Frigidaire FGIP2468UF Stainless Steel Dishwasher Review

About the Frigidaire Gallery FGIP2468UF

• Style: Available in Stainless Steel (FGIP2468UF) or Black Stainless (FGIP2468UD) • Seven cleaning cycles: Power Plus, Normal Wash, Quick Wash, China Crystal, Top Rack, Energy Saver, Rinse Only • Three wash temperatures: Normal, High, Sanitize • NSF-certified to sanitize dishes • Includes a heating element to dry dishes • Speed: 34-minute Quick Wash • Capacity: Can hold up to 14 place settings • Interior: Plastic

You can upgrade to the FGID2479SF, which costs around $200 more but has a third rack and a stainless interior. Also, if you're interested in a completely matching kitchen, the FGIP2468UF is from the Gallery Collection. This means you can shop other kitchen appliances from this collection and be assured the colors will match.

What we like

The first thing you'll spot is the stainless steel exterior. There is also a black stainless version, the FGIP2468UD, but we think the regular stainless is the one that really shines. That's because Frigidaire coated this model with a smudge-proof veneer. The smudge-proofing also means the FGIP2468UF is easy to clean—a single wipe gets rid of most greasy marks.

When you finish admiring the outside, open it up and you'll be greeted by an upper and lower rack with adjustable tines. Up to 14 plates can be placed in the lower cavity along with the cutlery basket. The upper rack has a series of triangular tines, which can accommodate bowls of various sizes that can be loaded at an angle if they're very shallow.

Inside and out, Frigidaire nailed the usability. It also runs nice and quiet. The stainless steel door blocks enough sound that you can carry on a normal conversation without noticing your dishes are getting clean.

One of the biggest selling points of the Frigidaire FGIP2468UF is that it gets the dishes dry, solving one of the biggest pain points in owning a dishwasher. When the Normal and Power Plus cycles finished, we found every bowl and plate perfectly dry and cabinet ready. The 34-minute Quick Wash didn't get them quite so dry, but that's not really the point of that cycle.

What we don't like

Our cleaning tests include dishes covered in all the major food groups, from spinach and oatmeal to meat and cheese. The FGIP2468UF stumbled during the Heavy cycle tests. The dual OrbitClean spray arms are purported to blast every nook and cranny, but our data showed that about a third of the dishes still had food on them at the end of the cycle. They were small specks, and it's worth pointing out that our tests are designed to push the limits of what a dishwasher can do. Still, don't expect perfectly clean dishes every time.

We also tested the DirtSense feature, a system that is meant to automatically adjusts cycles according to how dirty your dishes are. We compared runs with place settings we stained and ones that were pristine. We found no difference between the cycle time or the amount of water and electricity used. If there was an economy somewhere, we did not detect it.

Should I buy this dishwasher?

As far as dishwashers go, the Frigidaire FGIP2468UF is a solid value. At the time of publication, the sale price is in the sub-$500 range. It's tough to find a stainless steel dishwasher that's smudge proof at this price point. Performance-wise, our testing showed that the FGIP2468UF did not live up to Frigidaire's claims of giving the "ultimate clean" compared to sub-$799 dishwashers. Rather, the performance was average.

That's not a bad thing. This dishwasher is a steal if you can find it in retail channels around $450. It's a safe and affordable choice that will make your kitchen sparkle, fingerprint-free.