We bought "only" a Bosch 300 this Spring. Everything comes out dry without the extra dry option, with the exception of plastics that remain slightly damp. I do use the extra dry option when I'm washing lots of plastic bowls, spatulas, measuring cups and such, and they do come out dry then, so the option works.

Our dishes fitting were never an issue. My wife understanding the options of the Miele were, however. That said, this is not the dilemma, as we've owned both. Just hoping to have a few others chime in on the extra dry setting.

I have one. I will give you the negatives first. I had one of the 800 series but about 10 years old. I loved it. It got everything clean but plastic didn’t dry very well as you know but it was minor compared to this one. This one although it has an “extra dry” setting, it doesn’t get plastic or non plastics dry at all on auto. The 30 min express, is better than the auto cycle and I don’t think it even has a dry although you can push extra dry on it. With the auto cycle, I have to open the door as soon as it is dry and dry off the dishes in place and then leave it open—all the time or it is like a cave with wet walls. I used to rely on the rinsing agent in cascade pods and it was pretty good. Now you must add finish to the door and add salt. It is just NaCl but you have to buy their NaCl because the crystals are a certain size. Of course they are! It also works better to use finish pods, “Quantum” It is much more trouble than my old one.

This is the one I bought.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Bosch-Home-Connect-800-Series-42-Decibel-Built-In-Dishwasher-Stainless-Steel-Common-24-in-Actual-23-5625-in-ENERGY-STAR/1000168207

I did not care that it hooks up to the internet but to get the other stuff I wanted, this seemed to be what you had to buy.

Another negative for Bosch is that it is almost impossible to compare features. Last time I bought, there was a handy little chart that clearly listed what cycles were on what machine. Now you can hardly find what cycles are on what machine or what some of the features even mean. I complained to Bosch about this and their water was to look at the pictures of the control panel. There is no way to progressively divide out models with features you want and the ones I wanted randomly would come and go in the models.

I have the control on the top of the door. I am less than enthusiastic about the control panel. It plays pleasant little beeps but if your hands are wet, you can’t make the buttons work. It also seems to get stuck in a mode while programming. It is mostly likely user error on my part but my other one was much more intuitive.

This may be a little hard to see.

This works better and is still on some of the models. I wonder if these models are like the older ones.

The auto cycle now takes 2 hrs 40 min, but the one I got does have express, which is 30 min, a 60 min with dry. It also has a button to hurry up the auto cycle.

On the plus side, I like the way it loads. The third rack on top is great for all kinds of things but holds measuring cups in place. It loads a lot more than the last machine. The angles are different on the racks.

It cleans really well. I have not put it to the burnt on challenge yet though.

I will keep trying cycles or changing settings to see if I can get it to dry better.

Sort of an odd thing when it is running, I keep thinking I hear music. I have really acute hearing so most people might not hear it but I think it is water hitting the stainless. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Wekick, thanks for chiming in. If it's worse than the old 800 series then this is a definite no go. If you can catch it at cycle end (with the app), and open the door it will dry your dishes.

Eric, that’s what I was talking about above. When it beeps, I open it and make sure any standing water in the bottom of cups etc is out. I dry it with a cloth and let it cool. It’s just much wetter than what my other machine was on this cycle. I also think it needs to stay open all the time. My other one didn’t.

Good grief! Such a lot of bother! Hope my 15 yr old KA doesn't die anytime soon. It gets the dishes clean, is fast, and they come out dry and spotless.

Our Bosch dries well enough, but only with the drying liquid poured in. Since we're really terrible about checking the drying liquid levels and keeping it filled, we've just gotten into the habit of running the dishwasher after cooking and then later opening the door and pulling the racks out to air dry overnight.

I can't really speak to how well it dries plastic, as we eliminated nearly all plastics from our kitchen a while ago. We have only a couple plastic lids that go on top of glass containers left, and I've not noticed that those are more wet after washing non-plastic dishes.

I do like the light that shines on the floor to let us know it's running that you said your wife wants. The dishwasher is so quiet that I wouldn't know it was on without that light.

I've experienced what others have about issues fitting in our dishes. The middle rack in particular isn't great, so our glasses and bowls are always kinda pell mell in there. Plates larger items, and small items all fit well.

We have the Bosch with the 42 dba "Super Silencer". I am sensitive to noise and I hardly know this thing is going. I found the best layout for our plates and bowls (we have Fiestaware) that I stick to all the time. We use the third rack for our silverware and it actually works (I didn't like thr 3rd rack in my last Bosch) that gives us the bottom rack almost entirely clear for bowls. We have a lot of bowls. Plastic is not entirely dry for me even with the "Extra Dry" function but for us, it is mainly the kids' lunchware, lids for Pyrex, and plastic kid tumblers (so mainly we use plastic for this phase of my life). It takes me no time at all to dry them as I am putting them away. Love my dishwasher!

Thanks everyone. I guess Miele it is. We have 3 small children (4 and under), so we use quite a bit of plastic. Especially my wife who has to pump. We do a load of pump parts daily it seems. Not worth the hassle to dry them all. Plus, I really like the 3rd rack arm. Miele's have a light indicator, my wife wanted the one that's an actual timer, however. That said, current dw takes 4 hours for sanitize where the Miele didn't even take 2. She can just watch the clock instead.. ha! At least we won't have to dry things.

Over here, Bosch, among many other brands, copied Miele's AutoOpen system (albeit without the pre-warming of the countertop feature).

I open the door of my Bosch dishwasher after the cycle is done and plastics dry within a few minutes. If I leave the door shut... not so much (unless it's "thicker" Tupperware).

Alex

The Miele G6625SCU is the lowest price unit with the Auto Open drying. My Miele from 2010 died earlier this year and I looked at the newer Miele, Bosch and Asko, but still liked Miele best. I was able to snag a new in box 6625 for a few hundred off, so that sealed the deal. But at full price, I might of went with Asko.

We had the ecoflex dimension, and think we will go with the crystal this time due to the price increase. That said, do not know much about asko, may look into it.

6665 believe for the crystal.

The 6625 that I have is the Crystal with the prefinished stainless door and front visible control panel. I like that it shows the run timer on there.

That's a good point. However, we have small children... ha!

Fauguy, do you know if the panels are replaceable on the versions with top controls? Like, could I take a stainless front off and replace it with cabinet style door? I do know I can purchase one without the door, but wanting to make sure if I bought one with door I could replace it down the road.

@whirlpool_trainee, I also open my door to let it air dry but the blast of steam that comes out is fairly substantial. It is hot and humid a lot of months here and I always hate doing this in the summer. Plus, I wonder if the sudden steam coming out is good for the finish on surrounding cabinets.

I also wish I could say the Bosch remains quiet. It started out so quiet but now it sounds just like any other DW. For $1000, I expected better. You can hear all the sloshing and the circulation motor humming during the circulation cycle. Absolutely no need for a light shining on the floor as I can hear it several rooms away. I complained to Bosch but manufacturer's warranty is expired as the unit is 18 months old. I clean the filter every two weeks by removing it completely and hosing and brushing it off, use the newer DW cleaning tabs that are now available here in the States and run an empty cycle. I have examined the impeller for something that might be stuck but didn't find anything. I am at a loss. I have an extended warranty but complaining about the increased noise level is not grounds for service according to the repair firm. They told me it must stop washing, draining, etc.

I am alone here but given the difficulty in the way it loads, the need to open the door to a blast of steam for adequate drying and the now louder noise (way, way over 40 Db), I am very disappointed and will never get another Bosch. I know it is a beloved machine by many, just not me. So to the OP, I think the Miele is a good choice and I hope you find your answer about whether you can add panels after purchase. That question interests me as well.

Following as my three main criteria for a new dishwasher is that it must clean well, be "quiet" and do a better job at drying plastics than my old Bosch.

Zsmith, the Miele ecoflex will achieve that. I had hoped to save money considering the bosch if they had fixed the wet plastic issue... it appears they haven't. The only issue I have with Miele is the cost, but it absolutely meets those requirements you mentioned.

Eric, thanks for the input. I've been eying the Miele. The price is the only thing preventing me from pulling the trigger on it. I have other Miele products, and the price has alway been the drawback. :) This discussion might be enough to convince me it'll be worth it.

I don't use plastic so I can't address that issue. but we are having to replace the control panel on our 8 year old Bosch. I'm not impressed.

So the 6665 has the SCVI and SCVI SF versions. The SCVI comes with no door or handle that you have to install a cabinet door (or buy a Miele stainless door) as well as a handle. The SF comes with the stainless door and handle. I know on the SF you can buy other Miele handles and swap one style out for another. But I'm not sure if you can replace the stainless door on an SF model with a cabinet door. I'm thinking you probably can, and Miele probably makes the SCVI and then just installs the stainless door and handle, which turns it into the SF.

Here is my thread from a few months ago. You can see some of the picture I took at the showroom between the Miele and the Asko model.

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5220546/akso-vs-miele-dishwasher