Whirlpool WDF530PAYM Dishwasher Review

The Whirlpool WDF530PAYM (MSRP $599) features a handful of these neat extras, but middle-of-the-road cleaning performance makes it hard to recommend. We’ve spotted sale prices as low as $350, though, which could justify a purchase for some buyers.

Design & Usability

Clever cutlery basket

Although the WDF530PAYM’s door has a stainless steel finish, its interior is entirely plastic. This means longer drying times and poor sound insulation, and doesn’t look as classy, either.

This dishwasher’s cutlery basket can hang on the inside of the door or sit on the lower rack. The former arrangement leaves more room on the lower rack for your other items, but it does mean that some taller items can tumble out of the basket. Still, given that there are no adjustable tines anywhere on either of the WDF530PAYM’s racks, any extra space is welcome.

A few fold-down shelves on the top rack help provide extra loading space for small items, like espresso cups and ramekins. We were able to comfortably fit ten place settings and a serving setting inside the WDF530PAYM.

We found this dishwasher’s controls simple and responsive, but the glossy plastic control panel is prone to smudging. This could become a real problem if your fingers are wet after loading the machine. And although you can hear this dishwasher when it’s running due to poor sound insulation, you won’t get the luxury of a chime when a cycle is done.

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Features

An interesting assortment

Aside from the usual Normal, Heavy, and 1 Hour Wash cycles, the WDF530PAYM also comes programmed with an Eco cycle and an Over Night cycle. Eco, despite its name, is not specifically geared towards efficiency: It’s simply a gentler cycle that uses lower temperatures to clean delicate items. Over Night—a long cycle that uses less water and electricity, and lets detergent sit—is actually the more efficient cycle.

The array of customization options allows users some control over how they wash. Hi-Temp Wash and Sani Rinse are two ways to boost water temperatures, either for a better clean or to kill off any bacteria. Heated Dry turns on the exposed metal heating element to help with drying, a Delay option lets you postpone the start of a wash for 2, 4, or 8 hours, and a Child Lock blocks out the controls so that cycles don’t get started or interrupted inadvertently.

Performance

The Normal cycle gave a weak showing.

We generally focus on a dishwasher’s Normal cycle when gauging its performance, since that's the workhorse cycle most consumers use for their everyday loads. Across multiple trials, the WDF530PAYM’s Normal cycle left us disappointed, as visible traces of every food stain were left behind. Even tea, which is one of our easiest, lightest stains, had a few remnants left over.

The Heavy cycle did a much better job removing common stains, and you might be tempted to use this cycle all the time. However, this cycle used more than twice the hot water as Normal, so frequent use will impact your water bill. This cycle also tested poorly against burnt cheese, which is the sort of stain you might commonly find on pots and pans after cooking.

All cycles had a minor redeposit problem, which is when food particles get spread to otherwise clean items during the wash. However, this dishwasher’s cycles are all rather speedy: Heavy takes 2 hours and 40 minutes, Normal takes around 2 hours, and 1 Hour Wash finished in its promised 1 hour.

The WDF530PAYM’s annual cost is $29.64 a year, which is average. In fact, most dishwashers on the market today come in between $29 and $30.

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

Before You Buy

Never pay full price

Even though the WDF530PAYM’s retail price and array of features suggest it’s a step above the bottom rung, this dishwasher doesn’t have the performance to match. For the same amount of money, you’re better off with something like the similar Kenmore 15113, which offers superior cleaning ability.

However, we’ve found the WDF530PAYM on sale for as low as $350, which would make it quite the bargain. You’re basically paying the same price you would for a budget dishwasher, but you get the added perks of Sanitize and a few more specialty cycles to choose from.

By the Numbers

We gather a lot of data on our dishwashers, so it’s easy for us to make comparisons between them. We found the Whirlpool WDF530PAYM’s numbers were close to what we usually got from budget, low-end dishwashers. This did not bode well for a machine that retails for hundreds more.

Performance

The WDF530PAYM’s Normal cycle wasn’t that great. It exhibited minor but noticeable levels of redeposit and left visible traces of nearly every food stain behind. This even included tea, which is a light stain that most other dishwashers score 100% on.

The Heavy cycle fared much better with the common oatmeal, tea, meat, and milk stains, but that could incentivize users to rely on this inefficient cycle for everyday loads. This cycle performed very poorly with burnt cheese, cleaning only 62% of it on average. There were also traces of lasagna left behind after our tests.

1 Hour Wash finished in an average of 55 minutes, fulfilling its promise with a little room to spare. Its cleaning scores were slightly worse compared to the Normal cycle’s, but it seemed perfectly suited for light stains.

Efficiency

The WDF530PAYM is right on the top of the bell curve as far as annual cost goes, and is estimated to cost you around $29.64 each year in water and electricity. 1-Hour Wash used 0.47 kWh of power and 5.71 gallons of hot water, Normal used 0.74 kWh and 3.36 gallons, and Heavy used 0.85 kWh and 7.65 gallons. These numbers aren’t very different compared to their cycle counterparts on many other dishwashers we’ve tested.

Capacity

Having the cutlery basket hang on the door instead of the lower rack was an interesting arrangement, and we were able to find space for ten place settings and a serving setting. While there are no foldable tines or height adjustment, the extra space on the lower rack made it easier to fit the large casserole dishes we use as part of the serving setting.

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