Ideal dishwasher layout for two (a recommendation)

peasant

We recently got a new kitchen and for the first time in many years a dishwasher was going to be part of the requirements.

Being a household of only two (and having space constraints) meant that we were looking at slimline dishwashers (45 cm instead of standard 60 cm wide)


After lots of hemming and hawing, reading and researching we decided to spend a little more than we had initially anticipated and went with this model:

http://www.appliancesonline.co.uk/product/SPV68L00GB-Bosch-Slimline-Dishwasher-Stainless-Steel-24214.aspx
We bought it here at our local Bosch retailer and they did have to order it in for us.

What's so special about this dishwasher and what makes it ideal for two are three things:

- The upper rack is height adjustable in three positions with one simple move, even while loaded. This means you can juggle about higher items between the lower and upper rack

- There is no traditional cutlery basket but instead there is a tray right at the top of the unit. While it takes a bit more effort than a basket to stack your cutlery into it, if you do it right and keep all the knives with the knives and the forks with forks, its emptied in no time at all ....and most importantly, it frees up the whole bottom rack for dishes and other items.

- Most of the tines on both racks are easily collapsible/tiltable, making them useful for dishes AND pots/bowls .

Between these three features this means that everything that can go into the dishwasher will go into the dishwasher.
So instead of filling the dishwasher with dishes/cups/glasses only and only running it once a week once it's full (or when it starts to stink ...whichever comes first ), we can put any and all items into the dishwasher ...pots, pans, sieves, bowls, scrapers and graters and run it every second day.
Since we got this machine we haven't handwashed anything (except for items that aren't dishwasher safe).

This layout with height adjustable top rack and cutlery tray is available in other brands also and I would recommend it for every small household that produces more dirty bulky items than dishes during a normal meal.

The Red Ace

You have made a pretty good investment there, they may be a bit on the pricey side but they are at the upper end of the scale as d/w go nowadays. they alternate the water spray on the spray arms as they wash giving a sparkling wash,always use rinse as it helps to shed water making drying thorough, would recommend fitting a surge protector on the wall socket to help save the power module should power surges happen