Product review (5 stars): Exceeds Expectations
I expect part of the reason I give this product five stars is because I hate washing dishes so much and am so relieved not to feel irritated with my sweetie when he doesn't do his share. Sure, there are trivial annoying things about this machine, i.e. the tine lay out in the dishwasher rack could be better, the shortest wash cycle is 45 min., and there is no mechanism to tuck the hose away in the back (though you can coil it). You will periodically want to re-tighten/check the hoses in the back of the machine; ours loosened once due to coiling the hose and it started leaking a bit, though it was nothing dramatic. Also, it is sort of a big hulking machine that takes up a chunk of space not very prettily (you will definitely want to measure before ordering); the exterior is a silvery plastic *not* stainless steel (a little cheap looking). However, I love everything else about this machine. It does exactly what it's supposed to. It washes dishes. It sterilizes them. Plus, it's not too loud, it hooks up easily to my sink, it is simple to operate, and uses very little water/energy. It fits more dishes than I expected. We are a two person household, and he works from home. In two days we generate just a few more dishes than it has capacity for, so I'm running it every day about 2/3 full, while hand-washing pots and pans. We just scrape the dishes and put them right in without rinsing first (for the most part), and I've found the "everyday cycle" (85 min.) to get the dishes perfectly clean. Just so you know, it *just* fits our 10 1/2 inch dinner plates, we have to squeeze them through; it certainly will not fit anything taller! Also, if you need to use the tap while it's washing you can easily pause the cycle between water intake/draining, unhook, re-hook, and restart. Or, for a quick rinse, just use the water pressure release button with the tap on. The display shows exactly how much time is left in the cycle. When it's done washing it beeps about four times, not too loudly, and then sits quietly until you turn it off and disconnect it (which is why I didn't go with another model that apparently would beep every five minutes once it was done; I abhor beeping). Like everyone says, it doesn't have a true dry cycle (few counter top dishwashers do), and just cracking it open while the dishes are still warm let's them air dry fine. For those who are wondering what that 3 in 1 cycle is for, that's just if you want to use those detergent gel packs. We don't, and it still works great, though I did invest in some Jetdry since everyone else said it made a difference. Frankly, I can't tell, but I don't pay close attention. All in all, I am very satisfied and pleased with my purchase!