Kym,

I hate to rain on your parade, but I would not advise buying an Asko dishwasher (I'm a builder by occupation and speak from experience). If you want a European-designed dishwasher, I would highly recommend Miele or Bosch. Those are also very highly rated by Consumer Reports. Bosch models tend to be less expensive and are manufactured in the USA.

Good luck!

Hi,

I love my Asko dishwasher...its a real workhorse and the racks hold just about anything. I got the D3251XLFI. It's one model down from the 3531 and has the nice row of push buttons across the top rather than the electronic scroll menu. The buttons are very intuitive and fast to use. Mine has a gently curved towel bar handle, rather than the straight handle. I considered the 3232 model but it looked to me like I would get all sorts of gunk inside and behind that door opener. The racks are very flexible and fit lots of glasses and large pots...though I never compared it to the encore.

To vonzie...are the more recent Asko's showing up with huge problems as well? Could you be a little more specific?

I almost bought a Miele, but decided I didn't need to pay another 300 for a built in watersoftener that I don't need, and the Bosch's don't have the turbo fan to actually dry your dishes. My friend has a Bosch and can't stand the wet dishes!

For us Asko had it all and we've been happy for 2 years so far!

Anne

Surprised to hear that raining comment.

We have the 3251 and it works very well.

Asko makes the most quiet DW if that is a concern of yours.

Also, with a whole house water softner we do not need a rinse aid. Dishes come out spotless everytime.

I'd like to see a citation of recent ASKO reliability problems, as well. My ASKO is too old to be part of the 3xxx lines, so I can't advise on the specific question. But I would buy another ASKO in a heartbeat. It's been efficient, quiet, and I'm still surprised at how much I can put in it. For what it's worth, I'm always washing stemware and (Cuisinart) pots in mine (near bottom-of-the-line 4-5 years ago) and they're fine.

I love my ASKO too. Had it for 3+ years and still runs quietly,washes AND dries great and have had no problems.-Smile247

I appreciate all of your replies. I really do want an Asko, but after some more research (and although the majority of your responses were positive), I'm a bit wary about purchasing one. It just seems like the majority of folks have really negative things to say about Asko's product and customer service. I want to take the leap, but the more I hear, the more I think that a Miele may be the way to go. Am I jumping to conclusions?

We have the Asko D3251XLHDSS (2 years no problems). We are very pleased with it.

Kym. In the latest Consumer Reports, the Asko came in at 3rd place overall. Ahead of the Bosch and Miele. We are getting an Asko, and cant wait. It will be a 3251xlhd.
I was concerned after reading some posts here, but I think you will be happy with the Asko. Some people here are totally biased and I think a couple of years ago Asko had some issues, but have been cleared up.
Our salesman could have sold us anything. We are dealing with a top quality, high end store in Calgary, and he SWORE by the Asko. He showed us some features that sold us. Go for it, we are.

I have had mine for 4 years. Total runs - 1321!
water usage - 13 liters/run

Dishes come out spotless. the dw is very quiet. easy to load.
would highly recommend it to everyone.

Thanks for all of the info and pro-Asko talk. Just wondering if anyone with opinions on Asko has an Encore and can tell me if it's an appropriate model to buy on its own or if it is merely a companion washer?

I have the Asko 3232 XLFI. I do not care for it. It is noisier than I expected, doesn't seem to hold much, and heats my granite countertop pretty dramatically. I bought it for the stemware cleaning, like you mentioned. It's got a great stemware cleaning rack BUT only if you are using fairly small wine glasses. It won't work that well with larger pieces of stemware. Bring your to the showroom and check it out first! I have had the technicians out a couple times to check on the noise and heat issues and have been told both are within normal Asko limits. Go figure. I love my Bertazzoni range and my JA FD CD fridge, the only disappointment is the ASKO. I paid about $1000 for the machine, maybe a little less. Just not a fan...

kym, keep in mind that unhappy customers mention their unhappiness with a product far more often than satisfied customers mention their happiness with a product. Internet forums, in particular, make it very easy for one very unhappy customer with time on his/her hands to copy/paste a negative review all over the place. Sure, that could happen with raving positive reviews, too, but that just doesn't happen as often.

ASKO did indeed have some quality problems several years ago. They were then purchased by another appliance company and the quality now befits the price, IMHO. No appliance brand will make everyone happy. An ASKO is not for everyone any more than a Miele or Bosch or KitchenAid or even Frigidaire is. But ASKO does seem to have straightened up considerably over the last few years.

Steve O--thanks, and I totally hear you and agree. I must say that I'm still intrigued by the Asko products--some very eco-conscious friends of mine swear by their Asko washer and dryer and I think they may be onto something. I may just take the plunge...

I peeked at the Asko site and it looks to me like the Encore is really meant as a companion dishwasher, though I couldn't tell from the photo exactly what the differences are. I didn't see a silverware caddy and it looked like it was designed to hold lots of stemware but not tons of plates or bowls, mugs etc...haven't seen one in person though. I can tell you there hasn't been much that doesn't fit in my 3251. The top rack can accomodate all sorts of cooking/serving utensils, knives, cups, bowls, smaller plates, collanders, blender and food processor bits, sippy cups and lids, baby bottles...is there anything that doesn't fit on that top rack? Yes my giant pasta pot and the dinner plates, serving platters... those all go on the bottom. I even take out the top rack once a month and remove the middle spray arm so that I can fit in my tall furnace filter units and clean those. I guess I would go for the standard one since I only have space for one dishwasher. The top rack of the Asko can hold some very tall stemware, though it does take up a lot of space because it rests diagonally with the foot of the glasses held in the little niches in the lefthand cup rack. The bowl of the stemware then leans toward the center of the top rack. Is that clear as mud? Perhaps your best bet would be to bring some dishes and try it out! Best of luck.

Anne

"In the latest Consumer Reports, the Asko came in at 3rd place overall. "

What came in first and second place?

The Kenmore 1374 and the Kenmore Elite 1378 came in first and second respectively. The Asko was tops in Energy use, washing and noise while the Kenmores beat it in loading flexibilty and ease of use. I suspect that with three machines that perform this well the categories may be splitting hairs. Which one is better? It's hard to judge. Unless I had the three washers in front of me, filled with the same work load and I was able to check them for myself, I couldn't say.
If your are looking at Consumer reports opinion there's also the issue of repairs, but people have said that Asko has addressed some of its issues-I hope so.
I have an mid price Kenmore that I love, but for our new build I am quite interested at looking at the Asko myself.

You mightwant to think twice about an asko. There is a recall in effect. See http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07213.html

They are notoriously unreliable see: http://fixitnow.com which is a very useful and amusing site on appliance repair set up by an appliance repairman.

"You mightwant to think twice about an asko. There is a recall in effect. See http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07213.html
They are notoriously unreliable see: http://fixitnow.com which is a very useful and amusing site on appliance repair set up by an appliance repairman."

A bit biased. This recall is for dishwashers built between 1995 and April of 2000 -- which is the time period where everyone seems to recognize that Asko dishwashers were problematic. I don't own an Asko, but I do like the 3 year warranty, the quiet, and the low water usage. They are at the expensive end of the list though.

I have an asko 7 years old, D1976. It cleans excellently and is super quiet. However, I am about to pay for a second repair of the heating function, and I don't think its worth another $200 repair bill (spent $300 on same 8 months ago.) Part is covered by warranty, but not service call and labor charges. Would like an asko again, but fear poor reliability. Is 7 years a resonable time to replace? Original cost $1100.

Here's another vote for an ASKO. We have two 3531 (integrated) for >1 year and I love them. Much better than the Bosch in our last home. Very quiet, clean everything very well and extremely well laid out for loading. Good warranty and low water usage.

I've had an Asko D1876 since 2002 and it's been great. Very quiet, efficient and dishes come out spotless and dry. Still working fine with no repairs needed so far.

jUST DECIDED TO BUY A NEW ONE AFTER MODEL 1385 NEEDED A NED CELANOID (?)--NEVER HAD A PROBLEM IN ALL 15 years time and clean dishes - loaded to the hilt - Quiet.

We had a Bosch in our last home and it was very disappointing (steam leaked and runined the front panel, often left residue, inconsistent cleaning) - but it was quiet. My parents have had an Asko for about 20 years (the same one!) and it is still quiet and cleans consistently. I still get different opinions at every appliance store, one says, 'must go Miele', one says, 'Asko is defintely the best'...

Only consistent thing I hear is 'drawers are not great, but if you insist, get the Fisher Paykel.'

I think we are going with an asko because I like the interior configuration better than Miele. I wouldn't buy another Bosch.

We bought an Asko dishwasher in 2018 for over $1000.00 dollars; it looks good and worked fine until two years and three months later. It just stopped working and we learned that it needs to be repaired: the cost approximately $500.00. Buyers beware. I have definitely had more reliable brands.