Bosch SRS56A02GB > Reviews > Bye Bye Rubber Gloves!

Author's product rating:   

Performance	Excellent
Ease of use	Very easy
Durability	Everlasting
Noise	Very low
Value for money	Good

Advantages:	Excellent washing and drying performance, quiet
Disadvantages:	Some programmes take a long time

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

This dishwasher works very well and has a number of little extras that are very worthwhile, which I'll describe in this op.

The top rack of the dishwasher doesn't have a central funnel; the connection to the water is made from the back of the wash cabinet when you push the basket back in. This basket also has a fold-out rack for cups, which unfortunately is only half-length - be nice for it to extend along the whole depth of the basket. On the other side of the basket is a special rack which is for holding long items such as carving knives. This has spacers to keep the items apart so they are washed properly. This is very useful and a good safety feature - the sharp knives can be held securely instead of wobbling about in the cutlery basket. This extra knife rack is removeable. The upper basket also has two height positions so that larger plates can be washed in the lower basket. Adjusting the height requires the basket to be removed completely, so you can't do it with the upper basket loaded.

The lower basket has a fixed plate rack along the front and rear plate racks that can be folded down to make more room for pans and serving dishes. The cutlery basket can be placed over either plate rack and has four compartments. The cutlery basket has a fold-over grid which you can use to slot items through so they are kept separate while being washed. To make more space in the cutlery basket you can fold back this lid. The lid is useful when you're washing small items so that the pressure of the water jets doesn't blast them out of the basket.

The control panel is very simple. There is the on-off switch, an LED display, the programme selection buttons and indicator lights for adding salt and rinse aid. To choose a program you just switch on, press the program you want and off it goes. It even remembers the last program you used so if you want to run the same one, you just switch on and that's it.

The programs available are Intensive (70 degrees), Auto (55-65 degrees), Economy (50 degrees), Quick (35 degrees) and Cold Rinse. The Auto programme is the one I use most often. After the first rinse, the machine decides how dirty the dishes are and sets the wash duration and temperature automatically. The length of this cycle is between 90 and 120 minutes. If the dishes are lightly soiled, the pre-wash water is reused as the main wash water which saves electricity as well as water.

The time remaining is displayed on the LED display but there is no indication of where in the program the machine is (eg washing, rinsing, drying). Because the length of the Auto cycle is variable, the manual advises not to use a 3-in-1 tablet for this cycle. The Intensive cycle is good for washing items with dried-on food. The Economy cycle takes nearly 2 and a half hours so is no good if you're in a hurry. The Quick program is a cool wash that lasts only 35 minutes and is great to wash up a load of coffee cups quickly.

It is also possible to delay the start of the wash cycle so you can use cheap electricity in the night. I don't use this feature. Also, something that surprised me at first was that if you open the door mid-cycle, the machine doesn't just stop, it switches off too. So to restart you have to close the door and then switch it back on. Presumably this is for safety reasons.

For everyday use, I use the Auto cycle and a Finish Powerball tablet and get excellent wash results without using the Cold Rinse program after loading the machine during the day. The dishes are also well dried. However, at the end of the cycle the dishes are too hot to handle, so I open the door and wait a few minutes before I start unloading.

If I use the Economy or Quick programs I use Finish Liquid ( I suspect a whole tablet would be wasted on these programs) and get excellent results too. The Quick program doesn't include a drying cycle - they dry with the heat of the final rinse water but it works fine for small loads which is what this program is designed for.

Finally, it is also possible to remove the upper basket entirely and in its place fit a small attachment which looks like a watering can rose. You can then load the lower basket with larger items such as pan supports from the hob, over shelves and baking sheets. I use the Intensive program doing this and it works well.

Despite a few niggles, this is a very good dishwasher and I certainly recommend it. I'll never go back to rubber gloves.