anyone have a portable dishwasher - the kind that hooks up to the sink?

[LilyHall]

We would love to get a dishwasher, but right now we don't want to expend the money or time that it would take to do the full amount of work that installing a built-in dishwasher would require. (We'd have to replace our enormous, ancient stove in order to make room, and then replace cabinets/counters, etc.) But we do have room for one of those console-like portable dishwashers that you wheel over and hook up to the faucet.

I've been obsessively reading reviews of various models, and they are all over the place. (Most of the reviews are by people who've had their dishwasher jsut a few weeks, and I'm concerned about long-term reliability.) So I was hoping to hear whether anyone here uses one and is happy with it. E.g., how well does it work? Is it very noisy? Is it a pain to hook up? Have you had any problems with it?

We've put off getting a dishwasher for years, because I foolishly thought that dishwashers actually use more water than handwashing, and I felt guilty about getting one. But now we're dying to have one.

[intentfulady]

i had an old kitchenaid portable that was dynamite for years ! with a nice wood top.

Now I have used a whirlpool x 3 years with good results

still clean dishes in hard water.

[kanga1622]

I've got one now that we've used for 4-5 years. We got it at Sears and I'm thinking its a Whirlpool. We moved to a new house after we got it and brought it with us so it's been roughed up a bit.

It is noisier than a built in model because you hear the water being ejected from the hose into the sink but it isn't that bad. I tend not to run it though after DS is asleep because I am afraid it might wake him since he doesn't do well with sudden noises.

DH has a more difficult time hooking it up but it is very simple. We did have to be careful when we purchased a new sink faucet that we bought one that was compatible with the snap on feature of the dishwasher. None of the fancier faucets would work with it; only the basic models.

My favorite part about it is that it gives me more counter space in my small kitchen.

[dioramamama]

We've got a Kenmore brand one from Sears, it's been about 2 years now. Up until the last few weeks it's been working great. We've got a service guy coming out tomorrow to complete a repair to the pump. I'm hoping that solves not just the leaking problem, but also the "added nutrition" we're finding on our "clean" dishes.

It is pretty loud; we run it at bedtime because we can't hear the tv over it! And I'd prefer a built in. But all told, it has worked pretty well for us, is easy to hook up and then unhook up.

And it's spoiled me something awful! I'll never go back to handwashing again!

Melissa

[MamaJenese]

I have a Kenmore that we have had for 6 years that we got used from a friend. It is a little loud but no so much that it keeps us from using it at any time. I love it. Works great and we have extra counter space!

[StrongBeliever]

Originally Posted by dioramamama

. We've got a service guy coming out tomorrow to complete a repair to the pump. I'm hoping that solves not just the leaking problem, but also the "added nutrition" we're finding on our "clean" dishes.

I got that too at the end of our portable dishwashers life.

In my lifetime I've used three different styles(two of these were at home with my parents). I think they are great. Louder, yes. But not enough to be a big deal. In fact, I really like that it pumps into the sink between cycles and you know it! It allows you to kind of "reclaim" the hot water if you want... I always used it to soak/hand clean the really nasty pots and pans, and the last couple cycles where the water was essentially clean I could catch in a bucket and use for mopping or some other kind of cleaning when I wanted.

Like a PP said, you do have to be careful about faucets. You can buy little screw-on adapters for some kinds of faucets, they are readily available(we got ours at Wal-Mart).

[lafemmedesfemmes]

i have a kenmore ultra wash iii, which was handed down to me by a friend who used it for, oh, five or six years, before it sat unused in her garage for another five or six years. when she gave it to me, she said that it was, hands down, the best dishwasher she's ever owned, built in or portable.

and i have to hand it to her, it does an awesome job. :-) it is a little louder than the built-in ones that i'm used to, but not enough to be problematic.

the only issue i had with hooking it up was initially finding an adapter that worked with my faucet. i did end up finding one at a big box hardware store, but not because of any help i got from the employees... anyway, once i got the adapter, the day-to-day hooking to and unhooking from the sink is a breeze.

christina

[cristeen]

I love mine. It is not as powerful as a newer model, we do have to prerinse, we have to add vinegar to the load and we sometimes still get 'extra nutrition' as a pp termed it. We've had it for at least 5 yrs and got it from my sis who had it maybe 5 before that.

But i would never willingly go back to handwashing.

My main complaint is that mine has a big tube in the center of the bottom rack, so i cant wash my biggest bowls/pans.

[LilyHall]

Thank you so much for all these posts! This information is incredibly helpful. And I am surprised at well it seems that most of these machines have held up -- the fact that some of them have worked for 10+ years, through multiple owners, is really impressive.

I think we're going to have to get one. Dishwashing is, as ridiculous as it sounds, a major point of contention in our home, and I think a dishwasher would be really good for our marriage.

[eclipse]

We have one, too - I think it's also a Kenmore - we got it from the sears outlet store, anyhow. I've started to get the "added nutrition" , but I think a big part of that is that the house we live in now has less consistant water pressure than our old places (we live in Mexico now, and sometimes water pressure drops suddenly). I also find that running and empty load with bleach periodically helps with that. We've had ours for. . .gosh, probably 7 or 8 years or so? We got a different, older model at a thrift store about 9 years ago for 100 dollars. It was really old and much smaller than our newer one, but it did an awesome job for a year or so. Then it got a leak of some sort and it would have been really expensive to fix it because they didn't make the model any more and finding parts would be hard. We got the new one at the Sears outlet center for a serious discount because it had a small dent on one of the sides and a little of the paint was scraped. For the discount we got, it was totally worth a little dent!

Oh, and the dishwasher was absolutely good for our marriage .

[Jenn_M]

My MIL bought one for me in May as a birthday present. I LOVE it. Of course, we've never had a built in dishwasher so I don't have anything to compare it to. She bought it from Sears but I couldn't tell you the brand or model. I'm thinking Kenmore.

ETA: I was wrong. My dishwasher is a GE. This one.

[Ola_]

We had one also when we lived in an apartment. Ours was a full-size except with wheels on top and finished sides and wood top by Maytag. It worked really well, and I liked how we could use the top as an extra counter surface (esp. handy during holiday or family get-togethers when I always seemed to run out of room in our little apartment kitchen). We would normally run it when going to bed, it also had the option to delay the start by 2/4/6 hrs, so I'm not sure but I don't think it was that loud. It was a 2 level apt though and I'm a sound sleeper.

I will say that the battle of "who will wash the dishes" has not entirely gone away, it just changed to a "you didn't put your dirty dishes in", "who will empty" and "who will start the dishwasher". But, at least it's an easier job now.

[4evermom]

We have a Maytag one, too. It was my sister's before and is maybe 7 years old. We just had a small part of the rack rust through and come off.

[LilyHall]

We had been looking at a Danby model because the price is good, but from these posts it looks like Kenmore and Maytag have a good track record for reliability.

It sounds like the noise level isn't too terrible, which is a relief. We live in an apartment building -- any thoughts on whether the noise is the type that would be problematic for the downstairs neighbors? E.g., lots of vibration on the floor?

Thank you again for all the very helpful and nice responses. This board never fails.

[cristeen]

Its no louder than a top loading washing machine. Most of the sound is water.

And ours was absolutely a marriage saver. Dishes were a huge bone of contention.

And we have a rule. I load, he empties. Period. If he's left it sitting clean and the dishes start piling up, he doesnt get to b**** at me about it.

And ours is a Whirlpool.

[eclipse]

Mine doesn't really seem that loud. We also used to have a portable laundry washing machine - and THAT was loud when it hit the spin cycle! But I don't think the dishwasher is any louder than a regular dishwasher. The loudest part is the water pumping out into the sink. If you're worried, though, you might get a rubber mat or something to roll it on to when you're using it.

I think I remember reading bad things about the Danby - but that might have been their clothing washer I was looking at - I can't remember.

[Ola_]

I don't think the noise is that bad. Ours was on wheels (I'm guessing most portables are?) so any vibration would just kind of move the wheels. But it really wasn't much, definitely quieter than a vacuum cleaner for example.

Do you have any appliance restrictions due to being in an apartment building though? We were only allowed to have a dishwasher because we were on the ground floor, higher floors could not have one (I guess because of leakage concerns and damaging neighbours below?). Just check your lease to make sure, if it's not stated there then you should be all good.

[Youngfrankenstein]

Originally Posted by MamaJenese

I have a Kenmore that we have had for 6 years that we got used from a friend. It is a little loud but no so much that it keeps us from using it at any time. I love it. Works great and we have extra counter space!

Same with us at our old house. I loved it. It sure beat having no dishwasher.

[mnnice]

Originally Posted by LilyHall

Thank you so much for all these posts! This information is incredibly helpful. And I am surprised at well it seems that most of these machines have held up -- the fact that some of them have worked for 10+ years, through multiple owners, is really impressive.

I think we're going to have to get one. Dishwashing is, as ridiculous as it sounds, a major point of contention in our home, and I think a dishwasher would be really good for our marriage.

I have always joked that it was cheaper than marriage counseling and if it saves you from eating out it can pay for itself pretty quickly. That being said we are moving to a place without a dishwasher. (I haven't live where there is not one since 1995)We may end up with a portable pretty quickly

[jeminijad]

Timely thread. I really want a portable dishwasher.

There are nights we order out because I don't want to cook... I love to cook. I hate cleanup, with a passion. I've even bought paper plates and plastic cups on weeks I've felt like crap, and just knew I would not do dishes.

All situations I would like to end!