Danby Energy Star 8 Place Settings Portable Dishwasher

I recently moved to an older house with no dishwasher. This is coming from my last house where I had the top of the line KitchenAid dishwasher, that is quite simply a beast of a machine. No matter what I threw in there, it came out clean.

So I was going into looking for a portable, relatively spoiled by my last dishwasher. Obviously I can't expect the same performance, since portables don't have a food disposal integrated into the unit. So how has the danby measured up after a couple of months of use? EXCELLENT! While I make sure that I don't put in anything that is really big (ie pieces of fat from steaks) I don't prewash at all, and everything comes out clean.

There are many points people have made about this unit, which I was worried about, but I haven't had a problem. My unit had zero damage upon arrival. There were no leaks. The hose adapter works great, and to be honest, I'd think you'd have to try and break it to do so.

The unit is pretty quiet considering its out in the open. I usually use the normal wash cycle, and it doesn't take overly long. If I put the pots cycle on, it can take 90 minutes easy. I don't mind that though, as I'll just start it at night and leave it be. People have complained also that the unit doesn't turn off. To any thinking that this is going to mean it will run all night, no it doesn't. It will just have the power light illuminated all night, but once a cycle is over, its over.

Now, remember though what you are getting. It is a portable dishwasher, so it is smaller than a normal one. I find the top rack fills up VERY quickly in my house with glasses. Tip for the top rack. I have to leave it in the higher position for my dishes, but this limits my taller glasses into going into the middle of the upper rack. I removed the little plastic ledges that are supposed to hold cups, as the cups I have don't fit up there. Now I can put tall glasses anywhere in the upper rack. Otherwise though, it does fit alot of dishes in it considering, as long as they are not very oddly shaped, like extra deep bowls and what not.

Overall, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to anyone needing a portable dishwasher. The unit cleans extremely well, is relatively affordable, especially given its competition (hint.. there is none, as they all don't clean as well, and are more expensive). Some may find the racks alittle cheap, and probably the controls, but they work like they should, and shouldn't break under normal usage. The money for the unit was spent into its performance, not fancy looks and a pretty control face. I personally like the simple facade for the unit, helps make it not seem odd to have a dishwasher against the wall when I'm not using it.

Hope this helps anyone who is on the fence for this unit! If you are, go buy it, and see for yourself. While you aren't going to save time with this unit in the sense that it will be faster than washing by hand, it will free up that hour or so to let you do other things, and you'll use less water in the process.

Cheers!