Dishwasher Drawers
1 May 2008
“Scrub in a Drawer”
I have to admit that, at first blush, the idea of dishwasher in a drawer seems like something that is just bound to leak. And there have actually been a complaint or two along these lines, for those who were not happy with the purchase after they’d made it. In fairness to the manufacturer, though, most of the leakage problems tend to revolve around a bad installation. And sometimes a bad installation is a result of a do-it-yourselfer who probably shouldn’t have. There’s a reason why a professional gets paid as much as he does, and wading through a flooded kitchen that came from your saving an “outrageous” installation fee is a heck of a way to find out that it may have been rather reasonable!
That said, there are a number of reasons people like products like the KitchenAid drawer dishwasher that is pictured here. Tall people who like to cook (that would be me!) come to love using the top drawer for day-to-day use because they don’t have to bend over. And the drawer moves in and out so easily it’s never in the way.
Also, in recent years, dishwashers have been made with more power for washing even heavily-soiled pots and pans, while running much quieter than they ever did before, and the KitchenAid drawer dishwasher is no exception. Because it is in two drawers, though, as opposed to the one big dishwasher, it requires 33% less energy than a standard model, which means one can wash small loads more frequently. It is also helpful for party and holiday clean-ups because one can run a heavy-duty cycle for pots and pans in one drawer while, at the same time, running a delicate load of crystal in the other drawer.
Finally, the one we’ve pictured here is stainless steel, but it is also possible to get this item in wooden drawer fronts to match the rest of one’s kitchen, which is a wonderful styling touch.
So now the simple drawers my mother used can now be made to refrigerate and wash. What’s next—a cook in a drawer?
Joseph
A New Idea?
The dishwasher drawer idea has been around now for a while, probably starting with Fisher Paykel. We actually looked into these when we were starting our own kitchen remodel.
Our Problem
My wife at about 4′ 11″ needs to have her countertops a bit lower than most folks, or she would have problems working in her own kitchen. So, since I am a custom cabinet maker I designed and built our cabinets to be shorter to give us a countertop height of about 34 3/4″. The problem is that most dishwashers are made for the standard 36″ high countertops, so they require about 34 – 34 1/2″ of space. The drawer dishwasher was a good option for this situation, but it was also an expensive one. We figured we would need to use two single drawer units placed on either side of the sink.
Our Solution?
We ended up with a dishwasher from Asko. The Asko dishwashers come in a shorter height so we were able to squeeze this into the space.
Joe
NEXT: “A Cook in a Drawer”
No comments yet
Leave a Reply