Whirlpool Dishwasher
We just got one of the better Whirlpool dishwashers, model wdta50sahz.
Here’s a local copy of the user manual: Whirlpool UserGuide-W10901523-RevA(ECO)
It was so disappointing to see so many little things wrong, right out of the box.
[followup 11-12-22: This Whirlpool dishwasher nearly always leaves something dirty. I do not recommend it to you at all. No amount of fiddling has improved how well the Whirlpool dishwasher cleans.
Instead, I strongly recommend the Bosch Ascenta we had at our last house. It was awesome! The Bosch Ascenta always got everything perfectly clean!]
(I’ve got a recommendation for another dishwasher at the bottom of this post)
Here’s my review after 1 day using it:
Starting out, it came with a short, fold-out user manual. It was stapled incorrectly which is pretty insulting. They’ve been at this dishwasher thing for like 100 years and I had to tear the staple out to open the manual? Not a good start.
The User Guide opens with “In an effort to conserve natural resources, this dishwasher includes a condensed User Guide.” That sounds a -lot- like, “Spending $800 on a dishwasher doesn’t get you a manual. Ha ha! Let’s blame ‘the environment’ for that!”
The manual didn’t describe how to use the dishwasher correctly. Most importantly, it doesn’t say how you need to push the Start button twice to start the cycle. Since the way to start the device isn’t intuitive, that is the MOST important thing the manual should describe! Another weird one: it firmly implies that you should add the rinse agent every time you add soap (step 3 is “add detergent”, step 4 is “add rinse aid”)… whaa?
How does the “Extended Dry” setting differ from the regular setting? No one knows!
After running it unsuccessfully 3 times, I finally came across the correct incantation to run it (push “Go” twice, slowly). I’m now trying to figure out the right amount of soap and settings so our dishes don’t get white crap on them. Ugh. I miss our dishwasher in Berkeley!
In conclusion, when I saw that the very first thing I had to do was tear open a poorly stapled manual, I got this very “this is so unprofessional” vibe and became negative. After a hundred years of making stuff, I hoped they’d be able to offer a better user experience.
A recommendation:
In our last apartment, we got a Bosch Ascenta Dishwasher (Model SHE3AR76UC/22) in 2017. It was the top-rated Consumer Reports model and it was an absolute dream! From start to end it was wonderful! I definitely recommend it!
In our new place in El Cerrito, we had to get a Whirlpool because that is what the building management company knows how to fix. Ugh.