Are dishwashers a standard size?
The standard sizes of dishwasher dimensions are largely normalized across different companies to fit into people’s houses. This worldwide normalization happens mainly because most people put their dishwashers into tight spaces as a part of the kitchen furniture “puzzle.” With that said, many slight variations exist regarding width, height, and depth.
Buying a new dishwasher is much easier if you’re doing it along with buying other neighboring pieces of furniture. You’ll be able to arrange them according to the dishwasher’s dimensions.
If you’re replacing your old one with a new one, it can get much more difficult. It’s especially if you already have the other furniture pieces in place. Even a slight miscalculation in terms of fitting the dishwasher can result in it being either too big or too small. In both cases, your buy will turn out to be useless.
In this article, we’ll explain in detail how to measure, pick and buy the correct one for you.
Measuring your dishwasher is undoubtedly the most important part of selecting the right one for your home.
Proper measurements are crucial to determining whether a certain piece will fit into your prepared spot or not. This practice is all the easier because most dishwashers are in the shape of a parallelogram. It means that the only piece of equipment you’ll need to make such measurements is a simple tape measure.
It includes something to write your results on. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to get to know your dishwasher’s dimensions:
How to Measure a Dishwasher & Find the Right Dimensions
Get yourself all the tools.
This will be a quick step. You’ll only need the tape measure, a notepad, and a pen. Tape measures can be bought easily at any Home Depot for low prices.
In the case of built-ins, measure the hole.
The whole purpose of measuring the dishwasher you want to buy is to see whether it would fit into the space you’ve prepared for it in your home. It’s important to know the hole’s measurements and have them ready to compare the two results.
Make sure everything is straight and still.
Another important factor to consider before beginning your work is ensuring that the dishwasher you’re measuring is standing on a flat surface. It needs to be standing without any bumps or other things that would change the measurement results.
This way, you know your results will be relevant. You won’t be surprised when despite making measurements, your kitchen aid can’t seem to fit.
Start with the width.
After you’ve done all the preparations, it’s time to get to the dimension measuring finally. We recommend you start with the width of the machine. All you need to do is stretch your tape measure from the left of the dishwasher to the right.
Just in case it’s not a simple cube, we recommend doing it both at the top and bottom of the piece. Go with the smaller result if they differ in any way. When measuring, it is important to keep your measure straight and parallel to the ground.
The small metal piece at the end of the measure should help you with that. To ensure your device is positioned properly, push the metal piece into the dishwasher’s side and keep it tight. This way, the measure will be kept parallel.
Then, get the depth.
The next step is to do the same with the depth. As with the previous measurement, get your tape measure and press the end of it to the back wall of the dishwasher.
Measure it all the way up to the front. Make sure to include all the parts that stick out, such as handles. Remember not to make this measurement inside of the dishwasher. The back wall’s width will not be included this way, leading to an incorrect result.
A wrong measurement will not necessarily mean the dishwasher won’t fit. Instead, it will stick out of your furniture arrangement. This will lead to a ruined visual aesthetic.
Next, get the height.
The last dimension you’re going to measure is the height. To do it, get your tape measure and stretch it from the floor to the underside of the cabinet space.
As with width, you will want to do it on both sides of the dishwasher to ensure the measurements are the same. If they’re not, use the smaller one as your reference point. This step is especially important because it also determines how much space the opened kitchen aid will take.
Ultimately, it can be thought of as an additional depth. The opened doors will stick out for the height of the dishwasher.
Compare the measurements.
Finally, get your results and compare them to the dimensions of the spot you’ve prepared for your dishwasher after getting all the work done.
Ideally, you will want the hole’s dimensions to be marginally larger than the kitchen aid’s ones. It will leave some room for error. If the piece is even a tiny bit bigger than the spot, it will be unfittable. You should search for other ones.
Types
Once you know how big your dishwasher should be, it’s time to figure out what kind of these machines will work the best for you.
When we think about dishwashers, most of us think of the standard build-ins that we see in most households. In reality, there are more types of these appliances. Some might be better suited for your liking. Going even further, not every dishwasher is in the simple cube shape.
There’s the existence of L-shaped dishwashers suited for being placed in the corner of your kitchen layout. Which types of these appliances will suit you best?
Built-in:
Considered the standard type, they are the most frequently used variation of the machine. They’re designed to make them easy to fit into preexisting holes, with only the door being a moving part of them.
They come in different sizes. The standard models come in at around 24 inches wide, 24 inches deep, and 35 inches tall. The bigger, wider models can also be 30 to 42 inches wide. For better fitting, their height and depth stay the same. Lastly, we have the smaller versions.
It includes ones like the 18-inch wide kitchen compact kitchen aid. Like the others, the height and depth stay at 24 and 35 inches.
Portable:
A unique type, less frequently used than the built-ins. They look similar to them, and their dimension measurements are similar.
Unlike built-ins, they have the added feature of being movable. Most often, they serve the same function as the other version. They are fitted into furniture gaps and occasionally wheeled out when it’s convenient. Their width is mostly the same at 24 inches.
They’re slightly shorter and more shallow, at 34 inches of height and 21 inches of depth.
Countertop:
The most unusual type, and also the newest one. It’s offered only by some brands, and it’s harder to obtain than the standard versions of the kitchen aid.
They’re smaller and more compact, and their design allows for more open placement in the kitchen. They can be moved from place to place, displayed in different angles and ways. Most of these machines are 22 inches wide, 17 inches tall, and 20 inches deep.
What Size is Best For Me?
Now that you know all about types and dimension measurements, it’s time to put this knowledge to use and determine which one will serve you best. As you might have already guessed, this will be based mainly on three aspects:
- How big your cabinet opening is
- How big your overall household is
- and how much money you have.
Let’s look at all the possibilities:
Maybe you’re a part of a large family, with not less than 4 or so people. You’re going to do a lot of dishwashing.
A 24-inch built-in model can take care of big cleaning loads at once, so you won’t have to run your dishwasher repeatedly. It’s estimated to be able to hold about 14 place settings. Most homes able to host this many people can also fit a big machine without any problems.
Buying the oversized, bigger built-in is best if your budget gives you more freedom. It has all the space you need and more, which makes it perfect for bigger families. Keep in mind you’ll have to pay a bit for kitchen renovations to make the bigger kitchen aid fit in addition to the cost of the dishwasher itself.
Compact built-ins and portable dishwashers are the middle options. They pose a middle ground in every aspect, such as space efficiency, washing efficiency, and budget.
Coming in at about 18 inches, they are able to hold six to eight-place settings. They’re your best bet if you’re looking for a kitchen aid for 2 people with smaller space available. These dishwashers are also cheaper, which is perfect if you want to save money.
They have the additional benefit of being able to be operated in other rooms as long as there is a water hookup available. This adds to their flexibility and possibly allows you to do the dirty work outside your sight. It includes rooms such as the garage or basement.
If you’re living alone or with just one other person, countertop model will be the one for you. They take up the least amount of space, are incredibly convenient and flexible, and cost the least money.
They can be moved from counter to counter, giving you full freedom in their placement whenever you want to change it. Remember that their capacity is the lowest, and they won’t be able to hold many dishes at once. They also take up a considerable amount of counter space.
They should be used mainly in L-shaped or G-shaped kitchen layouts that maximize counter space while leaving as much floor space as possible.
What to look for when buying one
Besides the typical aspects of searching for a dishwasher, there are some additional features you might want to look for to get the best one. These features will save you time or money or make your dishwashing much more convenient.
Flexible rack settings
Allowing you to place anything from tall wine glasses to small plates or cups. Flexible racks are something you’d want to have in your dishwasher. With it, you’ll be able to modify yours to fit anything you want with little effort.
Smell control
Some machines tend to produce a smell after being used for a while. It comes from either the filter or the interior of the water softener. Maybe cleaning these parts out regularly doesn’t seem like something you’d like to do.
We advise you to buy one with a stainless-steel tub. It will not only dry your dishes better, but it’s also more effective at keeping out odor and stains.
Extra jets
This feature is especially convenient for tall glasses and cups. Instead of having to wash them by hand every time, you can place them into places with jets sticking out of the bottom. These will ensure that all of your glass’s interiors are clean.
Germ-killing options
Even though your kitchen aid will keep your dishes clean, it might not keep them sanitized. Some bacteria will remain, although invisible on the clean plates. That’s why it’s important to have a dishwasher with extra sanitizing cycles that utilize hotter water to get rid of the tougher germs.
Durability
Obviously, you’d want it to last as long as possible so as not to spend money repairing or changing it often. For this issue, we recommend appliances that are made of stainless steel and have leak protection. This way, your machine is sure to survive for a long time in a good state.
Capacity
The less dishwashing you have to do, the better. That’s where the higher-capacity appliances shine, allowing you to do the entirety of your cleaning at once. Machines that have this feature often have the option to adjust cleaning times and third rack installment and perform better overall.
Energy usage
Especially nowadays, more and more dishwashers are made with energy efficiency in mind. They use sensors that check your dishes’ messiness level and evaluate how much water will be needed and for how long. This feature is certainly going to save you lots of utility money, especially in the long run.
Food disposers
These machines come with either a filter or a hard food disposer. The former captures food particles at the bottom of the filter, and the latter uses blades to chop the particles up for good. Although expected to be louder, these chopping disposers can be quiet and don’t need maintenance work.
They’re unlike filters that have to be cleared out every month.
Space for cutlery
Whirlpool, Bosch, or KitchenAid offers many options that come with a third rack suited for cutlery items, cups, mugs, and such. It’s shorter, which means it doesn’t take up much space. It features special tilted parts designed to keep your cups in place.
Noise-canceling
It’s very annoying to have a noisy dishwasher. It keeps you from being able to enjoy anything else while the dishes are being cleaned.
Luckily, many appliances have extra noise canceling features and are almost as quiet as whispering. They are designed specifically to get rid of any possible noise. It makes them so quiet that you won’t even realize when the cleaning has started.
