KitchenAid KUDC10FXSS Review

Introduction

Design & Usability

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Looks nice outside, but the racks are a bit cramped.

The KitchenAid KUDC10FXSS has no visible controls on its front panel. Only a KitchenAid logo and a brushed stainless handle interrupt a stainless steel exterior. To choose a cycle, you'll need to open the door and consult the panel on top. The design gives the washer a clean look, but you'll need extrasensory powers to figure out just what the washer is doing if the door is closed.

With the door open, you'll notice a stainless interior that helps to speed up drying and quiet the sounds of whooshing water inside the machine. We found that the KitchenAid KUDC10FXSS could hold up to eight place settings plus serving dishes, which is a little below average for a dishwasher. The top rack got cramped quickly, and the bottom rack’s ability to hold more large plates was hampered by a third row which seemed suitable only for holding saucers.

{{photo_gallery "Front Closed Photo", "Fingerprints Photo", "Controls 1 Photo", "Controls 2 Photo", "Front Open Photo", "Interior Detail Photo", "Top Rack Photo", "Top Rack Detail Photo 1", "Top Rack Detail Photo 2", "Top Rack Detail Photo 3", "Bottom Rack Photo", "Bottom Rack Detail Photo 2", "Bottom Rack Detail Photo 3", "Cutlery Basket Photo", "Cutlery Basket Detail Photo 1", "Cutlery Basket Detail Photo 2", "Cutlery Basket Detail Photo 3"}}

Features

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No automatic wash, few options to add to existing washes.

The usual suspects are present on the KitchenAid KUDC10FXSS: Normal, Quick and Heavy Duty. There’s no option for an “automatic” or load-sensing wash, though, like those found on some more expensive units. There are also no options to build a customized wash cycle, nor is there an automatic load sensing wash. However, it's possible to select a heated dry, a high-temperature scrub cycle or a "rinse only" cycle for dusty dishes. Instead of a cleanable filter, the KUDC10FXSS features a "chopper" for grinding up food waste particles. It doesn't require cleaning, though it makes for a bit of a noisier wash.

Performance

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For spending your time, you get extremely clean dishes.

We've learned that most quick cycles are useless on dirty dishes, and that's certainly the case here. The Normal cycle was pretty good, though it left some food behind and took over three hours to finish. We were quite impressed with the Heavy Duty cycle, as well: dishes emerged spotless, even though it took even longer—three hours and 19 minutes, to be specific.

Be careful: If you leave the heated dry on, it'll not only add time to your wash, but it may essentially "bake" waste food particles that remain at the bottom of the dishwasher. It's an unpleasant smell, and difficult to clean. A year with the KitchenAid KUDC10FXSS should set you back a combined total of $37.76. That’s assuming that 50 percent of your washes are normal, 25 percent are light and 25 percent are heavy. Your mileage may vary.

Conclusion

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A good clean, but lots of drawbacks.

With an MSRP of $849 and a sale price that regularly falls below $700, the KitchenAid KUDC10FXSS is a mid-range dishwasher with good cleaning performance. It lacks automatic cycles, however, and takes a very long time to get dishes clean. You'd be better off with a similarly-priced machine that cleans as well in far less time.

Science Introduction

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Every one of the dishwashers we test gets the same treatment: The same plates with the same stains, following the manufacturer's directions for which cycles to use. The KUDC10FXSS did an alright job getting them clean, though it took its sweet time.

Performance

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The 1-Hour Wash is neither of those things, but the other cycles do a good job.

KitchenAid refers to their quick cycle as the “1 Hour Wash.” More accurately, the button should read “1:33 Wash,” because that’s how long it took when the heated dry option was also selected. The KUDC10FXSS struggled to get baked-on meat and spinach off plates, though it had no problem with more lightly soiled dishes.

On other cycles, most food debris was whisked through the washer’s drain hose in a cascade of dishwater. On the Quick cycle, however, some food remained concentrated around the heating element used for drying dishes, effectively cooking waste food. The odor was unpleasant, and cleaning the food off the heating element was difficult.

Most people will use the Normal cycle a majority of the time. They won’t be disappointed with the KitchenAid KUDC10FXSS, which left most dishes entirely clean. It did struggle with dried spinach, but didn’t redistribute waste food onto other plates like some of the dishwashers we’ve tested.

Aside from having some trouble washing baked-on oatmeal and cheese from bowls, the KitchenAid KUDC10FXSS had no trouble cleaning even the toughest dirty dishes on the heavy duty cycle. Even a filthy lasagna pan emerged spotless, though some of the baked-on pasta remained at the bottom of the dishwasher.

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Efficiency

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The KitchenAid KUDC10FXSS uses an average amount of electricity and water.

Most of the energy used by the KitchenAid KUDC10FXSS is for heating up cold water and drying dishes with an internal heating element. The KitchenAid KUDC10FXSS’s Normal cycle uses a lot more water than average. However, it's heavy and quick cycles use less water than most other dishwashers out there. On average, it should cost about $37.76 per year to run—expensive, but not the least efficient dishwasher on the market.

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Capacity

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