How not to get soaked buying a dishwasher

Is your dishwasher kaput? Here are five things before trekking out to buy a new one, culled from folks who make, sell or repair dishwashers.

1. Noise control. Most dishwasher noise comes from the grinding of the food bits by the built-in disposal within every American-made dishwasher, and that's why European models, which don't have disposals but rather a simple strainer, make so little noise. The other factor affecting noise is how much insulation surrounds the box. Chances are, the more you pay, the more your dishwasher will purr instead of roar.

These days the average dishwasher registers around 52 decibels, which is softer than a quiet conversation. Even the quietest ones don't dip much below 47 decibels, according to industry studies.

2. Button up? Fess up, folks, just how many times do you think you'll really punch the "baked-on cookware" button up there on the control panel? Here's a little secret from the folks who sell these things: Think twice or thrice before falling for every bell and whistle in the book. You pay for every one.

3. The Durability Dept. Durability is everything in the dishwashing world. In an unofficial survey of three salesmen at top Chicago-area appliance centers, plus a crew of repairmen, the one dishwasher that never seems to need repair is the German-made Miele. KitchenAid, according to folks in the appliance business, is the American-made dishwasher likely to last the longest.

And, while you'll pay for it, a stainless-steel interior compartment, as opposed to a polymer plastic casing, provides superior durability as well as noise insulation.

4. To drawer or not to drawer. Drawers take up 15 percent more space for the same internal washing capacity. So if you stack two drawers on top of each other, you'll wind up with less dishwashing volume than you get in one conventional dishwasher. However, if your household is small or you sometimes like to wash just the glasses, a drawer will save you in the long run. Whereas a conventional dishwasher consumes some 45 to 50 gallons of water per load, a drawer will only use half that.