contrary to my screen name for this site, I am not a fan of LG's dw's.

Luv their w/d's. But that is another post. I did EXTENSIVE research on the LG dw's being that I have had such a pleasant experience with the w/d's. Numerous complaints about motor failures some within 6 months, one poster has had a motor fail every year! LG will not replace and the store would not take it back. They have been ragged for not cleaning and the "hybrid condenser" drying system does not stack up, several complaints about ALL dishes not being dry. The post last but not least complain about cleaning proficiency as well.

I have heard that the dw's that dont have the heating element, it is an absolute necessity that the dishes are loaded correctly in order for them to dry correctly and rinse aid is NOT optional, it to is a necessity.

Home Depot and BB had some really great buys on the intergrated control, SS LG about 6 weeks ago, once I read all of the reviews, blogs and the like; I ran as far as I could away from the LG dw. That is just my two cents. If I read 30 reviews only 5 were positive. All I can say is buyer beware!!

I'd stay away from steam dishwashers. Not that they're a bad thing but I just don't see the real benefit in adding steam to the wash cycle. It's not like steam will do all the cleaning - it's just an extra step. Most of the cleaning is still done by spraying the dish load with hot water - just like ANY dishwasher out there. On the LG models, steam is injected into the tub via two nozzles, while on the GE machines (and KitchenAid, Maytag...) the dishwasher just fills the tub and then engages the heating element to heat the water without circulating it before the final rinse (with circulation) takes place.

In my opinion, the keys to gentle treatment of glasses etc are:
- good racks to support your stemware etc.
- a quick and (relatively) cool cycle to reduce etching
- not too soft water (above 4 gpg)
- modest use of detergent

As an European, I, of course, recommend Miele as their dishwashers have a special cycle of glasses and china... and good racking. But there are also a host of US manufacturers that offer Glass/China cycles: GE, the Whirlpool brands etc.

BTW: Bosch does not have a steam dishwasher. Actually, no Euro manufacturer has them.

HTH, Alex

Here is a link that might be useful: Consumer Reports on Steam Appliances (video)