apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I had one for a little over a year before it unceremoniously started leaking water everywhere.

When my kid was a baby -- old enough to not be a sleepy lump all the time but not big enough to entertain herself in any fashion -- this thing was the only thing that kept the dishes from taking over the kitchen. I'd go to the kitchen, load it up, walk away, come back in 45 minutes and do it again.

I don't really know how well this would work for someone who was not home a good portion of their day though, because the capacity is very limited -- as in, if you've got a big pot to wash, that's about all that's gonna fit in there -- so if you're faced with even a middling stack of dishes, you're going to go though 2-4 cycles to do them all.

I bought one knowing that the average lifespan was one year and that is exactly how long it lasted, within days. It worked great for the year but you really end up running a lot of loads as every pot will be a single load, and standard plates do pack in there but they are so easy to wash by hand anyway. After the kitchen flooded twice, the part responsible was found to have a design flaw and so the company wouldn't even sell us a replacement. This part that channels the water is bascially superglued together and over time the heat/detergent messes with the glue causing the part to split in half. This particular model was from Haier. Still, it was fun to have for a while and now I know I'd rather do dishes by hand than worry about a flood. Because the water level never reaches the shut off you just get a continuous stream running from the bottom of the machine. I.e. don't leave home and think twice about leaving the room while running it.

I had a Danby countertop model in my last studio apartment. It did take up exactly half the counterspace in my kitchen, but it was worth every inch lost! It singlehandedly ended 90% of the arguements with my partner.
It made short work of the dishes of two people who love to cook and eat, but I did wash most pots by hand (they were a very tight fit). If we had guests I would have to run it twice.
I don't remember exactly how much water it used, but I recall it was less than I had expected. Mine did not have a "dry cycle" but it did have a super heated water cycle that I used all the time.
The only drawbacks were the noise and that it advised I disconnect the sprayer hose on my sink (the pressure of the dishwasher could cause the hose to burst).
I had the thing for two years, never had a problem. Gave it to a friend when I moved in to an apartment with a built in.
Loved it. Best $200 I ever spent.

oh, I forgot: it was dual purpose. I was able to toss out my dish drainer and used the open machine to dry anything I had to wash by hand.

I have a danby I got 2nd hand from a friend who upgraded to a full size one... and let me tell you, I couldnt live without it! I've had it 2 years, not counting however long my friend had it, with zero problems, and I use it every day. It leaks once in a while, but the screws in the back by the hoses just need to be tightened. Aside from the laziness factor, I love being able to have the dirty dishes hidden, and a clean empty sink.

We had a Danby countertop. It takes up a lot of room and isn't so pretty to look at. Measure the space between your counter and upper cabinets. Ours was too tight by just a tiny bit so it had to go in our laundry room, which took away a lot of the convenience. But I could overlook those minor flaws if it lasted. It rusted out after about 18 months. I don't regret the purchase but, for us, it wasn't worth replacing.

We miss having a real dishwasher so much I can't tell you.

we have an equator countertop model, and are actually pretty happy with it. Bought it just days before my daughter was born, and now, over 2 years later, it's still going strong.

NB: this would NOT fit on my counter/under cabinets, so we ended up buying an intermetro rolling cart with shelving and we wheel it over to the sink when we run it. Extra storage! Also, we never put a pot or a large bowl in there, as it would take up ALL the space, but it is convenient for the daily dishes and glasses that get used.

I am not convinced that I would be happy to loose the counterspace for a dishwasher. Having an underbench model is an entirely different story though. Particularly if you are able to get the dishdrawers models that we have here in New Zealand.

I thought about one of these for a while, but then realized it takes at most 10 minutes to hand wash the amount of dishes that they hold. After that I just didn't see much point.

I had a Danby for about a year but I wasn't a big fan. Echoing what others have said, it didn't hold very many dishes to begin with, has some noise and leakage issues (flooded the apartment once when we were out), and I was still doing the pots and pans by hand. Our dishwasher's biggest issue was that the detergent trap didn't always release, so we'd open the machine and find still-dirty dishes half the time. Eventually, I just preferred doing it all by hand.

That said, friends of mine swear by non-countertop portable dishwashers, the ones on rolling castors.

Well, it's hard for me to make a decision on this, although I have a small kitchen, I would prefer large models and standard products, they look more reliable and they are created for maximum utility.I always go whit Whirlpool parts, they look more reliable to me.