After reviewing many brands and models and being dismayed by the almost uniformly negative reviews, I bought a Bosch SHE55M15UC in Jan 2009 and am very happy with it.
I use Finish PowerBall tabs with it, as recommended, and it cleans very well. You scrape the dishes rather than rinsing them; you want a little food left on them for the detergent enzymes to eat. The cycles are long, as with most low-water, low-energy dishwashers today, and it takes a while for the dishes to dry. Not a dishwasher for a busy mom, perhaps, who runs it twice a day and doesn’t have time to wait. The dishwasher is VERY quiet and slightly smaller than most American brands due to the thick insulation. However, I find it roomy enough and really like the amount of vertical space available on upper and lower racks.
I’ve had it for four years now and haven’t had any maintenance problems. I run it 3-4 times per week. One tip: before you start a cycle, run the water from your kitchen tap just until it’s hot. The dishwasher heats the water, but not enough to get cold water hot. A benefit from the slightly less hot washing and drying temperatures is that you can put any plastic item on either shelf and it won’t be warped or melted.
This is my own personal experience, but my sister bought one after I told her about mine, and she’s really happy with it, too.
In case you’re wondering, I don’t work for any dishwasher manufacturer, nor am I compensated for my opinion in any way! I just know how hard it is to find a good dishwasher any more, and want my fellow FReepers to benefit from my own experience.
Thank you for this information. So far Bosch seems to be the clear Freeper recommended dishwasher.
Unless one can find a thirty year old good condition dishwasher.
Or marry an appliance repair man.