A good dishwasher will take the unpleasant task of washing the dishes off your hands (literally), but a bad one can double your load.
Our expert testers take doing the dishes very seriously.
Not only will you have to pack and unpack it, you'll also have to re-wash anything your machine failed to clean and then dry the dishes yourself.
That's pretty much like washing up manually, just with added steps.
This is why we test dishwashers in our state-of-the-art labs: to show you which is the best so your money doesn't end up down the drain.
For our latest dishwasher reviews, our experts tested models from Smeg, Fisher & Paykel, Bosch, Beko, Haier, LG, Westinghouse, Electrolux, AEG and more.
After days of 'doing the dishes', they uncovered some impressive cleaners and some serious under-performers.
How do we test them?
We test dishwashers to show you which is the best so your money doesn't end up down the drain
Well, it's a dirty job that involves crusty crockery identically stained with foods such as oats, egg yolk, rice starch, spinach, baby cereal and more.
We leave the dishes out overnight, then analyse how well each dishwasher gets them clean. (Learn more about how we test dishwashers).
We don't want you to end up with a dud buy, so here are the products that scored lowest in our lab tests. Consider becoming a CHOICE member to see the best performers.
The lowest rated dishwashers from our tests
Omega ODW101W
This pint-sized Omega gives benchtop models a bad name.
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 58%
- Washing score: 63%
- Drying score: 35%
- Price: $699
The worst performer in our test overall, this half-size benchtop model does about half the job we'd hoped for.
It earned the lowest washing score of all models and performed very poorly for drying too, meaning you'll be reaching for that tea towel once its long cycle has finally finished.
(Hot tip: if your dishwasher isn't great at drying, try cracking the door open a few centimetres just after the cycle has finished and leave it to settle for half an hour or so – it'll generally give you dryer dishes than if you left the the door closed or unpacked the machine straight away.)
On the upside, the Omega is cheap to run (which is good because you might need to run it twice to get the wash you want) and it won't require any modifications to your cabinetry to install, as you can just plug it in. This also means that you can take it with you if you move out.
But don't let this model put you off benchtop units altogether: it is possible to find a smaller dishwasher that performs well.
We've come across some benchtop models that punch well above their weight and even outscore full-sized dishwashers.
Unfortunately this just isn't one of them.
Read the full Omega ODW101W review.
Haier HDW15F2S1
This Haier uses a lot of energy to do a poor job.
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 64%
- Washing score: 55%
- Drying score: 84%
- Price: $899
Not only is this dodgy dishwasher relatively expensive to operate, it bombs out in its washing performance with a poor score of 55%, which means it's going to be a dreary sight when you open that dishwasher door.
It also has no option for a 'light' or 'fast' wash meaning you can't expect a quick turnaround if you need to reuse your plates and cups quickly, and there's no 'rinse-only' program either, which can be annoying if your dirty plates are starting to smell but your dishwasher's not full enough to run yet.
It did perform well at drying those poorly washed dishes though, and includes a feature where the dishwasher door opens automatically at the end of the cycle to aid drying performance.
The dishwasher is Wi-Fi connected, which means you can control it remotely, but whether that's more useful than actually getting clean dishes is debatable.
Read the full Haier HDW15F2S1 review.
Fisher & Paykel DW60FC2X2
This Fisher & Paykel makes a lot of noise while it fails to clean your dishes.
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 67%
- Washing score: 59%
- Drying score: 87%
- Price: $1099
Expensive to run, relatively noisy and only just OK at cleaning your dishes: there's not a great deal to like about this dishwasher.
It's pretty good at drying your dishes, but that doesn't count for much when it doesn't do a great job of washing them in the first place!
And if there are bits of food still left on your plates after the wash, the heat from the drying process could just bake them on further, making them even harder to remove when you're putting them away.
Read the full Fisher & Paykel DW60FC2X2 review.
Inalto IDW604S
The Inalto IDW604S has a cycle time of more than three hours.
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 68%
- Washing score: 73%
- Drying score: 46%
- Price: $499
It's dirt cheap to buy and to run, but this model's low price comes with similarly low performance scores.
It delivers very good energy efficiency but you'll have to use all your energy drying the dishes after this Inalto is done with them.
It's also pretty basic, lacking many features that come as standard with other dishwashers, such as anti-burst hose, rinse-only program, half-load option and time-remaining display.
And not only is it relatively noisy, it has a very long cycle time, so you'll have to put up with the noise for a full 183 minutes.
Read the full Inalto IDW604S review.
Artusi ADW4501X
The Artusi ADW4501X has a slim physique but an over-inflated pricetag for its performance.
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 68%
- Washing score: 76%
- Drying score: 43%
- Price: $879
It scores exactly the same as the Inalto above, but somehow this Artusi machine costs nearly twice as much.
If you're looking for a slimline dishwasher you'll find there are slim pickings. Most models are the standard 60cm wide, so your options are limited from the get-go. And unfortunately these narrower dishwashers don't come with a slimline price to match: the 45cm-wide models we've tested range from $699 to $1549.
But that doesn't mean you have to settle for an expensive but ultimately disappointing model like this.
The difference between this Artusi and its diminutive peers is that all of them performed better – even the cheapest model.
The difference between this Artusi and its diminutive peers is that all of them performed better – even the cheapest model
And this one lacks even basic features such as an anti-flood/anti-burst hose, time-remaining display, rinse-only program and half-load option. Plus it has a painfully long cycle time of nearly three hours!
Since you'll be paying a premium for a petite machine regardless, we suggest you don't put your money towards this one.
Read the full Artusi ADW4501X review.
Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
