GE Profile PDT855S Series Dishwasher Review

It offers tons of useful cycles and wash features, an adjustable upper rack, a third rack for even more cutlery cleaning, and more than 140 jets of water aimed at spraying off dirt and grime. It’s got standard jets on the side, bottle jets on the top rack, and a reversing wash arm with 25 jets all aimed at plates.

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However, we're most interested in GE’s newest feature, which debuts on the PDT855S: Deep Clean Silverware Jets. They promise to keep silverware from sticking together during a wash, so your forks, spoons, and knives will get clean even if you load them in a big jumble. We put that claim to the test and found out it works as advertised—great news for people who hate loading silverware.

Of course, fancy features don't matter if the dishes didn’t come out clean… but boy, do they. Our dishwasher tests are tough, but the PDT855S cleaned and dried every plate we gave it.

With retail prices of about $1,350 on all three versions—stainless, GE’s special slate finish, and even panel ready—anything less than perfection simply wouldn’t be worth the expense. But given the fantastic cleaning power of the GE Profile PDT855S, we’d say it’s definitely worth checking out.

Three Racks, Tons of Features

Unlike more minimalist dishwashers, this one has a GE logo near the bottom and a thick, curving handle at the top. Controls are top-mounted, so you won’t see them when the dishwasher is closed, though a small display near the top lets you know what stage of a cycle is currently underway.

We think the solution that Bosch and Electrolux chose—shining a light on the floor to show when the dishwasher is running—is more elegant than a tiny screen.

Inside, you get a stainless tub and three racks. The lower rack has four rows of tines, two of which are adjustable. A cutlery basket that can be broken up into three parts is designed to sit over those silverware jets on the left side of the rack.

The upper rack has tines, a folding cup shelf, two stemware clips, and four bottle jets. The top rack is on ball bearings and slides more smoothly than on the similarly priced Bosch machines we've tested, and each side is independently height adjustable. There's also a removable third rack up top.

Choose Your Own Adventure

Oddly, there are only a few buttons on the control panel, and they all do at least double duty. That means you have to push buttons multiple times to select a cycle or option. It's also not always clear which features are turned on without hitting the corresponding button to double check.

That said, you can choose from one of seven different cycles: Normal, AutoSense, Heavy Duty, Express, Light, Rinse, and eWash (designed to be an even more energy efficient option).

Depending on which cycle you pick, you can also turn on PreSoak or Power Dry, or choose a Delay Start ranging from 1 to 12 hours. Three temperatures settings—Normal, Boost, or Sanitize—are available on most cycles, and you also choose to wash just the upper or lower racks if you don’t have a full load of dirty dishes.

This model is also capable of connecting to GE's WiFi Connect app, which we reviewed separately.

Like Bosch and KitchenAid, GE only offers a standard one-year limited parts and labor warranty. You can read the details in the user manual.

It Cleans—and Dries, Too

We tested GE's Deep Clean Silverware Jets and found that they did exactly what the manufacturer claimed. If you tend to dump all your cutlery in the dishwasher at once without sorting it, the powerful spray jets will spray off caked-on food and keep forks and spoons from sticking together.

But there’s more to a dishwasher than just cutlery. We tested the GE’s Normal, Heavy Duty, and Express cycles, and were blown away by the results. Even without Power Dry turned on, the mix of dishes we washed in the Normal cycle ended up dry and 100% free of redeposit. Almost all the dishes were perfectly clean, and the ones that weren’t had only a few flecks of food left over.

Heavy Duty did an even better job cleaning dishes overall, tackling tough stains like baked-on cheese, while Express handled almost all of our tough stains with equal aplomb. Even better, it did so in an astoundingly quick 32 minutes. Express had trouble washing off spinach—likely due to shorter rinse cycles—and the dishes didn't end up bone dry, but that's to be expected. Drying takes time, and Express just can't squeeze it into a half hour cycle.

To top it off, this dishwasher is efficient when it comes to both water and electricity consumption, and it's also one of the quietest dishwashers on the market. At just 40 dBA, it's almost as silent as flagship models from Bosch and Miele.

Why We Love It

We are impressed by the all-new GE Profile PDT855S dishwasher.

It has a ton of features, and they all work as advertised. Even better, none of them are gimmicks—we think they all make it easier to do dishes. Functions like Power Dry, Sanitize, and adjustable wash zones offer a ton of control, the Normal cycle gets dishes clean and dry, and the Express cycle takes just over a half hour.

The only thing that doesn’t excite us is the high price: At least $600 more than the popular Bosch 500 Series or unique Electrolux 50 Series. Yes, the GE's sale price of $1,350 is a lot to spend on a dishwasher. But if you have the money, this dishwasher is worth checking out.