Why choose an integrated dishwasher?
June 2nd, 2014
Choosing the right dishwasher for your home depends on a lot of different factors, including what’s available, what’s affordable, what will fit in your kitchen and what will look good.
While there are several dishwasher varieties available at Appliances Online, including Slimline, DishDrawer and Benchtop designs, the two most popular dishwasher styles are standard or freestanding dishwashers, and integrated or built-under dishwashers.
What is a standard dishwasher?
A standard dishwasher is pretty much what you expect – a freestanding appliance that operates separate of your kitchen cabinets, requiring only connection to power and water. Standard dishwashers can be installed under benches, but they usually don’t have to.
Standard dishwashers are fairly flexible when it comes to their setup – if you have a gap or cavity in your kitchen cabinetry with access to power and water, it should be quite straightforward to connect a standard dishwasher in this space. And if you move house, it should be relatively simple to disconnect the dishwasher and bring it with you, if required (though a small benchtop dishwasher is even simpler to relocate).
When choosing a standard dishwasher, it’s important to pick one that will not only clean well to suit your household’s needs, but one that will match with your other appliances and cabinets. If a standard dishwasher doesn’t match well with the rest of your kitchen, it can stick out like a sore thumb.
What is an integrated dishwasher?
Integrated dishwashers are built-in appliances by definition, much like wall ovens or microwaves with trim kits.
As integrated dishwashers become more-or-less permanent parts of the kitchen, they’re often a bit tricker to install, but when combined with a matching front panel, they can blend right in with the appearance of your cabinets, creating a great-looking and efficient kitchen space.
What’s the difference between a semi integrated dishwasher and a fully integrated dishwasher?
In a semi integrated dishwasher, when installed with a matching front panel (talk to your cabinetmaker about having one of these made), only the controls are left visible.
At a glance, you’ll see that the dishwasher is there, but it shouldn’t overly disrupt your kitchen’s appearance, creating a cool, modern, hi-tech look.
A fully integrated dishwasher (with a matched front panel) completely conceals its control panel inside the top of its door, which means you’ll only be able to tell there’s a dishwasher there when it’s open – the rest of the time, it’ll sit flush with the rest of your kitchen cabinets.
Compared with standard and semi integrated dishwashers, fully integrated dishwashers are ideal for anyone wanting to create a great-looking minimalist kitchen with smooth, uninterrupted lines.
How to choose an integrated dishwasher
First, measure your kitchen’s available space, remembering to leave some extra room available at the rear for the power and water connections so the appliance will fit. Always measure twice, buy once!
Next, search Appliances Online for a semi integrated or fully integrated dishwasher of the right size.
If you plan on having your dishwasher blend in with your kitchen cabinetry, remember that you’ll need to organise a matching front panel – check the door measurements and talk to your kitchen cabinetmaker to sort this out.
If you need your dishwasher installed, you can organise for our installation experts to handle this for you. Simply select the appropriate connection/installation option when making your purchase – contact our team if you have any trouble.
And if you have any questions, comments or problems about an integrated dishwasher, before or after your purchase, the Appliances Online team is available 24/7 365 days a year to provide the help you need.
Nice and informative post. Thanks for sharing!