I’m looking at Bosch dishwashers which are supposed to be the quietest around. They can be expensive, but worth it. I can either pay in excess of $800 for 48 decibels, or 675 for 54 decibels. Do you think the 6 decibels are worth the extra $$?
The other features are good enough for me. Thanks in advance.
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Replies
Probably not unless you are trying to sleep in the room with the DW.
Here are some examples of noise levels.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decibel#Examples
70 Busy traffic at 5 m (16 ft)
60 Office or restaurant inside
50 Quiet restaurant inside
40 Residential area at night
30 Theatre, no talking
20 Whispering
10 Human breathing at 3 m (10 ft)
0 Threshold of human hearing (with healthy ears); sound of a mosquito flying 3 m (10 ft) away
And more here
http://www.lhh.org/noise/decibel.htm
You can add a LOT of sound deadening yourself for very few $$.
FFrom experience, the bottom of the line GE/Hotpoint sells for $200 less than the first one with door insulation. 1/2 hour and 2 pieces of closed cell poyurethane installed in the door of the DWasger and the $160 low end unit is as quiet as the $200 higher unit. Next up are units with good sidewall sound insulation, another 1/2 hours at installing insulation at installation and setting the feet on shock mounts (urethane foam like gym mats) gets you about to 50 dB.
Maybe its like the other $5000/hr thread with the retired engineer - Big $$ bill for a fix; itemized is $1 for foam and $999 for where to put it.
Hey, that is the dishwasher I sold with the old house!
Did exactly what you described and added the insulation wrap from the old higher end model over what was on the low end model. Darn cheap model ended up being quiter than in more expensive cousin.
Dave
The decibel ratings are only for the DW. Plates rattling around, water supply and drain noises aren't included. The new DWs are much quieter than older models. Certain parts of the cycle may be louder than others. I don't think I would pay extra for 6 decibels, I'd just start the DW when I wasn't near or doing something that the noise would bother. Dropping 6 Dbs would be an achievement in an industrial setting that needed to meet standards. You would have to hear the difference side by side to know the change. It would not be significant but, in some cases, every little bit helps. Normal conversation is about 60 Dbs.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
Neil,
I bought the Bosch stainless steel model with the highest quiet rating (does that make sense?) after having one when we lived in Germany. Works great fives years later and yes the extra cost was worth it as I like to run a load thru right at bedtime but my wife used to complain the old machine kept her up.
Now the problem is the damn thing is so quiet, you can't tell when its running and her or I will walk up to it to put something in thinking its off and its not and water splashes everywhere! :)
Seriously, if you want quiet, spend the extra money and you will not be dissappointed.
Mike
not sure what the ratings were but i just installed 2 bosch DWs in a kitchen and you cannot hear either of them running. If it was'nt for the light on the panel you would'nt know if they were running or not
Well it's about time they put a light on the Bosch DW. I open my in-laws while it's running about once a month.Garett
I'll add to the Bosch raves by saying that the loudest sound mine ever makes is the water running into the disposal.
Yes some of the bucks go for sound deadening but it also does a great job and the stainless inside and out is great also.
Thanks all for the responses, I know Bosch is excellent, but I'm trying to differentiate between models. is there a remarkable difference between 48 db and 54 db. worth Extra $$$? .
54-48 = 6 dB
Set up a small radio outside on a quiet day or early morning, and set it to a comfortable level at about the loudness of your present DW with your ears 4 ft away, let us call that about 54 dB.
Now move to 8 feet away, the sound level you now hear is 48 dB.
That is the difference.
What a great method - Junkhound is a genius!
fwiw we have a Bosch - its pretty quiet - it has a digital countdown on the front. Each time we start it it picks a # between 112 and 117 to start at - random.
The number stays at zero when its done. You then turn it off, and turn it on again to run it the next time. It seems like a strange setup - why doesn't it just shut off?
Treat every person you meet like you will know them the rest of your life - you just might!
"fwiw we have a Bosch - its pretty quiet - it has a digital countdown on the front. Each time we start it it picks a # between 112 and 117 to start at - random."Is it alway random the second that you turn it on?There are some that have dirt sensors and adjust the time based on that.But I think that measure how clear the water is. So it needs to run a short time for the first measurement.
Yes, the second you turn it on - different # each time. But we don't think the numbers mean actual minutes, so it may be adjusting to water dirtiness.
Our washing machine (the duo) has a similar feature - at the end of the cycle it says there is 1 minute left...for as long as it wants to.
The Bosch w/the hidden control was just past our price range - we'd already paid 3x what most dishwashers cost. But ours is really quiet. It occurs to me that we are supremely spoiled to be talking like this.
Treat every person you meet like you will know them the rest of your life - you just might!
It occurs to me that we are supremely spoiled to be talking like this.
Agree
Also a thought that people who pay a relatively outrageous and infalted prices (to me anyway) for a commodity like a DW tend to defend their decision. Dont think I've ever paid as much for a CAR or Truck as some of these Dwasher cost.
Esp. as most here have the talent ot add 4# worth of insulation in ten minutes.
Also a thought that people who pay a relatively outrageous and infalted prices (to me anyway) for a commodity like a DW tend to defend their decision. Dont think I've ever paid as much for a CAR or Truck as some of these Dwasher cost. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Totally agree! This has been the first house I ever put such ridiulous appliances in. Bosch DW almost a grand and the Sub Zeo refridge...five grand! And I HATE the refridge! Figured in a neighborhood like this I should put in the best for resale. Stupid...never again.
I have the cheaper model, and it is very quiet. Couldn't hear it at first, but now that its familiar I notice it a little
Mike
Trust in God, but row away from the rocks.
I have some friends with bosches, and they are really quiet. My dishwasher bought the farm and I was reaching into the wallet to buy a bosch, when I was given a fantastic offer to take a floor model kitchenaid (320 for a 800 dollar unit) I put in same day and it is very quiet. (I have tried to start it while it is running on more than one occasion).
The big difference is in the design.
Bosch, and a few other brands that have the same design (and I imagine parts) have very small motors and no built in disposal units, but they have a strainer basket that catches debris and needs to be cleaned out monthly. The good news, now disposal to get overloaded and busted, bad news, monthly cleanout. They also have an inline heating element instead of a coil in the unit, so they will use less juice to get it hot.
Kitchenaid and others have a larger motor and a fairly robust in unit disposer (ours has eaten popcorn kernels and other nastys) It is louder, but my 4 year old is WAY louder and so I never notice it. The dishes come out great though.
If you go to a large appliance store and start looking inside of the dishwashers you will start seeing how almost all of them have real similar main features. The price changes with all stainless interiors and more complex drawer feature.
Jeff
What Oak River said.
I have the same one. With integrated controls concealed in the upper part of the dishwasher. You can't see them till you open the door. Its so you can cover the front with cabinetry.
Ya can't hear a thing at all. I don't know if its on or off its so quiet. Even when I put my ear right up to it...course if I have a hearing aid in I can hear it just slightly but I hate wearing those things.
Lowes
GE
$425
Can't hear it running when I'm standing next to it.
Of course, Big tank go boom, I don't hear so good anymore.
But my wife does tell me she can't hear it either.
Sound level depends completely on how close the microphone is from the sound source and how acoustically reflective the area near the source is. Either one is very quiet. If the dishwasher is around a corner from where you will generally be when it's running, it won't matter much. If you're in another area of the house, it won't matter at all.
Since the DW appointed me the DW duty, I'm thinking the next house I build for us is gonna have 2 medium priced ones. Most dishes will be stored right there in the DW. A magnetic "clean" sign will be switched between them as appropiate. They can be run when we are not in the kitchen... that way I can have more time for the finer things in life... like drinking beer :-)
And on a sour note, I replaced a $200 computer on a Bosch that was less than 5 years old - and this was the 2nd time the computer had been replaced. The first time was under warranty, not the 2nd.
Kitchenaids have been good (and quiet) in my experience.
Regards,
Tim Ruttan
>> Do you think the 6 decibels are worth the extra $$?
Remember that decibels are measured on a logarithmic scale and is not linear. Experimentally it was found that a 10 dB increase in sound level corresponds approximately to a perceived doubling of loudness
http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/dB.html
Back to lurk mode...
Diane
I would hazard a guess to say, no, not worth it unless bragging rights do it for you.
In a fancy flat, we replaced an old (no noise-reduction technology or insulation) DW with the quietest maytag then made (not Bosch). There was very little apparent improvement in noise with the new machine (of course far nicer). Then we moved the new machine to our first house. There was a massive difference in noise between the two set-ups - and the house set-up was enough quieter that we could then, sort of, barely, tell the difference between our 'better' machine and the one that had come with the house (more than 8db in rating difference, to be sure) when standing right in the kitchen.
That penultimate Bosch will be good and quiet with respect to true DW noise, and some of the money saved can go to dampen any remaining noise sources. I believe allowed to resonate through the floor, stuff stored in the adjacent cabinetry, the counter top, plus sounds from water supply and drains are the real noise sources. Do get some vibration control rubber under the feet and where the DW attaches to the cabinet, and spend some time dampening plumbing sounds.
BTW, our second house came with a super-cheap DW with garbarator. Once we close the passage door between the kitchen and hall, we can run a load right at bedtime and nobody hears anything. ;-) Luck of the draw.