Author Topic: Bosch dishwashers  (Read 2195 times)

jeromedawg

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Bosch dishwashers
« on: November 03, 2021, 09:16:31 AM »
Hi all,

I had a Bosch Ascenta at our condo and loved that thing. Aside from the dishes not always coming out 100% dry, it was a great dishwasher and very reliable. We didn't mind just hand wiping the dishes that were still a little wet. Fast-forward to today, we're looking for a new dishwasher (had to get rid of the old one due to a rat infestation - it was nasty) and I'm strongly considering another Bosch if not an Ascenta. I noticed the 100 is the same price point too and *seems* to offer more features. Does anyone have the 100? Or has anyone owned both at some point?

I'm not that interested in the higher end Bosch units since I know how well the lowest end unit works and it was good enough for me. All I want is one that's stainless steel haha.

Right now, these are $600~ - I'm wondering if I should wait as Black Friday approaches though.

Thoughts?

affordablehousing

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Re: Bosch dishwashers
« Reply #1 on: November 03, 2021, 10:21:56 AM »
I really like Bosch dishwashers. I'd just get whatever they have. I needed a custom panel model, and Bosch told me they were at least 9 months out from fulfilling orders. At the low end of their line, you're just getting the basic washing functions so just get whatever they have. In my experience, the only way to get a deal is to order multiple appliances, or buy used. I ended up having to go to Craigslist to get my dishwasher, though I did find a custom panel 800 series that was a year old for $500. It works well and beats having a hole in my kitchen for 9 months. The only other difference I'd heard was where Bosch makes their lines. Some are in China, many are in US, the Benchmark series in Germany.

jeromedawg

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Re: Bosch dishwashers
« Reply #2 on: November 03, 2021, 11:08:01 AM »
I really like Bosch dishwashers. I'd just get whatever they have. I needed a custom panel model, and Bosch told me they were at least 9 months out from fulfilling orders. At the low end of their line, you're just getting the basic washing functions so just get whatever they have. In my experience, the only way to get a deal is to order multiple appliances, or buy used. I ended up having to go to Craigslist to get my dishwasher, though I did find a custom panel 800 series that was a year old for $500. It works well and beats having a hole in my kitchen for 9 months. The only other difference I'd heard was where Bosch makes their lines. Some are in China, many are in US, the Benchmark series in Germany.

I've been reading that the Ascenta and 100 don't have a fully stainless steel interior and so the drying may not be as great. This was a minor annoyance with our Ascenta but we got used to it. But maybe we shouldn't settle for less lol. I think the next step-up is the 300, which upgrades to an all SS interior. I'm seriously thinking about that one now but we're getting to the $900~ range :O

affordablehousing

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Re: Bosch dishwashers
« Reply #3 on: November 04, 2021, 10:09:56 AM »
I think a stainless tub looks a lot better but it does cost more. We'd had a temporary dishwasher, a GE I think, before we remodeled the house and got the nice Bosch one we wanted. Any other brand than Bosch, Miele and Thermador has stainless interiors for more like $500. They don't have the Bosch badge, and a new buyer would just throw them out anyway, but if you only care about the function, not the aesthetics/brand that might be a good compromise. The stainless GE worked just fine.

MayDay

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Re: Bosch dishwashers
« Reply #4 on: November 04, 2021, 11:01:03 AM »
We have whatever the cheapest SS option with the  3rd rack. Got it two years ago and love it. I agree with your assessment that the lower end models are awesome so no need to upgrade.

yachi

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Re: Bosch dishwashers
« Reply #5 on: November 04, 2021, 11:18:25 AM »
Early 2020 our dishwasher from 1985 wouldn't open for cleaning.  A bit too much torque was applied, and we suddenly found ourselves dishwasher shopping.  Our old dishwasher did great with almost everything we put through it.  I'm sure it used a lot of water, but it got things clean.  My boss had a new dishwasher that didn't get things clean, and they had to pre-rinse everything they put in it.  Other friend's of ours have a dishwasher that is too noisy.
Not wanting to get something only to be disappointed forever, I looked at consumer reports ratings.  We found a stainless Miele on an appliance website and got it delivered.  It's excellent, but more expensive than everything we can find at the big box stores.  Definitely not a frugal purchase, but we've always used our dishwasher a lot.  Until it's draining water, you have to listen closely to know if it's running or not.

JLee

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Re: Bosch dishwashers
« Reply #6 on: November 04, 2021, 11:21:12 AM »
Re: drying, are you using rinse aid?  Our dishwasher dries much better if we are using rinse aid.

jeromedawg

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Re: Bosch dishwashers
« Reply #7 on: November 04, 2021, 04:07:19 PM »
Re: drying, are you using rinse aid?  Our dishwasher dries much better if we are using rinse aid.

Oh good point. I seem to recall this being part of the problem now that you bring it up. I tried to make sure we kept the rinse aid levels full in the Bosch we had. The pooling issues we had were minimal enough to not cause us to complain at least haha

Duke03

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Re: Bosch dishwashers
« Reply #8 on: November 04, 2021, 04:46:18 PM »
We have a Bosch and like you said other than some plastics not coming out 100% dry we have no complaints.  That and it just doesn't seem to hold as much as our last dishwasher but it's so much quieter.  As far as price I don't think they will come down much for black Friday.  Most places are already advertising Black Friday prices now...  I'd be more worried about it being in stock if you wait to purchase it.  Being it's at the lower price point those will go the fastest to sell out.  I'd just buy it now.

Another Reader

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Re: Bosch dishwashers
« Reply #9 on: November 04, 2021, 06:15:40 PM »
I absolutely hate my 2017 Bosch, bought on sale at Lowes.  Things don't come clean and despite a long dry cycle, it doesn't dry.  The layout is not flexible.  I would get a cheap Whirlpool if I were to replace it now, as all dishwashers today are garbage by design.

Black Friday has already started.  Costco has a lot of dishwashers on sale right now as do the other majors.  Make sure whatever you buy is in stock, or you may be waiting awhile.

Morning Glory

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Re: Bosch dishwashers
« Reply #10 on: November 04, 2021, 06:23:20 PM »
I absolutely hate my 2017 Bosch, bought on sale at Lowes.  Things don't come clean and despite a long dry cycle, it doesn't dry.  The layout is not flexible.  I would get a cheap Whirlpool if I were to replace it now, as all dishwashers today are garbage by design.

Black Friday has already started.  Costco has a lot of dishwashers on sale right now as do the other majors.  Make sure whatever you buy is in stock, or you may be waiting awhile.

Thank God I am not the only one who has had a bad Bosch.  I had to take mine apart and clean it multiple times per month,  to the point that it was easier to just handwash the dishes.  This was ~10 years ago so I don't remember the model.  It was an open box item from Best Buy.

I had good luck with whirlpool the last time I bought a dishwasher,  but we only stayed there about 2 years after that so it might not have lasted. Dishes got clean and I didn't have to take anything apart,  ever!!!

JLee

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Re: Bosch dishwashers
« Reply #11 on: November 04, 2021, 10:19:57 PM »
I absolutely hate my 2017 Bosch, bought on sale at Lowes.  Things don't come clean and despite a long dry cycle, it doesn't dry.  The layout is not flexible.  I would get a cheap Whirlpool if I were to replace it now, as all dishwashers today are garbage by design.

Black Friday has already started.  Costco has a lot of dishwashers on sale right now as do the other majors.  Make sure whatever you buy is in stock, or you may be waiting awhile.

I have a Samsung with two big drawers and a shallow top drawer - I love it.

roomtempmayo

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Re: Bosch dishwashers
« Reply #12 on: November 05, 2021, 10:16:23 AM »
We put a dishwasher in from scratch last fall, and the way out counters sit the 18" wide model was the only real choice.

The only 18" ones we could get were Miele, Bosch, and Frigidaire.

I'm pretty sure the local Miele dealer had never laid eyes on the 18" model, and really had little experience with them.

We previously had a Frigidaire that was just barely competent.

So we got the Bosch, I think the 800 model, which is the only one that comes in 18".

Almost all of my impressions after a year of daily use are positive.

The dishes don't fully dry, but that's because there's no auxiliary heating element.  The advantage is that you can do anything on the bottom rack and won't melt plastics.

My only reservation is that you really do need to use the expensive Finish detergent (or similar), and I found that the rinse aid left a taste (maybe just a smell).  So we now use the finish detergent packs and no rinse aid with no complaints.

Morning Glory

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Re: Bosch dishwashers
« Reply #13 on: November 05, 2021, 10:19:04 AM »
I've always used white vinegar instead of rinse aid. I also purposefully turn off the dry cycle and let the dishes air dry. Saves electricity, more eco friendly,  and avoids adding more heat to an already hot kitchen.

jeromedawg

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Re: Bosch dishwashers
« Reply #14 on: November 05, 2021, 10:36:46 AM »
I ended up ordering a Bosch 100 from HomeDepot. Scheduled delivery date is November 24th, but I highly doubt it and will be surprised if I get it even close to that date haha. We're in no rush, as a dishwasher is more a convenience and "luxury" item IMO. Totally unnecessary but there's an ugly gap under our counters currently :)

I ordered it because I had an Ascenta which is more or less the same thing minus a few extras. We were happy with the results overall and I didn't feel like I could justify spending an extra $200-300 more on the next level-up model (which is the 300 with an all stainless steel tub). Lowes has an 'exclusive' 300 series model but a few reviews stated it didn't come with the insulation blanket and ended up being much louder than advertised. I don't want to take those kinds of chances with a large appliance so decided to stick with something closer to the 'tried and true'

In any case, hopefully we'll have our kitchen back to normal sooner than later.

Fru-Gal

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Re: Bosch dishwashers
« Reply #15 on: November 07, 2021, 02:06:12 PM »
I have a lower-end Bosch from Home Depot and love it! It has survived my very destructive family better than previous dishwashers. A minor thing that I like is that you can push the power button and turn off the numeric display.

jeromedawg

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Re: Bosch dishwashers
« Reply #16 on: November 07, 2021, 03:38:52 PM »
I have a lower-end Bosch from Home Depot and love it! It has survived my very destructive family better than previous dishwashers. A minor thing that I like is that you can push the power button and turn off the numeric display.

Nice! Is it the Ascenta or the 100? I like the tactile push button as well - the Ascenta has that. Not sure about the 100. Hopefully there's not too long of a delay for it hahaha

joenorm

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Re: Bosch dishwashers
« Reply #17 on: November 07, 2021, 05:31:44 PM »
You said you're not interested in the high-end models but the best thing about them is everything comes out bone dry, no rinse aide required.

I bought one a few months ago because it was all that was available and I love that feature.

Fru-Gal

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Re: Bosch dishwashers
« Reply #18 on: November 07, 2021, 05:37:10 PM »
Quote
Nice! Is it the Ascenta or the 100? I like the tactile push button as well - the Ascenta has that. Not sure about the 100. Hopefully there's not too long of a delay for it hahaha

It's the Bosch SilencePlus 50 dba. Which reminds me, it's also very quiet.

jeromedawg

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Re: Bosch dishwashers
« Reply #19 on: November 07, 2021, 06:30:04 PM »
You said you're not interested in the high-end models but the best thing about them is everything comes out bone dry, no rinse aide required.

I bought one a few months ago because it was all that was available and I love that feature.

Yea... I've read that they dry really well and don't require rinse aid. I dunno, I figure since we had an Ascenta at the last place and I was fine with it for the 13 years I was there. Stuff coming out completely bone dry feels more like a "luxury" at that point and not sure I can justify the extra $$$ for it. I suppose if you factor in the cost of rinse aid it will pay for itself over time but rinse aid is also pretty cheap and I don't feel like you really go through bottles of it *that* fast. I guess it also depends on how often you run the dishwasher too...