Candy CDI-1012

...into a new house, the Candy CDI-1012 came as part of the package, safely concealed within the kitchen worktop. For this reason, I can't really comment on either i) the ease or otherwise of the installation or ii) the appearance of the unit as we didn't fit it and we don't have to look at it every day (although the style of our cupboards/drawers is quite fetching...).

The instruction manual that comes with the unit is simplicity itself, ...
...some handy hints and tips for washing, including what not to wash!

In addition, it has a thorough troubleshooting guide, something that always irritates me when either missed out or kept to a bare minimum in other manuals. It also has a customer support phone number, but disappointingly, no website reference (which is www.candy-domestic.co.uk, by the way). Why would you not include that if you were a big company, there might be some ... more

Call me a Luddite, but up until November 2006, I had never owned a dishwasher. Being part of a couple, I hadn't found that our pots and pans were that demanding to keep on top of with a manual wash.

On the occasions we had a few people round for dinner, I have to admit that the choice of i) Having another cold beer or ii) Scouring the pots by hand was an easy one to make, but that just meant a little more tough scrubbing and a squirt more Fairy the next morning.

However, when we moved into a new house, the Candy CDI-1012 came as part of the package, safely concealed within the kitchen worktop. For this reason, I can't really comment on either i) the ease or otherwise of the installation or ii) the appearance of the unit as we didn't fit it and we don't have to look at it every day (although the style of our cupboards/drawers is quite fetching...).

The instruction manual that comes with the unit is simplicity itself, and offers full, easy to follow instructions as well as some handy hints and tips for washing, including what not to wash!

In addition, it has a thorough troubleshooting guide, something that always irritates me when either missed out or kept to a bare minimum in other manuals. It also has a customer support phone number, but disappointingly, no website reference (which is www.candy-domestic.co.uk, by the way). Why would you not include that if you were a big company, there might be some danger of the customer wanting to buy another one of your products?! Sales prevention, surely?

The machine has two baskets, one suspended above the other allowing the biggest pans and plates to be safely held. The rotor arm sits in between the two baskets so you'll need to take care you don't put any tall spoons in the cutlery holder (lower basket) as this can cause some issues and makes a very worrying noise if left on. My other half thought someone was tapping at the window!

A typical 'full load' is 24 plates of varying sizes, 6-8 cups/mugs, 3-4 saucepans and 1-2 oven dishes and enough cutlery to feed 6-8 people. The cutlery basket even splits into two pieces which is useful to allow bulkier items to be loaded.

Once you open the unit, you are greeted by a minimal control panel, showing the On/Off switch, the programme selection button and indicator lights as well as icons representing the 5 available programmes which are as follows: -

Program 1 - 'Universal' - 65 degrees centigrade - For normal soiled pans and any other items left all day

Program 2 - 'Hygienic' - 75 degrees centigrade - For heavily soiled pans and any other items left all day

Program 3 - 'Eco' - 45 degrees centigrade - Energy saving wash

Program 4 - 'Rapid 32 minute' - 50 degrees centigrade - Quick wash for straight after a meal for 4 - 6 people

Program 5 - 'Cold Rinse' - Short cold pre-wash when you store items in washer until you wash a full load

In addition, the detergent chamber and rinse aid section are easily accessible, although you have to be careful when closing the detergent chamber as it has slid open a couple of times during a wash, leaving a slimy, half-used tablet exposed, when I had clearly heard it 'click' shut.

Operation of the dishwasher is straightforward, simply depress the Programme Selection button until your choice is made, then close the machine.

This brings us to the wash, and I have to admit here that I have tried all the 5 washes described above and found that the 'Eco' option always gives an excellent clean, with the only time it comes up short being with very large pots that may have some more ground-on dirt; these have been easy to rinse down quickly in a sink.

Maintenance and cleaning is simple and straightforward; follow the instruction in the manual and run a vinegar wash every 6-8 months as well as checking the filters regularly and hopefully, like me, you'll have no problems.

All in all, this is a sound dishwasher and has very little going against it. It's not partcularly flashy, but it's trustworthy and does what it's supposed to, quietly, and with the minimum of fuss. What more could you need? 

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