Buying a Slimline Dishwasher

What is a Slimline Dishwasher?

As its name suggests, a slimline dishwasher is slimmer, or narrower than a normal sized dishwasher.  Most dishwashers are 24 inches wide, and the width of a slimline is usually 18 inches.  In addition, they are also shallower, which means that the distance from back to front is not as much as a regular dishwasher.  People use slimline dishwashers because they need to fit them into their kitchen that does not have a lot of room.  Although slimline dishwashers can hold about the same amount of dishes as a portable dishwasher, they are a lot different.  A portable dishwasher is usually hooked up to the sink, and it definitely does not blend into the kitchen very well.  A slimline dishwasher, on the other hand, is made so that it is an integral part of the kitchen and blends in as much as possible.

One of the best features that these appliances have is their ability to blend in.  They are called an integrated slimline dishwasher because the front panel is customized to perfectly match your kitchen cabinets, refrigerator, and other items.  If your cabinets are wooden, you put a wooden panel made of the same type of wood and color as your cabinets onto the front of the dishwasher.  Many people make their entire kitchen stainless steel.  If the refrigerator, cabinets, and other items are stainless steel, you put a stainless panel on to make a stainless steel slimline dishwasher.

The Miele Slimline Dishwasher

The most common and arguably the highest quality brand you can buy are the Miele Slimline dishwashers.  Its 18 inch fully integrated slimline dishwasher has a capacity of 9 place settings.  It features 6 different wash settings, temperature controls, a double waterproof seal, and a built in water softener.  Another great feature it has is a 24 hour delay timer, which lets you set the machine to run at a time when you won’t be bothered by it.

You can also buy a Bosch slimline dishwasher, although they technically aren’t called slimlines.  That is a term used by Miele.  The Bosch Integra 800 series dishwashers are also 18 inches wide, making them the same size as the slimlines.  A number of other appliance manufacturers also offer 18 inch dishwashers, including the Avanti DW181SS and the GE Profile 18 inch stainless steel built in dishwasher.  The Avanti is also customizable, and it costs far less than a Miele model.  The GE Profile comes in stainless steel, and has its controls hidden out of sight.  This would be great if your kitchen is designed with lots of stainless steel features.  For more information on this type of dishwasher, read my post about integrated dishwashers.

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