"I’ve fallen in love … but it’s complicated!
The Bosch Series 6 SMV68MD02G really is a serious grown up dishwasher. It made my old model look positively prehistoric (well if they’d had dishwashers in the Stone Age).
First of all, as far as plumbing in is concerned, it’s all pretty straightforward (assuming you’re just replacing an existing integrated dishwasher). Bosch provide an AquaStop hose system, which is a double walled hose which prevents flooding.
Programmes range from the heavily soiled intensive option to the low temperature option for delicate glassware. The array of wash programmes can be augmented with various tweaks like half load, extra dry, intensive zone, hygiene plus etc. There’s an Automatic programme which obviously calculates the water and temperature needed to clean the load.
The various clever gizmos in this machine make sure that the water used is no more and no less than is needed for the load. There’s an Eco option which takes longer but uses less water, the door also opens up automatically at the end of this particular programme to let steam escape which helps the wash to dry. This option can’t be used when the child lock is in place of course.
The Aquasensor regulates water usage, using light beams. The light sensors work out how many particles are in the rinse water and then work out how much more rinsing is needed.
The LoadSensor works out how much water is needed for size of load. So if you run a half load wash then you will use less water.
The Ecosilence drive means the dishwasher is astonishingly quiet. I’ve owned a few dishwashers in my time and it’s the quietest by far.
The ‘pot’ washes are extemely effective. I’ve often found my old dishwasher didn’t remove baked on or dried on food. This one copes easily. My pans have never been so shiny.
The cutlery drawer at the top is novel for me. I’ve always had a basket in the past. But I really rather like this drawer. I’ve often found the odd skewer or fork can poke through the bottom of a cutlery basket and stop the arms going round. So this drawer makes more sense.
The Baking Sheet spray head provided can be plugged into the back of the machine when you want to clean things like baking trays. You will need to remove the upper basket though.
Another feature I love is the TimeLight. An optical display which is projected onto the floor beneath the dishwasher as soon as it starts running, that way you’ll know how long the programme has to run. Very clever.
There’s lots of room in the baskets, the top basket can be adjusted up and down. Three options available for this. One minor niggle, we found our long stemmed wine glasses don’t easily fit into the basket. If you lower it to make more room above, it means less room below and larger plates won’t fit in. But with a bit of jiggling we sort of put the glasses in at a rakish angle and they washed fine.
The dishwasher itself is really brilliant, but make no mistake, it’ll take you a while to get to grips with the various programmes and options. I wasn’t too thrilled with the manual. Everything you need is there of course, but it could have been made a little more user friendly. For example, it would have been handy to see the itemised features of the machine on the page opposite the line drawing, rather than having to find the info in various pages of the manual. The manual also covers more than one model, so you may find yourself looking for features that your machine doesn’t have. You have to flick backwards and forwards to work out what you’re doing. I would have preferred a step by step approach. This is a small point but one worth pointing out in an honest review.
So my overall opinion? This is a really excellent machine. Perfect for us and for a family. I always think Bosch when I think of dishwashers and there’s a reason for that, they really do make great bits of kit. If you want an all singing all dancing dishwasher and you’re willing to spend some time learning how to use this machine, then this is the appliance for you."
36 of 36 people found this review helpful.