If your kitchen is small, this may be your answer
Written: Sep 04 '02 (Updated Sep 04 '02)
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Pros: Good if you have limited space in your kitchen.
Cons: Not so good if your dishes are oversized.
The Bottom Line: Decent but pricey dishwasher if you're tight on kitchen space.
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| scitaborca's Full Review: GE Under-the-Sink Dishwashers |
NOTE: The photo Epinions provided for this item is actually a picture of GE’s 18” Spacemaker dishwasher. The under-the-sink dishwasher only comes in white and bisque and looks like a standard dishwasher from the front.
I eat out a lot and have noticed a trend in the size of the dinner plates used in restaurants. They've grown in size and girth over the past few years. Some are so big you could practically throw them in the snow, hop on, and sled down a hill. Apparently this trend seems to have fallen on deaf ears at GE. Of course, you can't blame them completely. After all, it is a space-saving dishwasher, and as such you'd think that people with tiny kitchens would want GE's equally tiny dishwasher to hold their equally tiny dishes. It's a shame that this round peg didn't quite fit into GE's square hole, but almost!
Why I Bought the GSM2100
One of the first things I noticed when I looked at my condo with a real estate agent was the odd dishwasher. It was odd because it had been placed directly underneath the kitchen sink. At first glance I said to myself, "How on earth did they manage to wedge a dishwasher underneath a kitchen sink?" I opened the dishwasher door and saw that the good people at GE had actually cut out the upper back of the unit to accommodate the drainpipe. If you look at its profile, it looks like a thick "L". Question answered.
As it turned out, the dishwasher was about 25 years old, leaky and ready to sigh its last breath. Time for a new dishwasher. I searched in vain for other under-the-sink models and wasn't even sure if GE still made such a model. That worried me. Because my kitchen is tiny, I would've had to have literally rip apart my entire kitchen and rearrange all the appliances to accommodate a standard sized dishwasher. As I pondered that possibility and began weighing the pros and cons between a $6000 kitchen remodel and doing a little hunting on the web for the right dishwasher, the choice was obvious.
I searched everywhere for a similar unit and found that the only company that made an under-the-sink dishwasher was still GE. (If anyone out there knows of any other manufacturers who make a similar unit, please let me know!) Happy knowing that I wouldn't have to turn my kitchen into a construction zone, I went to Sear's to buy the GSM2100. It was an easy sale for the dim sales associate I encountered since all I had to do was give him the model number. Good thing too since I don’t think he would’ve been much help in the questions department. Because the GSM isn’t sold very often, I had to special order it which took about a week.
The Installation
A 3rd party vendor that contracts with Sear’s called me a few days after the purchase to arrange a time to install the GSM2100. I chose a 4 hour window on a Saturday afternoon. Surprisingly, the installer showed up on time, and the actual installation went without a hitch. I had some doubts about the GSM2100 not fitting under my sink despite the fact that I'd compared the measurements of the old and new dishwashers to death. But it fit perfectly (the dimensions were almost identical), and the gleaming white façade though plain, brightened up my tired looking kitchen considerably.
How Do I Load This Thing?
My old machine was a pain to load. Because of the odd shape, the top rack rested on top of the bottom rack and had to be removed in order to access the items on the bottom. It made loading and unloading dishes a chore, to say the least. The GSM2100 has a more traditional sliding top rack and traditional bottom rack with removable flatware holder in the center. The top can comfortably hold 10 full-sized glasses with no problems but not much more than that. The bottom rack though caused me a little grief. My plates (which I consider average-sized) measure 10¾” in diameter. When I placed my plates in the lower rack and proceeded to push the rack back into the dishwasher and close the door, something was getting in the way that prevented me from pushing the rack all the way in. Puzzled, I took a closer look and saw that the tops of the plates were hitting the top rack. After giving it a slightly harder push the rack finally slid in. The top drawer lifted a couple millimeters to accommodate the plates, but I was still a little annoyed that the vertical clearance wasn’t greater. I sometimes place the plates at an angle so they don't protrude into the upper rack. I understand that the GSM2100 is supposed to be a space saver; however, the height, width and overall depth of this unit are no larger or smaller than a regular dishwasher. The only difference is that it’s got 3/4 of its body chiseled off to fit under a sink. Given that, you’d think that the clearance between the upper and lower racks would be comparable to a standard dishwasher. No such luck. It looks like function follows form in this case.
Will It Get My Dishes Sparkling Clean?
As part of a marketing campaign, Cascade and GE Appliances have teamed up and included a free Cascade sample with the GSM2100. “Cascade, Cascade Complete and Electrasol Automatic Dishwashing Detergents have been approved for use in all GE dishwashers,” states the owner’s manual. Not wanting the Detergent Police to show up at my door for using (oh horrors) an inferior soap, I did as the manual implored and poured the free Cascade sample into both the open and main cups. This is the brand I used for the first washing and what I’ve continued to use ever since. I seriously doubt though that the dishes or the GSM2100 will revolt if you use something else.
Despite the issues I had trying to get my plates to fit in properly, the GSM2100 did an outstanding job of cleaning everything. It did leave a few residual watermarks here and there, but I’m told that’s normal no matter how good your dishwasher is. I actually had to look hard to find the spots and thus don’t feel it’s much of a concern. If you do run into this problem there’s a built-in feature called Jet-Dry that is supposed to prevent spots and residue from forming on the items you wash. It’s basically a little dispenser located next to the detergent cup in which you pour a rinse agent that should be refilled every few weeks. Although I’ve gone out and bought the Jet-Dry stuff just in case, I haven’t found it necessary to use yet.
To get the best results though, it's necessary to rinse off most of the stubborn gunk from your dishes before starting the wash cycle. I tried a cycle with some pasta sauce and other small food particles left on a plate, and it was all gone by the end of the wash cycle. Although the GSM2100 does well with getting your dishes clean, it may not eradicate large food particles errantly left behind.
Do I Need a College Degree to Operate the GSM2100?
Unlike many newer dishwashers with zillions of buttons, digital displays and the like, the GSM2100 is pretty basic when it comes to the control panel. The panel consists of just 4 buttons and a dial. Two of the buttons let you select between Heavy (or what they call Pots and Pans) Wash or Normal Wash. The other two buttons let you turn the Heated Dry feature on or off. The dial itself is equally simple. There is a Hot Start cycle that preheats the water to 120 degrees before beginning the actual wash cycle and a regular Start option just after it if you don’t want to preheat the water. (Preheating the water adds 26 minutes to the wash time and uses an extra 3.4 gallons of water.) You can also set the dishwasher for a Short Wash for lighter loads and a Rinse Only option. It even gives you the ability to have the unit act as a plate warmer which has come in handy a couple of times. I usually begin with the Hot Water Cycle to get the best results. Using the controls isn’t rocket science, and anyone with half a brain can use the machine without even looking at the manual. For those who are conscious of how much water and energy the GSM2100 consumes, on the high end this model consumes 9.2 gallons of water in the Pots and Pans cycle, 6.3 gallons in the Normal cycle, and 3.8 gallons in the Short cycle.
Is the GSM2100 Worth the Money?
Unfortunately for me (and many others who have small kitchens), I didn’t have a lot of options short of a complete remodel in choosing a dishwasher. You’d think that because there’s 25% less dishwasher that the GSM2100 would be priced accordingly. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. I figured that (like most cars) the various dishwasher models are all put together on the same assembly line to reduce costs. Having to cut out part of the unit itself is probably an extra step in the assembly process that adds considerably to the production costs since it’s a feature unique to this model. (If I’m wrong in this line of thinking or if anyone can shed light on this I’d love to hear from you!) I paid $400 for the dishwasher itself and $85 for installation.
Getting More Information
For more information on this dishwasher and to compare this with their other models you can visit GE’s website at http://www.geappliances.com. They also have a toll free 24-hour consumer line. 1-800-626-2000.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 400
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Epinions.com ID:
scitaborca
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Location: Los Angeles, CA
Reviews written: 11
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
I'm a resident of LALA Land(aka Los Angeles).
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