We replaced a REALLY old, rusty-racked dishwasher that was several years old when it was given to me. And I fixed it about 3 times and still used it for about 15 years. Like you, I was fearful that the EPA and the green brigade had probably totally screwed things up so that the new models would do a crappy job and wind up costing more $ in the long run by requiring you to run it 3 times to get things clean. (think water-savings toilets...)
To my surprise and delight — the new one has been great! The tubs have been redesigned so that there’s far more room for more dishes and larger items that would never fit in our old one. For example, one side of the lower rack can accommodate a 16” pizza screen, standing vertically! And there’s still an inch or 2 to spare.
There are special compartments for silverware, different levels in the upper rack for various glass heights, a flip-down holder that secures the stems of wine glasses, a couple of other small clips that hold lighter (think plastic) items in places, etc. On some of the higher-end models, the upper rack can be moved up or down a couple of inches to meet special needs.
The tub on our model is stainless steel, and the racks are not the old vinyl-dipped steel that was susceptible to knife cuts and subsequent rusting. They’re made of a solid material that’s very strong and impervious to rust.
It’s much quieter than the old one — yay! And it’s supposedly uses less electricity and less hot water. That’s fine — as long as it cleans. And it DOES clean very effectively. There are steam and sanitizing cycles that we very rarely use, but they’re there if we need ‘em.
We are very happy with this appliance, thus far. I’ve read a lot of bad reports about new-tech, front-loading washing machines, but this has been a very pleasant surprise. I’ve heard that dishwashers don’t last as long as the older models, but if they continue to clean as long as they last, I won’t mind shelling out another $400 in a few years.
BTW — the brand that we bought was Maytag.
Thank you. I have had old Maytags. My horror brand was Kitchenaid.
I think we have the same dish washer. I use the little plastic clips on the top rack to hold my butcher knife when I've used it for cutting raw meat.
I didn't know what the little fold down "shelf" was for so I use it to store my kitchen sponges. That way they are cleaned and sanitized whenever I run the dishwasher and it is a handy place to store them out of sight.