisting of three small item clips and a bottle/vase holder. While not necessary, these are nice to have, and Bosch charges a lot for purchasing accessories separately.
This is what the bottom rack looks like with the adjustable tines up and down.
Everything else is the same. Both series offer a third rack for cutlery and small items, both have “RackMatic” that allows easy adjustment of the middle rack even when it’s loaded, both are rated for 44 dB noise levels, have equal energy efficiency ratings, a fully stainless steel tub, an info light indicating that the dishwasher is running etc.
Bosch 800 Series Dishwasher Features
One really cool feature that’s available in both 500 and 800 Series is what Bosch calls “RackMatic”. My old dishwasher let you change the height of the top rack, but that required a screwdriver and repositioning the spray arm, and it was honestly way too much work for us to ever bother. The Bosch models let you do this quickly and easily, and you can even adjust after you’ve loaded the rack! You just grab the clips on both sides of the rack and move the rack where you want it to be. Here’s a somewhat awkward futuristic video from Bosch showing how that works. I typically keep the rack at the lowest setting, since we have a lot of tall wine glasses. In my old dishwasher they would have to go on the bottom rack, but here they fit perfectly on the middle one.
You can see in the picture below just how much of a difference in clearance between the bottom of the glass and the top cutlery rack there is when you go from the highest to the lowest setting.
Bosch dishwashers offer “RackMatic”: an easily adjustable middle/top rack that has three height settings.
Another thing I absolutely love is the top rack that’s meant for cutlery, large utensils and small items like ramekins and pinch bowls. The dishwasher does come with a standard cutlery basket, but I recently took it our for good – in about 3 weeks of running the dishwasher on a daily basis I had not used the basket once. The top rack is an absolutely fantastic alternative, although I have to warn the more OCD-inclined folks that you might spend more time loading it as you try to perfectly arrange all of the items. But whatever time is lost during loading is gained when you unload – no more sorting, you just scoop all of the items up and they go straight to the cutlery drawer!
The top rack can completely replace the cutlery basket, and easily fits serving utensils, ramekins and other small items, freeing up space in the full size racks.
Some people complain about not being able to fit their thicker dishes – I highly recommend you take some of your most commonly used dishes to a showroom to test it out. We have zero issues with this, in fact I can fit so much more into the Bosch compared to the Maytag that it’s not even funny.
A big concern for me was whether the tall wine glasses would fit on the middle rack – fortunately they do! The bottom rack does not have any kind of wine glass holder, and with the angled tines glasses would topple over if loaded on the bottom, so the middle rack was our only option.
Does it have any faults?
As with all things, perfection does not really exist. The Bosch dishwashers do have some drawbacks, and let me just note that I do not consider normal Euro dishwasher behavior to be a negative. So you won’t find me complaining about wet plastic items, having to rinse out the filter or longer wash times – that’s just part of the technology, and it’s considered standard for European designs, since it leads to efficiency. What I am listing here are some “quirks” that I’ve noticed over the past month of daily use.
- This is a known issue, and my main gripe with Bosch: the bottom rack comes off the “tracks” much too easily. It’s really quite annoying that my cheap old Maytag did this better than the much more expensive Bosch, and I’m currently working with their Service team to see if anything can be done (I’ve read that some people have received replacement wheels of a larger diameter that helped with this, I’ll update when I hear back from Bosch).
- The sprayer arm on the middle rack is not locked in securely. I once had a load with several tall items that shifted during the wash and started lightly hitting the sprayer arm. This actually caused the sprayer to fall off mid-wash! But at the same time this makes for much easier cleaning of the arm itself (removing the sprayer arm on the Maytag was a nightmare – ask me how I know…) if little bits of food clog the water holes. Coupled with the RackMatic height adjustments I really don’t see this as as big of an issue compared to the bottom rack one, but still sharing since I had never had that happen to me before with my other dishwashers.
- The dishwasher requires proper installation. It has to be installed with a “high loop”, and not all plumbers know this. Even though we ordered installation through Lowes, we got lucky with a very good plumber who knew what he was doing – he said I was the first customer in his 20+ year career to ask about the high loop!
- Speaking of installation, there were some things that came as a surprise: the wiring is different than on the Maytag (it comes with a junction box that needs to be installed as well and you need cabinet space for that), and the hose length is shorter.
- The cutlery basket that comes with the dishwasher is not a great design – it is very long and offers zero customization options other than keep or remove. I prefer baskets that are split into two sections – those offer a lot more flexibility, although in all honesty I love the top rack for cutlery so much that I could easily do without a basket at all.
So, How do you use it?
I personally primarily use the Auto setting for regular loads, add Sanitize or Extra Shine if I have a lot of wine glasses. The Sanitize and Extra Shine settings really do make a difference in how dry the dishes come out, although even without them turned on dishes are much dryer than I used to get in the plastic tub Maytag with heat dry turned off. If I have pans in there I’ll use the Heavy cycle.
The Half Load feature really doesn’t decrease the wash cycle by much, so I rarely use that. Once when I had a small load that was dirty enough for Express to not be an option I used Eco plus Half Load – that cycle took about an hour and I was very surprised that the dishes came out completely clean! I keep meaning to try out Eco on a regular load, but have yet to do that.
For detergents I primarily use the following: Ecover Zero powder
(By the way, Vitacost tends to have great prices on Ecover products, and you can get $10 off your first order there by registering through this link.)
The removable filter gets checked once a week or so, but to date I haven’t found anything more than some crumbs on it. I think eventually I’ll bring that down to a once a month maintenance schedule. Funny story: my in-laws have had their Bosch dishwasher for about 10 years, and this Christmas was the first time they found out from me about the filter. They had no idea it was there and had never taken it out to clean! Believe it or not, the only thing it had was some shards of broken glass – no food gunk whatsoever.
One more thing: as with my front loader washer, I’m a firm believer in air circulation. I know this is not necessary, but I prefer to not leave the door firmly closed all day so that I avoid any chance of smells in there (damp warm environment + dirty dishes = bacteria heaven). Here’s what I do: after I unload the dishwasher in the morning, I put a microfiber towel in the door and leave it like that for the day.
Here’s what I do to keep the air circulating in the dishwasher: I place a small microfiber cloth in the door after unloading, and leave it like that for the day.
Final Verdict
Would I recommend the Bosch 800 Series dishwasher? I absolutely would recommend it, however only to people who understand the way European machines work and have determined that it will be a good fit for their household. A lot of the negative reviews that you will read revolve around the difference in technology, and if a person absolutely must have heated dry and they are willing to sacrifice energy efficiency for it a Bosch dishwasher will not be a good fit, no matter how much I personally love it.
With that caveat in mind, if you do want to go Euro, you will love this dishwasher: it cleans amazingly well, it’s whisper quiet, it saves money on the electric bill and offers lots of loading flexibility.
I have been enjoying every day of owning it – the dishes are coming out cleaner than ever before, no matter what amount of caked on food was on them when they went in. The technology is fantastic, and I even went searching for videos made from the inside – fortunately youtube has everything! Just look at how powerful those jets are:
THE Bosch 800 Series Dishwasher was PURCHASED BY ME FOR PERSONAL USE. THIS BLOG POST CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS THAT WILL GIVE ME A SMALL COMMISSION ON ANY PURCHASES MADE THROUGH THE LINKS.
Hello–first time here, and I want to say thank you for a thoughtful and thorough review of these two dishwashers. You are the first person (other than yours truly) I’ve encountered who has gone to the trouble of elaborating on the fine grained distinctions between the 500 and the 800 series. I purchased an 800 series earlier this year, and, once the installation was finished (see below) found it to be a great product. I am now considering a 500 series for a different location. Why? Because, oddly, the 500, at least in black, not stainless (cleaning–ugh!) seems a significantly better buy.
I think, as of this writing, (August 2016), the differences really come down to this: the 800 has an additional cycle, the folding tines you mentioned and (I think) capacitative (touch) rather than electronic (button) controls.
What I have found is that the 500 at least now does have an eco-wash feature so that seems a wash.
But what is important, at least to me, is that the 500 series has some features that the 800 series does NOT have:
Targeted scouring module
Heated/high temp dry
Gentle wash cycle
Oddly, the 500 series also has an additional certification from ETL, which the 800 series doesn’t. So, at least as of this moment, I’d say that you should seriously compare the two models because for whatever reason Bosch has mixed up the features so that the 500 series has more internal options than before. The only reason I can think of for this is that Bosch has decided that consumers will pay more for a touch screen even if the unit is otherwise the same.
Incidentally, one other thing to consider depending upon the ages of the people in your household. Some Bosch dishwashers have a control/child lockout feature. The ones I’ve been looking at–the SHX68T56UC and the SHP65T56UC–don’t. This feature can change the price of the model by up to $100.
Note on installation: Depending upon your current dishwasher installation you may want to consider if you need to hire an installer or, possibly, an electrician, especially if you have had your current machine for a long time, as building codes may have changed since the prior installation. In my case, the 800 series Bosch installation required, among other things, additional plumbing and reconfiguring part of an electrical circuit. If in doubt be sure to contact a licensed electrician or plumber.
Hi Tom, thank you for such a great comment. I’m currently vacationing in VT with minimal internet access, but I’ll respond properly when I return!
Hi again Tom,
Could you please let me know where you saw a 500 Series with the Eco wash feature? It’s not currently listed on the Bosch website, and the product image here does not show an Eco button in the 500 Series control panel. However, it could be that they’ve made some recent changes and haven’t yet updated their website listing!
As for the other features you list, I’m not sure what a targeted scouring module is, but the 800 Series absolutely has high temp dry (with the Sanitize or Extra Shine features activated) and a Delicate wash cycle – you can see the controls here.
However for me personally the biggest benefit to the 800 Series are the folding tines – we have a lot of bulky enameled cast iron pans that would not fit in the dishwasher with stationary tines, and the convenience of being able to load them in the 800 for me personally is huge!
And that’s a great point about the child lock – I believe the recessed handle versions which have the controls on the front panel have that feature included (even Ascenta), but the bar and pocket handle ones do not.
Nice blog, but I think the viewers may not get the correct impression of how European and American appliances really compare. Nearly everything that is reviewed against American products are going to be fairly well equipped. European washers are not necessarily quieter than American models, they to need to optioned this way.
It’s the same way with Mercedes, where the CLA250 is the cheapest car they offer to Americans. We don’t get actual European non premium Mercedes such the A cars. If they did sell them here, Americans maybe would rethink their love for that brand.
Hi Steven, with all due respect I will take an entry-level European machine over a top loader any day.
Hello, Thanks for this grate post . This product have very good feature and its prices are also very affordable. I am also doing work on this kind of website.
wow, thanks for sharing your thoughts on this one. It is very detailed and it is much appreciated.
You’re very welcome Denise!
Thanks for a great write up. Did you hear back from Bosch on the bottom rack issue you were having? I’m curious to hear whether it was resolved to your satisfaction or not.
Hi there, I actually never did hear back after emailing them. We kind of got used to being careful with the bottom rack, so I haven’t felt the need to call Bosch and complain, although I probably should! Overall really loving it still.
Looking to replace a 7 year old top of the line ($1100) Bosch, which itself replaced a top of the line Asko. The Bosch performed well through most of its life (quiet and spot-free), but the basket quality was horrific from day one. And those folding tines- MAJOR headache and high failure rate. Eventually i tore a few out because they collapsed all the time. I was not impressed with the basket quality, in terms of design or heft, and this was the major disappointment of this machine for me. The soap pump just failed, and the top basket has had chunks fall off from early on, which allowed for a number of rusty stumps to populate the inside of my machine. I’m hearing nice stuff about the Kitchen Aids. If their racks are better quality than the Bosch, that’s my pick for the next round.
Here are my 2 cents on our brand new Bosch dishwasher that I cannot STAND!!! https://diyloftbed.wordpress.com/2016/11/14/our-new-dishwasher/
Thanks for sharing Jamie. I had never heard of that light issue that you are experiencing!
Thank you Olga for an awesome post. We’ve had ours since May but I googled the dishwasher this morning because I keep getting dried up scum on my glasses. Does anyone else have this problem? I clean the filter regularly and use the auto cycle. I use the Finish tabs and rinse.Maybe I am loading wrong? I may call Bosch this week as this should not be happening with a brand new dishwasher.
Hmm that does not sound right. We got rid of our old dishwasher when I started regularly finding gritty residue in our tall water glasses – so gross! The Bosch does not do this at all, except for one time when I tried to use some older dishwashing tabs that I think had gone bad and were not dissolving properly.
There is a Bosch how-to vides that suggests that if your dishes are too clean, i.e. if you have rinsed instead of just scraped them, the detergent will combine with the food particles it can find and those will stick to the glasses. Maybe you are cleaning your dishes too much?
Olga, thank you for your detailed review of the Bosch 800 series dishwasher. I was just about sold on it when I read complaints elsewhere from people about the writing on the controls wearing off very early on in the life of the dishwasher. Have you seen any evidence of this?
Also, I have read conflicting thoughts on when to remove the dishes. Do they need to be removed as soon as the cycle finishes in order to prevent dampness? Or, is it OK to leave the dishes in overnight after the dishwasher has finished running.
Thanks for any light you can shed on these two questions.
Hi Linda, I read those reports too, but I think most of the complaints were for the recessed handle models that have control buttons on the front of the dishwasher door. The bar handle model that I have has recessed controls, and in the 6+ months that we’ve been using it I have not seen any sign of controls fading. We only clean it with a damp microfiber though, no cleaning solution or abrasive sponges.
As for when to remove, I run the dishwasher at night 90% of the time and don’t remove the dishes till morning, 5-6 hours after the cycle ends. There will always be some water left on plastic pyrex lids, no matter when you open the door. Other than that glassware is mostly dry, with a bit of water left in the odd deep cup bottom. Enabling Sanitize or Extra Shine helps minimize that small amount of leftover water, I add that when I have a big load of wine glasses.
Actually, it’s the recessed handle model that I was going to buy. Unless the front of the dishwasher is totally flush against the cabinet edge, I don’t have room for the handle sticking out into the room. It’s a tight space. Hmmm…
Hmm indeed… Maybe take a look at the pocket handle version? Although honestly, remember to take negative reviews with a grain of salt. I know that it’s a frustrating process, but people with bad experiences are much more likely to go online and complain. I remember the analysis paralysis – almost made me want to stick with the old crappy dishwasher!
LOL @ analysis paralysis! That’s exactly where I’m at! I’ll let you know when I finally decide.
Thanks so much for the detailed info. I’m a “Nancy Drew Super-Sleuth” with just about everything, most especially major purchases like an appliance. My friends usually come to me before making a purchase to see if it’s something I’ve looked into (I need one of those friends!). “Analysis Paralysis” is more like “information coma” for me – today is no exception having spent over 8 hours online reading and researching dishwashers (mostly Bosch but Miele and Thermador also). My dilemma has been choosing between the Benchmark and the 800 series. I think I’m opting for the 800 series since you can only purchase the Benchmark products from specialty retailers and I can find the 800 Series model #SHP68T55UC for a nice Black Friday deal at a local appliance retailer. Thanks again for the great post that covers the details of all the things that I’m concerned about before making this purchase!
Thanks for your comment Kerry and best of luck with the search!
We recently replaced our 20-year old Bosch with the quietest one they make, which has 3 racks. We can’t fit as many wine glasses in the upper rack as we used to. Is there a trick for getting more in that rack? Even with clips, I don’t think I want to put them in the bottom rack. Does anyone have experience with this?
Also, the silverware basket on our model is very adjustable — you can bend it in half and use the cover or not. But we have removed it entirely because of the third rack, which is great.
Hi Beverly, have you adjusted RackMatic to the lowest setting? We are able to fit out tallest Riedel glasses even on the medium setting:
Yes, but we still can’t fit more than 4 at one time. It has something to do with the spacing of the tines, I think.
Thank you, though.
Hi Beverly Jean, apologies it took me so long to respond – things have been a little crazy. I do know that Bosch offers this accessory: http://www.bosch-home.com/us/store/product/CupWineGlassBasket/00670481 – not sure if it would work for your model or not?
Thanks so much. I will look into it.
“The bottom rack comes off the “tracks” much too easily ”
I too have this issue and it is causing my wife to be very annoyed with the washer. Have you found a fix.
I haven’t had this problem, although it did start to be an issue with my old (15 years) one. Why don’t you contact Bosch customer service and see what they recommend?
Hi Robert, by now I’m used to being careful with the bottom rack and it doesn’t bother me much anymore – comes off maybe once every 10-15 loads. I’d recommend reaching out to their customer service department, but call instead of email – they never responded to the email I sent them through their contact form.
I just purchased this dishwasher, and I was wondering if dishes still come out clean if you don’t rinse them and they sit for a few days before they’re washed? It seems that the food would be stuck and not come out clean. We don’t have a lot of dishes everyday, so they might sit in the dishwasher for a few days. I’m wondering if they will be clean and will the dishwasher stink because the food has been sitting there for a few days?
Does anyone have experience with this?
Thanks!
Hi Terri! Sorry for taking so long to respond. I’d scrape the dishes (no need to rinse, just get most of the food off) and make sure to keep the dishwasher door slightly ajar. That way you will be able to avoid smells – if you close the door bacteria will breed like crazy in the damp/warm environment of the dishwasher! Also, depending on how heavily soiled the dishes are you might want to run a rinse cycle first. When my husband is traveling I run the dishwasher every 2-3 days, and haven’t had any issues as long as the door is left open for air circulation!
Thanks, Olga! I’ll try that! I appreciate all the information – it’s been so helpful!
Olga,
I am buying my first-ever dishwasher, a Bosch 18″ based on your excellent review. I was wondering if I need to use salt in it. Have you ever done that? Can you give any tips?
Hi Glen, thank you for your kind words and congratulations on the upcoming purchase!
I can see that the 18″ dishwashers all have a salt reservoir like traditional European machines. Do you have hard or soft water? If you have soft water you can skip the salt (although I would still recommend using a rinse aid). The salt is there to soften medium/hard water, and with soft water or a whole house water softener that is just not needed.
If you have medium or hard water you should definitely add salt and adjust the settings on the dishwasher accordingly. It will make a world of a difference, since detergents work so much better in softened water!
My current machine is an “Americanized version” and does not have a salt reservoir, however when I lived in Europe I used salt in my machines. One bag of salt would last forever, and it was quite inexpensive to purchase, so can’t say anything bad about that setup!
One other thought I had for you – your machine is smaller than standard, so you might want to experiment with the amount of detergent that works for you. It might be less than indicated on the package (since those instructions are for standard 24″ machines). And especially with the softening salt one full tab might be a bit much and you’ll have to either cut those in half or use powders, but you’ll have to play around with it. It’s all part of the fun!
My advice after years of experience with a water softener is to use as little dishwasher detergent as possible. Pods would be definitely way too much, IMO. Years ago, a repairman suggested the best way to avoid hazing of glassware was to use a mixture of half Calgon and half Cascade – Personally I think this was just a way to not use too much detergent, but it worked. Calgon has disappeared from store shelves, so why not just use less detergent?
Bosch recommended 1 Tablespoon of Finish or Cascade, but I started with a heaping teaspoonful of detergent and it is doing the job in our new 800 series unit. (Replacing a 25 year old GE Potscrubber that was still working).
Love the quiet running! Loading is still a learning process….
Hi, Olga. I’ve been using my new 18″ 800-series Bosch for a month or so, running it about twice a week. I’m very pleased overall, even though I’ve had to rewash a dish or two occasionally . My question, thoug,h, is about rinse aid. I filled the reservoir with Seventh Generation rinse aid, per the directions, but I have not added any since then, even after around eight loads because the add rinse light hasn’t come on. Is this normal? How long does it take for the light to come on?
Thanks for the update Glen, I’m glad you’re enjoying your new Bosch!
Regarding rinse aid, a full dispenser fill usually lasts me at least a month with daily use, so I’m your case it should be a while before you need to add any more.
Thanks, Olga. Another question : What wash mode do you like best? I’ve tried them all but have settled on Auto with the Sanitize option. Is Sanitize a good option?
Sanitize doesn’t affect the wash cycle, it raises the temperature of the final rinse only – it can also get dishes to dry a bit faster due to the higher temps. I personally don’t use it, since I don’t see a huge difference. Auto is my daily driver, and Heavy if I have some really dirty pans in the load. I’ll also use Eco every now and then on very small and lightly soiled loads, but wouldn’t rely on that on a regular basis – the temps are lower and the cycle is much shorter.
What’s the difference between Sanitize and Extra Shine?
Hi Olga,
Can racks be installed at different heights to start with by the installer? Trying to figure out if I should ask the installer to place the middle rack at a certain height from the bottom rack so I do not have to move it afterwards.
Thanks.
It is easy to change the height of the racks as needed, but you can ask the installer to put them in a certain position for you, if you know where you will want them. I sometimes adjust mine if I have platters, for instance, so I raise the glasses rack; or if I have wine glasses I will lower the glasses rack. I would recommend that you ask the installer to show you how to adjust so you can do it yourself if needed.
Hi Ona,
The rack will be installed with the dishwasher, and you can adjust it accordingly once you are using it. Hope you enjoy your new dishwasher!
Great review. We have a 500 series about 5 years old. From day one it never cleaned well. We had it inspected a couple of times by servicemen, but nothing appeared to be wrong. With a normal full load, our solution is to run the faucet until the water is hot and leave it on until it fills (at a loss of that famous efficiency) and set it to Heavy with Extra Shine, but even so we always find an item or two that didn’t get well cleaned. We have a water softener. I wonder if the problem is that “high loop” you mentioned. I would like to learn more about that.
I find the narrow tines in the tray frustrating, as the angles make glasses hard to fit. I like the top tray for knives and the quiet operation.
Hi Gary, thanks for the comment. It’s very odd that your 500 Series is not cleaning well – just to confirm, did you call Bosch and have their repair folks come out to take a look? I don’t think the absence of a high loop would affect washing performance, but you might want to check if that was installed properly. Then again, if the repair folks were from Bosch they would have caught this I’m sure.
To me it almost sounds like there is some issue with the water pressure or heater if you are finding unclean dishes after a cycle. When it works properly the machine really is a beast in terms of cleaning. My in-laws have a 10 year old Bosch dishwasher that is still going as strong as when they first bought it, and they also swear by the cleaning power.
Final though, although I’m sure you’ve done this over 5 years many times, but have you tried switching dishwasher detergent?
Olga
Thanks. We called the people who did the installation for the store that sold the Bosch. I think we also called Bosch, but I no longer remember whether they sent someone different. Technicians have checked water flow and the heater in the machine.
We have an on-demand water heater. I make sure the water is hot before closing the door. The interior seems hot when the door is opened immediately after a cycle.
The dishes all get clean in the bottom tray, but we can only put shallow cups and bowls in the mid level. The knife tray has a tough time with butter.
We are using the Cascade pods recommended by Bosch.
Does the display show a “time left” when running a cycle? It may be shutting off on purpose since the digital display is covered by the counter top but I would be able to see if I looked in the gap. I really was looking forward to this feature so I’m annoyed I can’t see a countdown. It does tell me how long the cycle will last when I set my options.
Hi Kory, you can open the dishwasher door to see how much time remains (don’t forget to hit Start again before you close the door though). If you wanted to constantly see the timer, one of the front control models would be a better fit than the bar handle model.
Thanks, Olga. I’ll try that out next time I run a cycle.
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I did a review sometime ago on one of Bosch’s dishwashers. This article throws more light on my review. You didn’t mention if you got a reply from
Bosch on the bottom rack issue. Did you figure it out yourself or did they responded satisfactorily?
Thanks for the info in advance!
Jessica Orika
http://www.bestdishwashers.info
hi
I have heard that Bosch dishwasher are well reputed and very reliable. I am using EdgeStar DWP61ES which is quite good as well but I would certainly consider having an upgrade
Before you decided on Bosch, had you done much research on other non European dishwashers?
I’m wondering if you had to pick something else what would be runner up? Would you have considered another Maytag?
I would love to know your thoughts, I have been trying to do some research.
I think consumer reports had Kitchen aid as their top pick, but there were so many negative reviews I’m not sure what to think!
Hi Val, I did not research non-Euro appliances since I knew I wanted to go Euro this time around. It really came down to Bosch and Miele for me, and that was an easy choice since I didn’t plan on spending Miele money.
Sorry that I can’t be of more help! I’ll just say that appliance reviews really need to be taken with a grain of salt. I’d recommend asking on the Gardenweb Appliance forums – that should help narrow things down!
We’ve had our current Bosch dishwasher for 16 trouble free years. I don’t use any rinse aid since we have a whole house water softener. I’ve been using Ecover Zero powder for years. I do remember we were very selective when finding a plumber to install it…so many were clueless on the Euro machines. I’ll definitely be purchasing another Bosch when this ones finally goes. This is one case where I think Bosch excels over Miele.
We recently purchased the 800 and it does clean the dishes well and they do come out pretty dry despite the lack of a heater, which I was very nervous about. The only thing I really hate about the dishwasher is that the red “running” light goes off at the end of the washing cycle but the dishwasher can still not be opened for one hour in order for them to dry. It would be so much better if the red light stayed on for an hour more, of if a yellow light came on or something to indicate “DO NOT OPEN THIS DISHWASHER” to the many people who pull it open while it’s trying to dry. A continual problem at our house, as once it’s open it loses its capacity to really continue the dry cycle very well. We’ve come up with placing a red chip clip on the handle of the dishwasher once we’ve set it on, but it sure is a crazy solution for such an expensive and attractive dishwasher! Anybody else come up with other ways to indicate to others not to open the dishwasher for an hour?
Has anyone experienced the “bad smell” commented by several Bosch dishwasher reviewers online?
No I can’t say that I have. But as the writer suggests, I often leave my dishwasher cracked open after I unstack it to make sure the inside dries. I had one of the original smelly front load clothes washing machines back in the day and I learned that smelly lesson with that appliance! Also, I use the dishwasher cleaning pods about every few months so you might want to purchase those and run it through and then don’t click your door all the way shut for a while after unstacking the clean dishes.
I have the 800 with the towel bar on front and the touch pad controls hidden on the top. I love the way the dishes get clean, but really really hate that the red light only shows to the floor where no one’s looking and it doesn’t stay on for the required one hour after washing that it takes for the dishes to dry so it’s off before they’re really done. People are always opening the dishwasher while they’re still wet. Worse than that is when people open it during the cycle, because it’s so quiet, when they close it back up the cycle totally stops so you often just find mid cycle dishes and have to start all over again. We’ve had to use a chip clip and labeled it “DO NOT OPEN” and we all now put the clip on the dishtowel bar on the front of our unit when starting it to warn people to not touch it! And we stand there and watch for the solid red light, not a blinking light, to appear on the floor to tell us it’s registered to start up because it often doesn’t! It’s always a problem. If I had it to do over I’d get the one where you could see the controls with the dishwasher closed. Otherwise, after some many months, I’ve finally gotten used to owning a European style dishwasher with no heat element and it does do a good job and I love the three rack system. It’s incredibly quiet as well. 🙂
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