Bosch SMS40C02GB > Reviews (4)

Bosch SMS40C02GB

One thing I have to say before starting to review my dishwasher is that I am no expert in new white goods but rather the queen of repairs. The reason - I am married to a man who adores fixing things, and to that end most breakdowns are repaired - despite him tipping up my kitchen with tools and manuals! However there comes a time - and I have earlier this year finally parted company with my last dishwasher which celebrated twenty birthdays in my kitchen!

My other point about reviewing white goods is that I feel how long they last in perfect working order has to be as important than their current fancy features in terms of assessing their value for money. However I accept that a line must be drawn about when it is acceptable to review an item, and certainly it is pointless reviewing my old machine as I doubt you could buy it anywhere!

So my new dishwasher now just over 6 months old is ready to face the panel, and it is a Bosch - the reason- we only ever buy this make as hubby tells me the parts are so easy to purchase from his friends at Espares! The parts are also inexpensive and you can buy alternatives as well more cheaply. I have to agree with him about this, and furthermore I own many old Bosch appliances and some have never gone wrong at all in over a decade!

Electrocentre-Reliable And Good Price

We Paid £298.50 for the machine from a company called "Electrocentre" - these are based in Birmingham and offered the best price and delivery options to Essex. They lived up to their promises delivering on time and removing the old machine with grace and enthusiasm! The machine is widely available from many retailers.

About The Machine And My Opinion

It's a 12 place setting white dishwasher and is efficiency rating A+. It is also rated A for washing and drying performance. These attributes were important to us as the previous model, though working up to its dying days, was not as economical as this is - technology has moved on so fast in two decades!

It measures 845 high by 600 wide by 600mm depth and easily slotted into the gap in my kitchen. When I had the kitchen designed I had a built in fridge and cooker, but opted for free standing dishwasher and washing machines which lie behind doors. This has made replacing them and fixing them so much cheaper.

I like simplicity and this is- it has four settings- normal, economy, quick wash and pre-rinse, and it has something called The Active Water Hydraulic System which uses minimal water to achieve great cleaning results. It also claims to minimise damage to glassware by controlling the water hardness, which as I live in a hard water area is important to me.

Now the length of the programmes is something I had to get used to- there is either the quick wash which completes in half an hour, and is excellent for every day items such as mugs and lightly soiled dishes and there is also a half load setting. As we don't eat meat we seldom have really soiled items such as bake ware which would need the longer programme, but we do have a trio of cats and a dog, so I tend to put their bowls on the longer setting to ensure they are spotless.

These longer washes take up to 195 minutes, so you have a long wait, normal is quicker than eco, but eco busies itself for three hours! This is quite interesting to me as the length of the wash means that you really don't want to purchase this dishwasher if you are rarely at home, as I don't think leaving appliances on during your absence or when you are in bed is safe. As I am home based it suits me, but I wouldn't advise this model for anyone who works long hours.

The dishwasher is extremely easy to load and is compact inside with cutlery basket and plenty of room for all the dishes. It has a great little basket at the top for large serving utensils which is excellent. It is very quiet too, which would be a real asset if you have an open plan design in your house downstairs. In my experience it is extremely efficient at cleaning dishes, and even baked on food comes clean in the first wash which I think is impressive.

The claim about glassware seems to be true as my glasses are coming out clean and free from smears.

There is a LED display on the front which tells you how long the machine has left to run, and there is also the option to delay the start to a later time, which I am not keen on unless you are in the house and awake. It does however allow you to make use of cheaper electricity options if you have the night tariff for example.

Final Thoughts

So will this last another twenty years? - well given my last one did, despite being used to the extreme for half that time when my family were teenagers, I have great expectations. It's a great machine I have no doubt, but I wouldn't recommend it if you are rarely at home and generate a lot of heavily soiled dishes, as three hours is a long cycle to complete safely and under supervision.

There are some excellent photographs of the machine on the Marks and Spencer website at www.marksandspencer-appliances.com. This isn't the cheapest place to purchase, but the images are comprehensive and give an excellent view of the internal and external parts of the machine.

Summary: A great machine in most aspects.

This review is also published on Dooyoo under my user name Machair1.