Baumatic BDW13

...new kitchen fitted with Baumatic appliances - dishwasher, fridge-freezer and washing machine (the oven, for some reason is a bosch).
We had absolutely no choice about appliance brand or models, but as we had got such a good deal on the flat, we went along with what the builders stipulated for the whole of the development (I had seen Baumatic products advertised in 'House & Garden' magazine so its not as if I hadn't heard of them before, but ...
...had a look on the Baumatic website, which has a glamorous 'life style' feel to it.
It scores reasonably well on energy-efficency ratings (but not as well as washing up by hand, I know) which I was pleased about.

The Technical Stuff:
Its a 60cm Fully integrated full height (under counter)electronic dishwasher, with 12 Place settings and 7 Electronic functions: normal, intensive, economy, rinse, light, rapid and soak.
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Why I'm writing about this product:
Last August my husband had to find somewhere to live so that he could be nearer his job and we found a small flat which, before he moved in, was going to have installed a brand new kitchen fitted with Baumatic appliances - dishwasher, fridge-freezer and washing machine (the oven, for some reason is a bosch).
We had absolutely no choice about appliance brand or models, but as we had got such a good deal on the flat, we went along with what the builders stipulated for the whole of the development (I had seen Baumatic products advertised in 'House & Garden' magazine so its not as if I hadn't heard of them before, but didn't know anyone who'd actually got one of these appliances).
I had a look on the Baumatic website, which has a glamorous 'life style' feel to it.
It scores reasonably well on energy-efficency ratings (but not as well as washing up by hand, I know) which I was pleased about.

The Technical Stuff:
Its a 60cm Fully integrated full height (under counter)electronic dishwasher, with 12 Place settings and 7 Electronic functions: normal, intensive, economy, rinse, light, rapid and soak.
It purports to have 4 Wash temperatures: 40,50,60,70 degrees C and a delay timer (which I haven't used yet).
It comes with convection drying and a self cleaning Stainless Steel microfilter.
An anti leak device and anti flood device are fitted as standard (thank goodness) and finally, adjustable feet will counter with sloping or subsiding kitchen floors and help maintain a 'sleek look ' to a fitted kitchen.

First impressions:
Through no fault of its own, our first efforts to use the machine were unhappy: it didn't work!
It hadn't been plumbed in properly ( a blockage in the water feeder hose) which was fixed fairly promptly by the builders, with apologies for causing the trouble. I realise this kind of mishap could happen with any appliance and apart from that, the kitchen door fascia fitted on the front of the machine well, it looks good and we have had no other problems like this.

Operation:
There's a large amount of space inside, sensibly laid out with a height adjustable upper basket, but the racks and baskets are a bit flimsy (after eight months' light use, one of the collapsable plate/dish racks is beginning to bend in a rather worrying fashion). Its not that quiet (on any programme) and, in a studio-type flat where cooking/eating/living are done in the one room that is a draw back. It may be less obtrusive if you have a separate kitchen.
The main concern is how clean it gets the dishes, and here I have issues. Its not as if its getting heavy daily use (mainly from just my husband and me, sometimes - and not many heavy pots and pans). In fairness, we are in a hard water area, I do rinse things before I put them in the dishwasher, and I have tried different types of dishwasher powder and various tablets (including Finish as recommended by the manufacturer), but this does not seem to affect the quality of the wash.
I am also finding it difficult to keep the interior of the door clean, especially by the seal, which is a bit troublesome.
On the plus side, it is very easy to operate, load and unload, and I am pathetically grateful just to have a dishwasher in the flat.

Other points:
The Baumatic has got got : Energy efficiency A, washing performance B and drying performance B (about par for the course for most dishwashers).
From the Baumatic website, you can easily download a copy of the instrruction manual (handy when you lose the original one, and for when you have to compile a 'House-Buyer's Pack').
You can extend the warranty, and take advantage of a Baumatic 'Platinum' customer service scheme.

Does it do the job?
kind of ...

Conclusion:
Round about the same time, I bought a Gorenje dishwasher for the family home (reviewed already on Ciao) so I'm in the position of being able to do a bit of (non-scientific) comparative analysis. I prefer the Gorenje, which is quieter (in my opinion), is getting much heavier use and seems to be much more robust about cleaning things well.
I suspect this might be one of the more basic Baumatic models at the lower end of the price range - but that doesn't stop me suggesting that (unless you are presented with a fait accompli by a builder or kitchen fitter, or get given this as a present) you might like to shop around before making your decision!

2 February 2009 UPDATE
I should have known - the Baumatic is giving up the ghost: rinsing and draining has not proved effective (for all programme settings) for a few weeks. I'm looking for a 'dishwasher doctor ' to come and see whether the machine can be made well - or must be 'retired'.

I shall try (once more) to be fair to the Baumatic - is it unreasonable of me to expect the machine still to be functioning in 2009? Perhaps I (inadvertantly ) did something that caused the machine to go wrong - over-filled it, perhaps, or too heavy handed with the programming controls? Somehow, I don't think so....

And the Gornje (see paragraph above)? It's going strong, with no trouble whatsoever. Guess what (if I have to) I'll be replacing the Baumatic with? 

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