kasunltd's Full Review: Amana ADB1500AW 24 in. Built-in Dishwasher
When the dishwasher that came with my house stopped cleaning dishes (it didn't stop working, it just stopped getting anything clean and, despite multiple and various attempts to correct the situation, it refused to produce anything other than cloudy, food-laden dishes), I decided to replace it. Based on Consumer Reports recommendation and my satisfaction with my Amana refrigerator, I chose this relatively low-priced Amana dishwasher. I am very happy to, once again, have glassware that sparkles and plates without gunk still stuck on.
Although there are places online to purchase this unit for as little as $300 (excluding tax and shipping), I called my local Maytag Store and they not only beat the best price I could find on the internet, but delivered and installed the unit, as well as hauled off my old unit, for a very reasonable $50.
After using this Amana dishwasher for a couple of months now, I have found that the "heated dry" function doesn't dry dishes as well as I would like. Thinking that the heater element wasn't working, I ran a test load without the heated dry option. Since the dishes were dripping wet at the end of this test, I can only conclude that the heated dry function is necessary, even if it is not ideal.
The two utensil baskets mount to the inside of the door, and their placement in relation to the soap/rinse aid dispensers makes one of the baskets impractical for all but the shortest of items. It's inconvenient, but the baskets are generous enough in size to accommodate all the flatware and cooking utensils most average families could need washed at one time.
This model does not have a rinse only cycle, although other similar models made by Amana do. I do miss that, but the "quick wash" cycle can be used as a substitute in a pinch.
The top wash rack is wonderful in design, offering a variety of depths to easily fit in everything - tall and short glasses, ramekins, plastic storage containers and lids, etc. Even long-stemmed and thin-walled wine and martini glasses fit comfortably and safely in this dishwasher (unlike in my previous machine).
The bottom wash rack accommodates a variety of dishware to be loaded in different configurations (front to back, side to side, or a combination). This makes it easy for all of the dishes normally used to prepare and serve a meal to be washed together.
I do like the "hi temp wash" option, which ensures that the water in the wash cycle is truly hot enough to do a thorough cleaning.
I also like the rinse aid gauge, which consists of little clear circular windows that show if the rinse aid dispenser is full, half-full, or in need of refill. In my previous dishwasher, it was never easy to tell how much rinse agent was left, so I would have to guess at when it was time to refill, often resulting in rinse aid squirting back at me and being wasted.
This dishwasher has 3 wash cycles: heavy, normal and quick wash. I've done loads of dirty pots, pans, and casserole dishes on the normal load without a problem. I don't know if I'll ever really need the heavy cycle.
The time for an entire wash cycle to complete seems longer than my previous dishwasher, but I'll gladly take it if it means clean dishes.
The unit also has delayed wash options of 2, 4 and 6 hours.
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