The Essential Appliance Guide: Dishing the dirt on dishwashers

When choosing a dishwasher, there are many factors that can, and should, influence your decision. It's not just about price, colour and energy efficiency any more.

The new generation of dishwashers go beyond that. Here are some of the basics:

• When choosing a machine, don't just look at the overall efficiency reading (from A, the most efficient, to C), take notice of what the reading is for its washing and drying cycles, generally stated individually on the energy label.

• An 'AAA' rated machine, which hits the heights of energy, washing, and drying efficiency and performance is a rare and expensive animal. Try the Whirlpool ADP 5966.

• Don't be dazzled by a machine with eco-this and bio-that, without fully reading the brochure.

• Bosch prides itself on the hydro-sensors in their more expensive machines, which utilise the pre-rinse water to detect how soiled the dishes are. If the water is clean enough it heats that water for the first part of the cycle.

• A glass-care programme, which regulates the water softness and pre-heats the water to prevent any shattering shocks for a truly sparkling shine, is a nice addition if you have drinks parties all year long.

• Even a half-load programme is a potential wash out, as half the load actually means an energy saving of only 10-25%. If you simply have to have both your water softened electronically and turbo-thermic drying, take a look at Miele's G646 (€935 from ESB showrooms nationwide). Incidentally, Miele's machines can be updated so that their electronics never go out of date.

• Our energy labels here in Ireland state the noise of the machine in dBA re 1pW or decibels with reference to one picowatt. A reading of between 42-60 decibels is typical for a modern machine. Add 12 to the mysterious dBA re 1pW reading to get an idea of the volume of the running machine in decibels. Use night-rate electricity and run the machine in the wee hours. In this instance, a machine with a 24-hour time delay is a good option. AEG do a dedicated low-noise machine (AEG5070. €633.60 from the ESB). Perfect if you live in the kitchen.

• An average-sized family who are all out of the house at lunchtime might have difficulty in filling a full-size 60cm machine of 12-14 settings in the course of one day. In that case, you can either go for a slim-line machine of 45cm with eight or nine settings, or find a machine with the flexibility of a half-load setting, which will only wash one basket.

• Take a look at the layout of the dishwasher cabinet. Are there baskets and racks that rise and fall? Has it got any fold-away or removable fittings? Don't be over-impressed by a complicated configuration, as extra goodies like cutlery drawers can impinge on the overall space in the machine.

• There are three options when marrying your machine to your kitchen: would you prefer freestanding, semi-integrated or fully integrated? For reasons that defy all logic but answer the laws of desirability, we pay more to have an integrated machine here in Ireland, while the Americans pay more for a portable dishwasher they can take with them when they move!

• If you opt for freestanding dishwasher, remember that white goods don't have to be white. A sleek, metallic machine can be a positive dish in all its naked glory, but any variation of white will generally be more expensive.