Dishwasher Buying Guide

Racks that move up and down and adjustable tines let you reconfigure the interior of the dishwasher. Silverware baskets with individual slots and a third upper rack help to you organize the contents but limit how large an item you can place in the second rack.

This adjusts the cycle’s time and water use to the load’s soil level, improving water efficiency.

This cycle allows you to rinse dirty dishes when you’re not quite ready to start a full cycle (rather than letting a stubborn food mess get even more stubborn). This perk can reduce odors and prevent food from setting while you stack up enough dirty dishes for a full load.

Some models designate a certain part of the dishwasher for heavily soiled items needing a special cycle. These zones don’t necessarily run the whole time—with certain models, it’s for only a few minutes. In our labs, they seem to work as promised.

The filter keeps wash water free of food that could be redeposited on clean dishes. There are two types: self-cleaning and manual. With self-cleaning filters, a grinder pulverizes the debris and flushes it down the drain. That’s convenient but can be noisy. A manual-clean filter doesn’t have a grinder, so it’s quieter. But you need to clean it regularly to avoid odors, a job that takes just a few minutes. See “Why Your Dishwasher Filter Makes a Difference” for more information.

Most dishwashers come with at least three cycles: light, normal, and heavy (pots and pans). Many newer models also include a “quick” or “express” cycle that can clean lightly soiled loads in as little as 20 minutes. Other cycles offered on some models include single-rack, pot-scrubber, soak/scrub, steam clean, china/crystal, and sanitizing. The three basic cycles should be enough for most chores—even for baked-on food. A sanitizing option, which is meant to disinfect the dishwasher interior, raises water temperature above the typical 140° F. It doesn’t necessarily deliver better cleaning for dishes.

Typically available in midpriced and higher-end models, stainless steel tends to resist staining better than light-colored plastic. Any plastic tub should last longer than most people keep a dishwasher. Some newer models have hybrid stainless/plastic tubs.

Budget-priced dishwashers typically dry in the few hours after a wash cycle using just drainage and the residual heat in the tub. Pay more and some models will either heat the water further during the final rinse (to warm up the stainless tub) or use a heating element to dry the dishes—perhaps coupled with a fan to circulate the warm air. These options increase convenience but also raise your electric bill.

Controls mounted along the top edge of the door (and hidden when the door is closed) are strictly about style. The downside: You typically can’t see cycle progress at a glance. Partially hidden controls are a good compromise. You’ll know when the machine is running and, often, the remaining cycle time. Some have only an indicator light that tells you the dishwasher is on.

Some dishwashers sound like an airplane landing, which can be annoying when wash cycles range from 90 minutes to about 3 hours. (By the way, we found no correlation between time and performance.) Manufacturers may display a decibel rating, but they average the sound level of an entire cycle, including the dry cycle, which is usually silent. This averaged decibel rating can be misleading. CR’s panel of judges listens to each dishwasher through its entire cycle, even if that cycle takes 3 hours. The “Quietest Dishwashers From Consumer Reports’ Tests” gives all the details.