Yes you're right, CCC!

You DO save tons of water by doing the dishes in the machine than you would when washing them by hand. And I don't know of ANYONE who turns off the faucet between rinsing each and every dish when washing them by hand. I don't!

I've had three so far. The first one only lasted about a little over a year. Crap. You get what you pay for in THIS case!

The 2nd one which was a K'Aid portable machine, lasted a bit over 16 years. The motor began to go south, making a horrible rasping sound that went right through me!! Had to go!! Got more than my money's worth out of it though!

All of which brings me to the present one. It's truly a doll!! I like it! It's eight years old and STILL going strong! I like the fact that it raises the temp of the water in the main wash and final rinse. Gives me the satisfaction knowing that all that grease and grime on the dishes has been put to bed and that they are clean and free of bacteria and germs!! Love it, love it, love it!

Mama, all those conspiracy theories that you've heard about having a dishwasher aren't really true at all. Like CCC said, if there's a leak, you get it fixed long before it becomes an expensive disaster. All the machines that I've had, none, and I mean NONE of them had ever leaked at all. Not even the present one.

Put those theories to bed. You shouldn't let ANY of them stop you from wanting a dishwasher! Built-in or portable, none of them take up any more than 24 inches of floor space.

Mine is a Maytag also!

But now, it matters none if you get a Kenmore, Whirlpool, Maytag, Jennair, K'Aid, Estate, Inglis or Roper, because they ALL come out of the same factory; Whirlpool.

GE is good also. Just don't get the low-end Kenmore units. These are all Frigidaire look-alikes, and Frigidaire, Kelvinator, Gibson and Westinghouse are all no good. They're 100% PURE UNADULTERATED JUNK!!:eek:

Sorry - for years I've had friends that ended up with too many problems from them. lazy landlords that don't get them fixed, etc. I would much rather have the cupboard space than a dishwasher. Although I must say - one of my friends has one that sits in the middle of the kitchen floor (there is no room for it at all) and they just keep rolling it around the kitchen all day till they hook it up and use it.

I'll stick with leftie and rightie -

I take it that's a portable machine that you're talking about.

Well, try to enquire through some friends who might have one and get THEIR input, at least. I couldn't do without mine - especially when it comes to cleaning up after big meals!! Pots & pans and dinnerware go right in and come out really clean!!!

I appreciate both sides of the argument- but I lean more towards mama with this one.

Personally- I may be weird, but I don't MIND washing dishes. In fact, in commercial kitchens after surviving a hectic holiday brunch or a particularly stressful BUSY Saturday night, I was oft-known to camp myself at the pot-sink and just scrub steam-table pans and broiler racks for an hour, just to relax and "come back down". To me it's brainless busy-work that helps me un-wind...

That said, I respect & appreciate the hell out of dishwahers in the work-place! In commercial kitchens whether it be a small rowdy back-room bar or a fancy uppidty country club- everyone highly values and takes care of the DMO (dish machine operator- or dishwasher!). Waitresess flirt with him and are constantly bringing him cool iced drinks and they often share their tips with him. Cooks give him the choicest food for his shift-meals and snacks... chefs send him home with a 4-pack of filet mignons and an apple pie for his family on his weekend-off, and the manager gives him fifty dollars cash and the night off on his anniversary! At holiday time when no on else gets a bonus from the GM- the chef gives the dishwasher a gift-card out of his own wallet... Dishwashers do nothing but yuchy grunt-work; they are the backbone of any kitchen and are under-paid, so it's important to show them they are valued. Good ones are few & far between, and they are worth their weight in GOLD, and ANYTHING one must do to KEEP a GOOD dishwasher- one does.