I have a paneled Bosch 800 series that I love. I like the third rack (it may inhibit stemware but that doesn't bother me), holds a ton, cleans great and is very quiet. I have't cleaned the filter yet (4 months).

Sjhockeyfan thanks great to know my gut tells me to go with Bosch was just a little nervous about not being able to fit glasses, I won't be putting wine glasses in just regular glasses

This post was edited by nyrgirl35 on Fri, Apr 25, 14 at 21:00

I also have a Bosch 800 series, best dishwasher I have ever owned, hands down! I love the 3rd rack and I have never had a problem with glasses, if I need more space, I drop the middle rack down. I have read some complaints about it not drying dishes, but I have not had a problem with that. I usually start the dishwasher after dinner and empty it the next morning.

I have the Bosch 800 also. Love it & no problem fitting glasses. I haven't reconfigured any of the racks but remember reading that it can be done. I really like the 3rd rack.

Oh I just had to add my opinion. We have a Bosch dishwasher and by far it is the best and very quiet. I have had mine for over a year and have not had to change the filter. We have gone through three dishwashers only cause the other 3 were not installed properly and possible had an electrical fire without us knowing about it.
Go with Bosch you will not be disappointed!!

I worshipped my old, basic Bosch which served me well for 8 years and still goes strong in the church fellowship hall. My new panel-ready? Not so much. I went instinctively back to Bosch (just before 3rd rack got added) but the top rack of this thing seems over-engineered. Like it wants to force you to put certain things in very certain places with less flexibility. I want my old top rack back. It was simple. I wish manufacturers would not mess with simple. This week the Bosch began to tip out of its hole. I think this is an install issue, not a Bosch issue. The black gasket across the top keeps falling out now. Assessment scheduled for Monday. But the cabinetry panel makes it really heavy so that must be tugging the screws out that hold it in the quartz? Dunno.

If you go to the Appliance Forum I don't think, tho,that many of the old pros will recommend KA over Bosch. I don't know, having never had a KA. Just study the racks and see if you think you will like them. Get it screwed in deep. And cross your fingers. ;-).

Love my Bosch. Cleaning the filter isn't hard, just reach in on the bottom of the dw and unscrew it, rinse, and replace. I do it maybe once a month, but it generally doesn't have anything in it. Glasses and cups that have an indentation on the bottom will have some water on them, but I just take the towel and wipe them off. Takes 2 seconds--no big deal. And the hard water buildup they had from my previous dw is now gone! One note, I run the tap until I have hot water before I turn it on; that way, I know it's using hot water and I don't always have to run the sanitize option.

I'm on my third Bosch dishwasher--third house--and have been very happy with all of them. The first two I bought the bottom of the line, which at the time did have stainless interiors. This one my contractor was able to find an 800 series on sale for me for the same price as the least expensive of the models with a stainless interior. It is amazingly quiet and works very well. I would choose it again.

I have never had a kitchen aid so I've got no feedback on that.

The salesman pushed the KA for the drying ability, but I went with the Bosch 800 series. It is my best DW to date. I can put it on after dinner and never hear a sound.

I;m in the minority here but we went with KA. We researched and reasearched and.... ;) you get the point... but after talking with a particular salesman who did not work on comisson and seemed very informed - we decided to go with KA. He said that he loves Bosch too but finds KA a little better - many appliances have KA "guts" with other names on the outside (high end appliances) this was very eye opening to us. Either one you choose you will be happy with ! Just wanted to put in my 2 cents for KA and the new knowledge I gained ;) In the end we didn't go with Bosch bc not only what the guy said but we bought all other KA appliances - we felt the Bosch stainless was a much more matte looking stainless so went with appearance for our decision to help finalize. ;) Good luck!

For what it is worth, I just donated a 2 year old high end KA to the Habitat re-store, I hated it after having had a Bosch previously. It did have a filter, similar to the Bosch that had to be cleaned occasionally. One by one all the little plastic parts on the racks, of which it had many, started falling off. Initially it was nice and quiet but over time (and remember, this was only 2 yrs. old) it started making more and more noise. I felt the quality just wasn't there. I have a new Bosch sitting here waiting for installation and I can't wait. I was reading the instruction booklet that came with it and you can easily remove the 3rd rack if you don't want to use it. This would give you all the room you needed for stemware.

nyr, we put all our regular glasses in the upper rack with no problem. I think we do keep in in the "dropped" position, but that's not a problem for our dishes or other items in the lower rack. If I remember (:-)) later when I'm home, I'll take a picture for you.

I have a panel ready bosch 800 in my new house, and I have had no problems. It has lots of different options (I'm still trying to figure them all out haha). I'm used to having to prewash dishes before putting them in, but I read that was not needed with this dishwasher. I have been using it about 1 month now and so far that has been true. The dishes have been perfectly clean. The first time I used it I was gonna unload it right when it finished and everything was still pretty wet. Now I usually turn it on at night and unload the next day. Most dishes are dry doing this. If I was using a drying agent I'm sure they would dry even better. One suggestion I do have withe the panel ready specifically, you may want to make the panel slightly bigger than what is recommended or you will have a small gap between cabinets. I ended up putting a small strip of wood along each side to decrease the gap. I'm attaching a pic before I put the strip of wood. It blends in much better now. This dishwasher is very quiet also. The only way I know it's running is by seeing the light on.

KA has a drying element. Bosh does not-it relies on condensation to get dishes dry-basically the heat of the stainless steel tub will suck moisture away from dishes and then evaporate once you open it. I have had issues with wet dishes-the little tops of glasses that are recessed. It is annoying, tbh. Things get clean. VERY clean, but wet. One thing that helps is to run water before starting it, to make sure it gets hot(the hotter the tub, the better it works), and then to open it as soon as the cycle is done. It is not annoying enough to replace, but if I had to do it over again, I would get a KA as I love starting dish cycle and not having to worry about opening it soon after its done. If I wait, its wet in there. Even overnight. :/

I have mid range KA (paid $800+ 4 yrs ago). It works OK, but it does NOT dry well at all. Repairman told me I'd have to open the door mid-way through the dry cycle to let some of the moisture escape, and then close it to finish the cycle. Even then some of the dishes still don't get dry. And most of the time I forget to go back and open the door. Agree with another poster about parts falling off. I find little pieces of gray plastic in the bottom, and the repairman found several in the filter. It's really, really noisy. I can hear it in our bedroom which is on the other side of the house, and the darn thing groans and groans. The other annoying thing is that sometimes it won't start. I have to cancel all the settings, press start again, and slam it pretty hard, and then it starts. It also doesn't get dishes clean on the regular cycle. I always have to run it in the pots/pans, extra hot cycle, or the dishes just don't get clean. Wish I'd chosen the Bosch for sure!

I just bought a Bosch and love it!!! I used to have to replace my everyday glasses every couple of years because of the build up on them. My glasses come out super clear and spot free. It is smaller than my old GE but since it's just my husband and I, it's actually better because it gets run more often and the dishes don't get stinky sitting too long between running it. I would never run the dry cycle because I found if the dw didn't clean a dish well, it would wind up caking on the dish. With Bosch, all the dishes come out clean and aside from the wet from the glasses indention, they are pretty dry.

I'm always confused about the dishes not dry thing. My Bosches have gotten things as dry as any other dishwashers I have used. All of them have left the bottoms of glasses with rings a little wet and plastic lids a little wet. I do have to leave the Bosch closed for a while to get things dry, but since I run my dishwasher at night that's not an issue for me. And that's the only difference for me--it takes a while after the cycle, but things get just as dry for me with a Bosch as they have with the various other dishwashers I have used. Maybe I just don't have any experience with a high end dishwasher with heated drying and that's the difference?

I have to disagree with heidia on one point. She says:

"One thing that helps is to run water before starting it, to make sure it gets hot(the hotter the tub, the better it works), and then to open it as soon as the cycle is done."

Opening as soon as the cycle is done is the exact opposite of what we were told by the salesman and the appliance repair guy that I spoke with. Both told us that we needed to run the dishwasher and NOT open it for several hours after the cycle was completed. It is the residual heat after the cycle ends that dries, so if you open the dishwasher as soon as the cycle ends, you are letting out all the hot air.

I am just wondering why is it always between a KA and a Bosch? Why isn't there ever any other threads on other brands and a Bosch? It almost seems sort of odd. Just curious because it seems like I have seen this discussed before but I could be wrong. ...Same with KA and other brands of refrigerators. It's just interesting to me : )

I've seen a lot of Bosch vs Miele threads. Or just Miele threads.

To the "why Bosch" question, I would guess it's because Miele are in another tier, price-wise, and in it's tier, Bosch is perceived to be the best there is. I certainly haven't seen anything better.

I've attached a picture showing glasses in the upper rack. Anove the glasses you can see the 3rd rack. These particular glasses are about 7" tall, and there's about 1-1/2" to spare.

Sjhockeyfan thanks that looks like plenty of room for my glasses.

Gr8day the reason it's between the 2 for me is that they both come panel ready and they are both the same price.

Thanks everyone else for all your opinions it helped me make my decision. I will go with the Bosch!

What model is the paneled KA you are looking at? There is a big difference in the different models. I have the one that has a filter like the Bosch and the culinary tray. I picked because it can hold more dishes than the Bosch. It cleans like a champ and is very quiet.

KA Model # KDTE304DPA

I have the Stainless Steel KitchenAid KUDE70 that was the top of the link at the end of November 2009 when I bought it. I wanted the Bosch due to the nicer Stainless Steel in my opinion and the skinnier handle that would match my other appliances better but was talked into the KitchenAid due to the more room inside and the heat dry. I wish I went with the Bosch since My dishwasher sticks out a little bit and the shiny stainless steel is difficult to keep clean. I have the top rack and I do love that feature so if the one you are looking at does not have the top rack, I would definitely go with the Bosch. Yours choices will be paneled so the stainless steel will not be an issue. I still like my dishwasher as it is quiet, I do like the dry heat since I never had that feature before, it cleans better than my old noisy whirlpool and it will be 5 years old this November and so far is working fine but I must call regarding the recalls before my extended warranty runs out.

love the bosch!!! dishes are so clean, it's so quiet. i only use the 30 minute express...this was why i didn't get the miele since it didn't have this quick cycle. i agree with the other positive comments on the bosch.

KA Model # KDTE304DPA this one is like mine. It really comes down to the dry cycle and how much spce you need. Mine does have the culinary rack and it also has the option for the 1 hr wash.

I did not have an 800 series but my last DW was a Bosch and it was so quiet we could watch a movie with it running ten feet away. I doubt very much you will be unhappy with a Bosch.

FYI the Bosch will need dishwasher salt. A box lasts us about six months or so (running the dw once a day).

I'm looking at the paneled KA's also. Just want to let you know the DW models have been changed this spring. New model numbers.
There are only two paneled DW now that KA offers instead of 4-5 in the past. The only difference between the two paneled models now offered is the Pro-Dry option which has a fan plus the heating element. That and an extra plastic cup holder. The new models also hold 14 place settings not 15 as before. Both have filters.
My biggest issue with dishwashers is wet dishes when you are finished running the cycle. If I want to dry dishes I'll just wash by hand.
The DW are still 24 3/4" deep; fortunately I plan to pull out my cabinets to accommodate.
I have never had a high end dishwasher, but rented a summer house once with a Miele don't know model but had a SS inside. Hated it. Completely wet dishes when done.
Guess I'll take my chances on a KA for the drying.

My Bosch dries dishes as well or better than any of the 3 KA/Whirlpool DWs that preceded it -- and I think better. The only water to dry off is when there is a puddle that can be held somewhere, and that's the same on any DW. It also cleans better and is very quiet.

This post was edited by lascatx on Tue, Apr 29, 14 at 11:06

KA owner here. And I know I'm in the minority. Ours is over 10 yrs old, was the high end SS model when we bought it. I would get another KA in a heartbeat. Its very quiet. The dishes are dry when I open it up (unless the glass has a recess in the base where water could collect but that's unavoidable.) This dw has been trouble free since the day we installed it. The racks look brand new to this day. I can't say that about previous brands we owned - Kenmore (just okay) and a Frigidaire (horrible). Some relatives have had the Bosch and it seems like every time I opened that baby to empty it, the dishes were wet and I spent as much time drying them as if I had hand washed the dishes. Why get a dishwasher if it only does half the work for you? I still have the option to turn the heat cycle off if I want to save energy and open the door to let them air dry. But most of the time I want that heat drying cycle to help sanitize the dishes.

rph123 this is totally off topic ;) but I just LOVE your floors in your kitchen!!! Are they brick or a tile that looks like brick? If they are brick how are they to clean? I'd love to know what the material is as we are getting ready to embark on remodeling on our kitchen and this is the look we are going for! thanks a bunch! :)

FYI the Bosch will need dishwasher salt.

Why - I have a Bosch 800 and I don't use (or really even know what it is) dishwasher salt.

95% of what's in the dishwasher (all the dishes and glassware) are dry when the cycle is done.

I've owned KA dishwashers for 35 years (2 of them in that time period) I would have sworn by them as far as cleaning the dishes and reliability. I did have problems with their racks rusting after 4 or 5 years.
We recently moved into a home with a KA drawer dishwasher which I hated. I could not fit half of what I fit in my previous DW when using both drawers. It also did not wash well at all!
The control panel was on the blink and we just replaced it with the Bosch 800 series. I love this dishwasher and it's 3rd rack which I use for cooking utensils. I still prefer the utensil basket in the bottom. We've never used the drying element in the KA so we don't miss that feature. I like the adjustablity of the middle rack and lowered it on one side to fit extra tall glasses. I find that I don't have to be as careful loading this dishwasher as past ones because I never run out of room. The only feature I dislike are the closely spaced tines next to the silverware basket, but I've adapted to it.
I love, love LOVE this DW!

I have a Bosch, and when I first got it (last year), I tried using Cascade powder in it - that did not work well, but when I switched to the tablets, it worked like a charm and got the dishes cleaner than I had ever seen. I had thought that powder was going to be better, but the new Cascade tablets work the best.

Lars