Once considered a luxury item, a dishwasher has now become a must-have kitchen essential. During the lockdown, the sales of a dishwasher suddenly shot up as it transitioned from being a royalty into a necessity. The reason behind this transition? Its flawless functioning and perfect results.
The first step toward choosing a dishwasher is to make sure that it fits right into your available kitchen space. A standard dishwasher is 24-inch in size while a compact one is 18-inches.
Apart from the storage space available, your choice of dishwasher also depends on the number of members you have in your household.
| Size | Dimension (Depth) | Size of Family |
| Compact | 18 Inches | Couples and Nuclear Families |
| Standard | 24 Inches | Family of 4 or more |
| Standard | >24 Inches | Joint Families |
Place Setting
When you plan to buy a dishwasher, the first term you get familiar with is place setting. What does it mean and what is its significance in buying a dishwasher? A place setting signifies all the dishes, cutlery, and glasses used in a three-course meal. So an 8-place setting would mean 8 sets of dishes, 12-place setting would mean 12 sets. You get the idea.
Here is why it is important to consider the place setting.
| Number of Members in the Family | Place Setting Required |
| 1-2 members | 6-9 place setting |
| 2-4 members | 9-12 place setting |
| 4+ members | 12+ place setting |
Types of dishwashers
Depending on the storage, dishwashers can be of 3 types: Portable, countertop, and built-in.
| Type of Dishwasher | Key Features | Household Considerations |
| Portable Dishwasher | Easy to relocate | Rented house; small families |
| Countertop Dishwasher | Affordable | Own house; nuclear families |
| Built-in Dishwasher | Optimizes space | Own house; joint families |
Till now, we have talked about the setup of a dishwasher. But the real deal starts with its features and functions. What you look for when choosing a dishwasher is the most important thing. The cleaning, the performance, and the efficiency.
In our country, washing dishes has always been a manual task. Although it’s tiring, when done by yourself, you get an unmatched level of satisfaction in terms of hygiene. So when you decide to move from a traditional manual practice to a fully automatic technique, it becomes very important for you to make sure that the level of satisfaction doesn’t drop a bit.
A dishwasher’s performance depends on the number of wash cycles, the power of jet sprays, and their locations. A dishwasher can have up to 8 types of wash cycles depending on the type of wash you require. It includes light wash, regular wash, heavy wash, only rinse, etc.
When we talk about performance, we cannot skip talking about energy efficiency at all. Any electronic appliance is as good as its energy efficiency. The BEE star rating has to be looked at very carefully when you purchase a dishwasher. More the ratings, more the savings.
Features to look for
- If you’re going for a high-end dishwasher, you can get one that comes with a sensor technology that can automatically sense the soil level and adjust the detergent amount, the duration, and water level and temperature in accordance with the load of utensils.
- Also, look for adjustable racks to accommodate bigger pans and utensils according to your requirement.
- For a near-silent operation, get a dishwasher with lower noise levels.
- Although it’s always recommended that you remove the solid food particles from the utensils before putting them into the dishwasher to avoid clogging, if you wish to have total hands-free maintenance, you can go with a model with self-cleaning filters.
- Needless to say, a child-lock feature and extended warranty plans are always a must when you buy a dishwasher, or any heavy electronics item for that matter.
Price
A dishwasher’s price depends on the brand, size, and most importantly the place setting.
| Place Setting | Price |
| 6-place setting | Starting from Rs.17,000 |
| 12-place setting | Rs.25,000 – Rs.50,000 |
| 14-15-place setting | Up to Rs.1,00,000 |
Choosing a dishwasher can be tricky; especially for the first-time buyers. That is why it is recommended to dedicate a good amount of time to research before bringing home the ultimate dish-washing solution. We hope this article helps you find the dishwasher that suits your requirements the best.