Which dishwasher brand to buy in 2020

Blocked drains and worsening cleaning and drying are just some of the faults that plague dishwashers. If you buy from the most reliable brands, you're much less likely to face the hassle of fixing these.

Knowing which brands develop the most faults, and how quickly, is vital when you're buying a new dishwasher. That’s why this year, in our unique reliability and customer satisfaction survey, we've asked more than 3,000 Which? members to tell us if they're happy with their dishwasher, or if they've experienced problems. 

Our survey data takes into account reported fault rates, the severity of these faults and the speed with which they occurred. 

We've crunched the numbers for the biggest dishwasher manufacturers – including AEG, Bosch, Miele, Neff and Siemens – and have calculated a reliability rating and customer score for each, so you know which brands to choose and which to avoid.

Best vs worst dishwasher brands compared

As you can see, there's a big difference between the best and worst dishwashers, most and least reliable dishwasher brands, and the satisfaction score reported by customers.

The most reliable dishwasher brands

The table below summarises this year’s reliability results. Brands are ranked by their customer score, which reflects whether customers would recommend each brand and their level of satisfaction. The higher the percentage score for reliability, the fewer the problems reported.

Only logged-in Which? members can view which brands are the most and least reliable, and which our members are most satisfied with, in the table below. If you're not yet a member, join Which? to get instant access.

Decided on the brand? Find out the best dishwasher for you. 

What are the most common dishwasher problems?

The most common problem people experience with their dishwasher is a deterioration in how well it cleans – 13% reported this. 

Other common issues include dishwashers not draining properly and leaving a pool of water in the bottom of the dishwasher (10%), and not drying items thoroughly (8%).

Faults in the dishwasher's internal electrics were also fairly common, accounting for 6% of problems. 

Blocked pipes, broken control panels and broken dish racks were among the other faults reported.

How to fix the three most common dishwasher problems 

Loss of cleaning performance - the water softener not working properly could be an easy fix for this. Check the manual on how to increase the water hardness setting.

Dishwasher not draining - clean the filter every week, and use a dishwasher cleaner every few months to keep your machine in tip-top shape.

Not drying properly - topping up the rinse aid and increasing the rinse aid setting could fix this. If not, a broken heating element will likely be the cause.

Which dishwasher brand stays fault-free for longest?

The graph above shows how the dishwasher brand that stays fault-free for longest compares with the worst brand, as well as the overall average. Which? members can see how brands compare for faults over an eight-year period in the table below.

Only logged-in Which? members can view which brands stay fault-free for longest in the table below. If you're not yet a member, join Which? to get instant access. 

Howlong will my dishwasher last?

On average, a dishwasher will last 10 years. This is based on the experiences of Which? members who told us how long they kept their previous appliance before they replaced it because of a fault. But, as you can see from the graph below, there’s a big difference between how long the best and the worst brands last. 

Which? members can log in to view which dishwasher brands last the longest before they need to be replaced. If you're not yet a member, join Which? to get instant access.

How we measure faults and reliability in dishwashers

Our scores take into account minor, major and catastrophic faults.

• Minor A fault that doesn't affect the product's performance significantly, or a fault that only occurs occasionally with minimal impact. This issue may be irritating or annoying, but it isn't frequently problematic and you can easily work around it. For example, an unusually noisy motor or a small amount of water leakage.
• Major A fault that has a noticeable effect on the product’s performance. This fault affects how you use the product, and can be problematic. For example, the cutlery rack or basket breaking, or a drop in how well the dishwasher dries.
• Catastrophic A fault that renders the product unusable, with the fault needing to be repaired or parts replaced before you can use it again. For example, a key electrical fault which causes the dishwasher's control panel to be unresponsive.

Dishwasher brands rated

Choose a brand from the list below to find out more detail about its performance in our survey.

Only logged-in Which? members can view the hidden results in the tables below. If you're not yet a member, join Which? to get instant access. 

Head to our dishwasher reviews

Know which dishwasher brand you want? Use the link to go straight to our reviews and find your ideal model:

• AEG dishwasher reviews
• Beko dishwasher reviews
• Bosch dishwasher reviews
• Hotpoint dishwasher reviews
• Miele dishwasher reviews
• Siemens dishwasher reviews

How we calculate the best and worst brands

Which? has a wealth of information on Britain's favourite brands. Every year we ask Which? members to tell us about the home appliances they own – from how likely they would be to recommend a brand, to how reliable the products are once they get them home. This year 7,917 Which? members told us about more than 25,000 individual products. We calculate a brand's reliability and its customer score based on the results of our annual survey.

Our reliability surveys, combined with our extensive lab tests, mean we can recommend the best dishwashers you should buy.

This data is crucial for our testing, too. If a brand falls far below the category average, we take away the manufacturer’s Best Buy status and won’t recommend any of its products unless it shows a marked improvement in reliability.

Dishwasher repairs

We've investigated what to do about some of the trickier problems you might encounter with your dishwasher, surveying 106 appliance repairers about what advice they'd give for fixing faults with dishwashers and other home appliances.