Another nerdy thing they do well is heat water. Again, sounds obvious. But Paul told me that Miele dishwashers have a sensor that makes sure the hot water is at a sanitizing temperature before starting the wash cycle—one of the only brands to do so.
And it’s quiet. So quiet that I accidentally opened in mid-wash because I couldn’t tell it was even running. Oops! Carry on, carry on.
Please, tell me more about your dishwasher
It’s extremely spacious. The design of the racks, with a third rack up top for silverware, means I can fit in stacks of plates, shallow bowls, cereal bowls, and wine glasses without having to worry about that bulky box of forks getting in the way. The racks can also shift—this video shows ya—so if you have something tall in the bottom (like a juice pitcher), you can adjust the middle rack to make room for it. On the middle rack, there’s a long plastic piece that flips down to hold wine glass stems in place, also creating an extra rack where I put short glassware or Pyrex prep bowls. There’s a slot in the silverware tray that slides over to make room below. I’ve crammed every inch of this dishwasher, and as long as the dishes are arranged at angles to not block the water sprayers, everything but maybe three spoons in the cutlery tray will come out clean. It never ceases to amaze me.
There are crud sensors. The beauty of modern appliances is that they’ve somehow figured out a way to sense how dirty your dishes are and adjust the wash cycle accordingly. That’s why, when you come over for dinner, I’ll freak out if you rinse your plate before putting it in the dishwasher. A rinsed plate confuses the dishwasher. “Why am I washing a clean dish?” it will ask, and then it won’t try as hard. I put in a stainless steel saucepan that I burnt caramel in…and it came out clean. I felt like I’d won the Olympics. Let the sensors do their job! (If you’re wondering if my dishwasher filter is full of scrambled egg and whatnot, surprisingly, after a year, it’s not. That stuff must get broken down enough to disappear into the drain. You should still give your dishwasher filter a scrub every once in a while though.)
It can handle the most delicate of glassware. I recently bought beautiful, super lightweight wine glasses because I wanted to feel like I was drinking wine at a fancy restaurant at home. The instructions for the glasses said that most people break them when hand-washing (not, as I suspected, while drinking wine and playing Settlers of Catan) so I put them in the upper rack in the dishwasher. In the morning, they come out of the wash like new. If only I could say the same for myself.
There are other features I don’t use. There are dry cycles to sanitize baby stuff, pots and pans cycles, timers, and other high-tech things I’ve mostly ignored. I’m sure they’re cool, but I just need my plates cleaned.
How to make the most of your pretty new dishwasher
- Fill it correctly, with dishes at an angle
- Scrape food off but do. not. rinse.
- Use a rinse-aid like Jet-Dry. It makes a small but mighty difference
Why didn’t I get a Bosch?
From what I’ve heard and the reviews I’ve read, Bosch dishwashers are amazing—and they have huge marketing efforts to reinforce that. They’re in such high demand right now that they’re often on backorder. When it comes down to functionality, both Bosch and Miele are going to deliver super clean, dry dishes. They use a similar amount of water and energy. Even though it was $500 more expensive, I went with Miele for its higher-end reputation, longer lifespan, and beautiful design. There’s a glow around the brand like any designer product—it’s a certified splurge. I wanted something luxurious, making me feel like I’m in an Arch Digest home tour and not in a kitchen with gray vinyl flooring that’s permanently sticky. Let me have this luxury.
Is the Miele dishwasher worth it?
Hell yes. If you can spare the cash, your dishwashing life will be better with a Miele. BA test kitchen director Chris Morocco has one too, and he seconds that statement. That said, I don’t think any worldly possession is worth getting into debt over. For significantly less, you can get a great, highly Consumer Reports-rated Bosch or KitchenAid dishwasher and it might last just as long, you never know.
