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  • Introduction

  • Front

  • Finish

  • Controls

  • Interior

  • Top Rack

  • Bottom Rack

  • Cutlery Basket

  • Electricity Use

  • Water Use

  • Yearly Running Cost

  • Washing Speed

  • Washing Performance

  • Quick Wash Cycle

  • Normal Wash Cycle

  • Heavy/Pots & Pans Wash Cycle

  • Washing Cycles

  • Customization

  • Additional Wash Options

  • Capacity

  • Wash Arms & Filters

  • Lower Dish Rack

  • Upper Dish Rack

  • Cutlery Holder

  • Detergent Dispenser

  • Ease of Use

  • Noise

  • Controls

  • Comparison

  • Comparison

  • Efficiency

  • Washing Performance

  • Features

  • Introduction
  • Front
  • Finish
  • Controls
  • Interior
  • Top Rack
  • Bottom Rack
  • Cutlery Basket
  • Electricity Use
  • Water Use
  • Yearly Running Cost
  • Washing Speed
  • Washing Performance
  • Quick Wash Cycle
  • Normal Wash Cycle
  • Heavy/Pots & Pans Wash Cycle
  • Washing Cycles
  • Customization
  • Additional Wash Options
  • Capacity
  • Wash Arms & Filters
  • Lower Dish Rack
  • Upper Dish Rack
  • Cutlery Holder
  • Detergent Dispenser
  • Ease of Use
  • Noise
  • Controls
  • Comparison
  • Comparison
  • Efficiency
  • Washing Performance
  • Features

Introduction

Front

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The stainless steel front of the washer does show the inevitable fingerprints and dirt rather too easily.

The front of the GE CDWT980VSS.

Finish

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Controls

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Interior

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The CDWT980VSS with door open.

Top Rack

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The top rack of the CDWT980VSS.

Bottom Rack

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The bottom rack of the CDWT980VSS.

Cutlery Basket

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The CDWT980VSS cutlery basket.

Electricity Use

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The {{product.name}} used, on average, between 0.52 kW for the quick wash to just over 1 kW for the Power Scrub cycle. That's a little less than some of the other washers out there, but the LG makes up for its electricity savings by using more hot water.

Water Use

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This is one thirsty dishwasher, using around the same amount of water for a normal wash as one of the heavy-duty cycles. That's unusual, but may explain its good performance on the normal cycle and the less-than-stellar cleaning when set to heavy-duty.

Yearly Running Cost

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The {{product.name}} is a little more expensive to run than average. Our calculations found that owners of the LG doing an average amount of dishwashing should expect to pay $42.17 each year in electricity and water costs.

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Washing Speed

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The {{product.name}}'s wash cycle times ranged from over three hours for a heavy-duty cycle to a mere 49 minutes for the steam fresh cycle. The "quick" wash may be a bit of a misnomer, taking 1 hour and 18 minutes to barely remove any stains from dishes.

Washing Performance

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Overall, the {{product.name}} had some trouble with the quick and heavy-duty cycles, though it excelled at the often-used normal setting.

Quick Wash Cycle

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The quick cycle of this dishwasher took an hour and 18 minutes to run, and did a moderate job of cleaning the heavy stains on our test dishes, with most of the oatmeal and tea being removed. However, there were small spots of both remaining on our dishes, and there were more significant amounts of the spinach and meat stains left on the dishes. The singed milk that we use in glasses in our tests was also a problem for this washer, with a significant amount left on the glasses. We also found that a small amount of the spinach stain we put on one dish ended up on another, meaning that it was washed off from the first dish, but not rinsed out of the wash completely. Overall, the quick cycle of this washer would only be useful for very lightly soiled dishes, such as just used teacups and cake plates, but it doesn't do enough cleaning to handle the dinner plates.

Normal Wash Cycle

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The normal cycle is where the {{product.name}} shone. Nearly all of the stains had disappeared from each plate, and none of the filth had been transferred across plates. Most users will appreciate a dishwasher that does a good job on this cycle, as it's adequate for cleaning most dirty dishes.

Normal Cycle

Heavy/Pots & Pans Wash Cycle

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When we test the heavy-duty cycle, we fill each dishwasher up with as many pots and pans and plates as possible, as if we'd thrown a big party. The {{product.name}} did a good job -- but unfortunately didn't rinse as thoroughly as we'd like to see. Other dishwashers use a lot more water on the heavy-duty cycle, and it showed: a lot of stains just moved from dish to dish, and the lasagna pan remained plastered with some pasta. One glass in the corner actually emerged far filthier after it went through the wash, as it became a resting place for a lot of the dirt cleaned off other dishes.

Pots & Pans Cycle

Washing Cycles

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The {{product.name}} offers a wide range of washing cycles, from the intense power scrub to the quick cycle. This range of cycles should cover pretty much every use for this washer.

Customization

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A good degree of customization is also on offer, with the ability to change the intensity of the wash to one of three levels. This could be useful if you want to clean more delicate dishes.

Additional Wash Options

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In addition, the {{product.name}} allows you to control the rise, either adding an extra normal rinse, or a sterilizing rinse to the NSF/ANSI 184 standard, which means it reduces the bacterial level on the dishes by at least 99.999 per cent.

Capacity

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We found that this dishwasher could hold a maximum of 10 place settings, which is composed of 10 dinner plates, salad plates, knives, forks, teaspoons, 20 spoons, plus cups and saucers and a selection of serving dishes. That's a pretty typical capacity for a dishwasher of this type, and there was still space in the washer for additional cutlery if required.

Top Rack

Bottom Rack

Wash Arms & Filters

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The {{product.name}} has two wash arms, one below the lower rack and one attached underneath the upper rack. These are standard straight arms that rotate freely. In addition, there are two steam vents on the lower left side of the bottom of the washer, which can be used for extra cleaning. Dishes that need this have to be placed in the lower left of the bottom rack.

The CDWT980VSS wash arms.

The DW 14140 upper wash arm

The CDWT980VSS filter.

Lower Dish Rack

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The lower dish rack slides out onto the open door, and offers six rows of tines to hold the dishes. The front rows can be removed, while the middle rows are adjustable, with 5 positions. The removable front row also leaves more room for larger dishes, such as pans and serving bowls, that need extra washing from the steam feature this washer offers. To use this, the dishes have to be placed in the front left corner of the rack.

The bottom rack of the CDWT980VSS.

Upper Dish Rack

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The upper dish rack is designed for items that are not as heavily stained, such as cups, saucers and glasses. It offers 4 rows of times, the left pair of which can be adjusted to 5 different positions or lowered out of the way. On the right side of the rack are two stemware holders that can hold up to 10 glasses, or which can be folded out of the way. This rack can be set to two heights by lifting or lowering the levers on the right side, but the height adjustment is only a couple of inches, which doesn't provide much extra room. One issue that we did find was that one of the adjustable tines tended to get loose, so it would fall over when we were loading, spilling the dishes. We were able to fix this by bending the end lever that holds the tines in place, but it is something to watch out for.

The top rack of the CDWT980VSS.

Cutlery Holder

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The cutlery holder is a standard design, with three compartments and cutlery holders on top of all of them. It is located in the bottom rack, but it can be used on either rack (although the upper rack has to be lowered to fit the handle in. This does provide some extra flexibility.

The CDWT980VSS cutlery basket.

Detergent Dispenser

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The detergent dispenser is on the inside of the door, with a single lid that covers the detergent compartment for the main wash. If you want a pre-wash, you just put more detergent in a depression in the top of this lid. The rinse aid dispenser is next to this.

The CDWT980VSS detergent dispenser.

Ease of Use

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We found the {{product.name}} to be a very simple to use dishwasher, with a straightforward design. The real control buttons are easier to use and more tactile than the touch controls used on many other washers, and would be easier for someone with limited mobility or vision to use.

Noise

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The {{product.name}} is a very quiet washer, with only a moderate whooshing sound during the wash and a quiet gurgle when the pump is running to drain it. Neither noise was particularly intrusive in our tests.

Controls

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The controls for this washer are all located on the top of the door, so the door has to be open to see them. This puts the controls out of sight for most users (you might glimpse them if your counter top is thinner than most), but makes them easy to get to: you just select your wash cycle and options with the door open, and the wash starts when you close the door.

Comparison

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While the {{product.name}} did well in all our tests, Samsung's similarly-priced DMT800RHW is clearly the better choice. Neither did a bad job cleaning dishes, but the Samsung outpaced the LG in nearly all tests including cleaning performance, efficiency and usability. Since both units can be found for within $50 of each other, it would be foolish not to choose the better of the two.

Comparison

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Washing Performance

Efficiency

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The {{product.name}} was only a little above average when it came to energy usage -- nothing that would break the bank or be noticeable on an electric or water bill.

Washing Performance

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The {{product.name}} was at its best during the normal cycle, outperforming even more expensive washers. It had some trouble on the special cycles, however, as dirt washed off one plate sometimes ended up on another.

Features

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Interestingly, the {{product.name}} featured a steam wash for cleaning fragile dishes and stemware. Unfortunately, we found the adjustable tines of the top rack couldn't hold more than a few dishes before collapsing, a frustrating design flaw.

Meet the tester

Richard Baguley

Richard Baguley

Contributor

@@rbaguley

Richard Baguley is a veteran writer who has written about technology ranging from Alphabet to Zip file utilities. He has contributed to pretty much every major tech publication, including Amiga Format Magazine, PC World, Wired, CNET, Toms Guide, Forbes, and many others. He lives in the Boston metro area with his wife, dog, and an indeterminate number of cats.

See all of Richard Baguley's reviews

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