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  • Design & Usability

  • Features

  • Performance

  • Warranty

  • Why We Like It

  • By the Numbers

  • Performance

  • Efficiency

  • Capacity

  • Design & Usability
  • Features
  • Performance
  • Warranty
  • Why We Like It
  • By the Numbers
  • Performance
  • Efficiency
  • Capacity

The stainless tub is the model's best performance perk, and a rarity for dishwashers in this price range. Stainless interiors are more durable, better looking, and reduce noise more effectively than plastic.

We're also fans of the 5-year warranty—only found at Ikea—and the Swedish-influenced style that's built in a factory in Ohio. If you’re on a budget, but unwilling to budge on stainless, the IUD7555DS is one of your only options.

For more information on buying Ikea appliances, check out our in-depth guide. {{brightcove '4732446856001'}}

Design & Usability

Minimalism comes to appliances

Everybody knows stainless steel appliances are supposed to look good. They mesh with most cabinetry while lending the kitchen a professional look. The Renlig's door is stainless but, sadly, its industrial vibe is interrupted by the forward-facing plastic control panel lining the top of the door. Yes, it's the sort of minimalist control panel you'd expect from Ikea, but top-mounted controls would be even less obtrusive.

Like many budget models, this dishwasher has very few adjustable parts. You can fold down one row of tines on the lower rack, and... that’s it. Don’t expect height adjustment mechanisms for the upper rack, cup shelves, or stemware clips. There's room for 11 standard place settings and a serving setting, but you’ll have some trouble loading the tall vases and champagne flutes with hard-to-pronounce names that also made it into your yellow Ikea bag.

We have a handful of other usability gripes, too. The upper rack feels rickety and sticky, the cutlery basket takes up a lot of room on the lower rack, and we hate using one button to toggle between five different wash cycles.

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Features

A clear focus on efficiency

{{amazon name="Ikea 36-piece Dinnerware Set, Assorted Colors", asin="B00Q4O5PZQ", align="right"}} Most dishwashers don’t offer much outside of a Normal, Heavy, and 1 Hour wash cycle of some sort. This model, however, also comes with a Sensor cycle, which adjusts its programming depending on how dirty your dishes are, as well as an Eco cycle—an efficient cycle ideal for light duty.

As far as wash options go, all the usual suspects are present: Sani Rinse, Hi Temp, and Heat Dry. For many cycles, Heat Dry is on by default, but the Renlig also has an option called Eco Dry. This is basically a drying cycle that only lasts half as long, and it’s designed to cut down your energy costs while still providing reasonably dry dishes.

IKEA IUD7555DS front facing controls
Credit: Reviewed.com / Johnny Yu

A single button toggles between the five cycles on this forward-facing control panel.

If you’re worried about accidental inputs on the forward-facing controls, the Control Lock option has got you covered. There’s also a Delay that can be set for up to 24 hours, in case you want to postpone the start of a wash until later.

Ikea says the Renlig is rated at 48 dBA. The quietest dishwashers are about 39 dBA, but this one will likely be quieter than your ten-year-old dishwasher, which is probably closer to 60 dBA.

Performance

Clean designs, but some spots on the dishes

For what it’s worth, the Renlig at least lived up to our low expectations. This dishwasher will get your dishes clean as long as you scrape off the tough, stuck-on stuff beforehand. There are certainly better dishwashers out there that clean off tougher messes, use less water and power, or do it faster—but none cost the same or have the same warranty.

We encountered a few problems across all the cycles we tested. The first is redeposit, which ranged from barely noticeable on the Heavy cycle to a real problem on the 1 Hour cycle, with Normal somewhere in between. It means the filtration system isn’t very thorough—and remember, we clean the detachable filter after every wash.

IKEA IUD7555DS before and after cheese stain
Credit: Reviewed.com / Johnny Yu

On the left: burnt cheese in a bowl. On the right: burnt cheese after a run in the Heavy cycle.

Another problem we noticed is water spotting on items, most visibly on the spoons. Normally, rinse aid and sufficient drying will prevent this from happening. We can rule out the first part, because we never run tests without rinse aid, so there’s indication that the IUD7555DS lets water sit for a little too long.

In terms of cycle times, this dishwasher’s Normal cycle lasts 2 hours and 41 minutes, which is too long for squeezing in multiple runs in a single night. Heavy lasts 3 hours, which is average, and the 1 Hour cycle lives up to its name.

We expect the IUD7555DS to set you back $35.44 per year in water and electricity costs. The average consumer dishwasher should only cost about $29-30 per year to run, making this IKEA rather inefficient. Our meters recorded high water consumption on all cycles, although its average power usage was relatively low.

For in-depth performance information, please visit the Science Page.

Warranty

IKEA provides an impressive 5-year warranty for the IUD7555DS that covers all repair and replacement costs resulting from defects with the machine. Most appliances only come with a 1-year warranty, so this is one reason to make the trek to Ikea. Also, although Ikea is in charge of administering the warranty, Whirlpool will service the dishwasher.

Why We Like It

One of the cheapest all-stainless dishwashers you can buy

If your dishwashing needs tend to be average and you’re already outfitting your kitchen with IKEA stuff, you can feel comfortable buying the Renlig dishwasher. It’s tough to find stainless steel dishwashers for $600, and unless you tell people where you got it, the Renlig is virtually indistinguishable from any other Whirlpool dishwasher.

Your other options include the Turkish Blomberg DWT24100SS, another stainless steel dishwasher in roughly the same price range. Of course, given the Blomberg’s VCR-like interface and distinctly European feel, you might have even more trouble matching it with your kitchen’s décor than the Renlig.

If you’re willing to pay a little more without sacrificing stainless, the Bosch SHX4AT75UC is an excellent choice. And if you’re willing to forego stainless without breaking the bank, you might consider the Frigidaire Gallery FGID2466QF. In both cases, you’re getting great value for your dollar.

By the Numbers

The IKEA IUD7555DS, also called the Renlig, is an affordable stainless steel dishwasher. But after extensive testing, we found this machine lacks cleaning power and efficiency. Whether it’s higher utility bills or rewashing dishes, you’ll end up paying more than just the upfront cost.

Performance

The IUD7555DS has trouble with redeposit and water spotting, which point to poor filtration and drying, respectively. These types of problems are actually rather common in budget models, which this model certainly is.

Aside from the little green spinach bits redeposited on dishes, we also saw pieces of meat, bits of milk, and spots of dried egg left behind. These types of stains proved problematic across all cycles, but less so on the Heavy cycle.

IKEA IUD7555DS before and after cheese stain
Credit: Reviewed.com / Johnny Yu

On the left: burnt cheese in a bowl. On the right: burnt cheese after a run in the Heavy cycle.

The Heavy cycle did have trouble with the burnt cheese stain. With an average stain removal rate of only 44.27%, the cheese would typically come out a soggy mess. While this is a particularly tough stain for even the most expensive dishwashers, those machines tend to feature specialized high-intensity water jets to deal with it. The IUD7555DS has no such feature.

The Heavy cycle lasts around 3 hours and the 1 Hour cycle ends in an hour, which are average when compared to equivalent cycles on other dishwashers. However, the Normal cycle on the IUD7555DS takes about 2 hours and 41 minutes, which is longer than average.

Efficiency

Compared to other dishwashers, the IUD7555DS uses less power, but much more water. A Normal run uses only 0.68 kWh of electricity, but a whopping 6.69 gallons of hot water. Many other dishwashers only use between 2.5 and 3.5 gallons. The Heavy cycle only uses 0.80 kWh, but consumes 8.9 gallons of water. Finally, the fast 1 Hour cycle used 0.40 kWh, but needed 7.55 gallons of hot water to do its job.

Capacity

We were able to fit 11 place settings and a serving setting inside the IUD7555DS. However, our settings use standard items, which include dinner plates, glasses, saucers, and mugs. If your loads differ, or your items are particularly tall, bulky, or thick, this model's lack of adjustable parts might be problematic.

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Meet the tester

Johnny Yu

Johnny Yu

Staff Writer

@ReviewedHome

Johnny Yu writes news, features, and reviews for Reviewed.com. He graduated from U-Mass Boston with a Bachelor's in Social Psychology and spends much of his free time expanding his gaming horizons. Sometimes, he does his laundry at work.

See all of Johnny Yu's reviews

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