Product review (4 stars): In defense of Fisher Paykel Dishwasher
When we remodeled the kitchen 3 years ago, my husband fell in love with this dishwasher.  Since there are only two of us living here, he figured it would be convenient and money saving to have the smaller drawer to wash on a regular basis.  In addition, the salesperson showed him that if you remove the racks from the drawer, you can pack the thing with ice and use it for chilling beer/drinks when you entertain.  You know men....that was a selling point for him.  I thought the thing was overpriced and wanted to go with something cheaper that had a longer reputation for being reliable.

Well, three years later, I have been more than pleased with this dishwasher, and I have had to "eat crow" more than once that his pick actually worked out well.  We are fortunate (and I hope I'm not tempting the gods by writing this review) that we have had no problems with it.  I thoroughly understand the frustration of those who have.  But every product you buy has the potential for being a "lemon."  I have spoken with people who bought top of the line Thermadore equipment and have had bad luck.

I am conscientious about using BOTH drawers, but it is tempting to only use the top drawer over and over.....no stooping.  But I spread the "work" between the two motors and that way they should both "die" about the same time.  Anal, I know.  It's a bit different to load, but I got used to it quickly.  I like the removable utensil basket, as I often take it out to load special items, and you can carry it around to either set the table right from the DW or put utensils away.  My daughters DW has the utensil area in the door and it is very inconvenient.

I use the recommended products and the rinse aid in the machine and it does a beautiful job on everything.  In fact, I stopped pre-washing the dishes because it does such a good job...I just wipe them off.  I wash dishes more frequently because we can fill up the drawer more quickly.  Am I saving money?  Probably not.

Do we use it for icing drinks for parties?  Well, once!  I found that when people take the drinks out of it, they tend to drip all over the floor, and then foot traffic turns it into a dirty mess, so you are constantly wiping up during the party.  Not the fault of the dishwasher (maybe I should get new friends?).

Oh, also....my grandkids broke one of the brackets on a hanging rack this summer.  I went on Sears website, ordered a new one very cheaply and it was delivered in two days.  Very convenient and easy.  No hassle at all.

Overpriced....yes.  Does it work?  Yes, for me it does.  Very well.  How long will it work well?  We're three years and counting.  Four stars instead of five because it's seriously OVERPRICED.