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Reviewed.com / Jackson Ruckar
Reviewed's mission is to help you buy the best stuff and get the most out of what you already own. Our team of product experts thoroughly vet every product we recommend to help you cut through the clutter and find what you need.
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This feature-filled, high-performing dishwasher comes in a Tuscan stainless steel finish that is sure to elicit jealously from your neighbors. Read More
A gorgeous upmarket look pairs with 39 decibels of sound and excellent cleaning skills. Read More
The G 5266 blows most other dishwashers out of the water. If your budget can accommodate its premium price, it's one of the best models you can buy. Read More
The Miele G 7566 SCVi SF is a marvel of German engineering. It combines robust power with a subtle touch of convenience. Read More
The Bosch 800 Series SHP78CM5N is a near-perfect dishwasher. It scrubbed out every stain we threw at it, in record time, and has great smart features. Read More
In a world of ringing cell phones and loud TV commercials, silence is golden. When you finally put your feet up at the end of the day, the last thing you want is a noisy dishwasher disrupting your evening.
Luckily, there are plenty of modern dishwashers that don't sound like a herd of elephants stampeding through a lake, and we’ve rounded up a bunch of them.
If you’re looking for the best quiet dishwasher that can scrub pots and pans in relative silence, look to the Samsung DW80R9950UT (available at Samsung for $5,262.47) , which comes in at 39 decibels and offers a fantastic cleaning performance.
Both the second and third rack have adjustable height, via a side-mounted lever.
High-end aesthetics
Third rack, bottle jets, and smart features
Inconsistent cleaning
Not the best value at its current price
Impressive cleaning power
Third rack and adjustable upper rack
Nothing significant that we could find
Powerful cleaning
Automatic detergent dispenser
Efficient
Expensive
Niche interior
It cleans even stubborn stains completely
Fast cycle times
It dries dishes
Controls can be finicky
Some options only available on app
Dries plastics
Stellar stain removal
Quiet operation
Nothing significant that we could find
Excellent cleaning power
Gets dishes dry
Tons of features
Minor issues with redeposit
Effective Heavy Duty cycle
Dries dishes completely
Foldable tines and repositionable racks
Dishes got less clean towards the center of the bottom rack
Hi there! We are Reviewed's large appliance testing team. Between us, we've spent many years testing major appliances in a lab environment, but we've also used them at home, like normal people would in the course of their daily lives.
Testing dishwashers is a dirty job, and we're happy to do it. In the Reviewed lab, we assess each product on the three major parts of the dishwasher experience—performance, features, and usability.
One of the most important standards is stain removal. We test the dishwasher’s three major cycles (Quick, Heavy, and Normal) by baking food and beverage stains—milk, spinach, egg, oatmeal, meat, and more—onto 15 to 20 dishes that are then loaded into the dishwasher per the manufacturer's loading directions.
At the end of each cycle, we determine how much stain has been removed from each dish. Ideally, each dish is 100% clean, but that level of cleaning perfection can be harder to achieve in real life.
Other factors include redeposit, cycle time, and drying performance.
One factor to regard here in this guide, specifically, is how much noise the dishwasher makes when operating. This is measured in standard units called decibels, and for context, the quietest dishwasher on the market sits at 38 decibels.
To create this list, we’ve paired each dishwasher’s decibel level (up to a limit of 45 decibels) with its overall performance score and come up with our bets for best quietest dishwashers on the market.
This chart compares decibel levels with common sounds.
To put decibels in context, 0 decibels is the threshold of human hearing. A whisper is 30 decibels, a vacuum cleaner is 75 decibels, and gunshots hit 140-150 decibels—yep, it may make your ears bleed, well, at least hurt some.
From these examples, you can imagine what decibels may sound like, but the bigger question may actually be “what is a decibel”? The CDC defines the term decibel as the intensity of a sound, or the amount of sound energy in a confined space.
On its website, it states, “The decibel scale is logarithmic, which means that loudness is not directly proportional to sound intensity. Instead, the intensity of a sound grows very fast. This means that a sound at 20 dB is 10 times more intense than a sound at 10 dB. Also, the intensity of a sound at 100 dB is one billion times more powerful compared to a sound at 10 dB.”
Persistent noise over a period of time above 70 decibels can damage your hearing over time, whereas levels of noise higher than 120 decibels can cause damage immediately, according to the CDC.
The CDC also pegs a dishwasher at about 70 decibels, but these days, appliance manufacturers like Bosch and Samsung are building machines that make about 40% that amount of noise.
Currently on the market, the quietest dishwasher decibels comes in at 38 and the loudest around 62 dB. However, as dishwashers tend to have a lifespan of 10 years or so, you may currently own a dishwasher that’s louder.
For the purpose of this guide, we consider dishwashers that fall between 38 decibels and 45 decibels, which ranges from ultra quiet to soft.
The noises made by appliances are complicated. Unlike a pure musical note they contain a mixture of high and low sound frequencies.
Decibels (dB) tell you the total noise level and include all the sound frequencies that happen to be present in the mix. This is helpful, but it doesn’t account for human ears working better at some frequencies than others. Some sounds have frequencies outside the range our ears can detect.
The dBA scale tells you how noisy things are within the sound frequency range our ears can pick up. This means that dBA is the best measure of the noise levels you’ll actually experience from a sound source.
Yes, it’s likely. The trend seems to be that the higher the MSRP is for a dishwasher, the quieter it will be.
Now, does that mean you’ll pay more? Maybe. You can always shop the lower end models of higher end brands, like Bosch, for quieter operation. In fact, Bosch was the first brand to introduce a quiet dishwasher operation. You can also keep an eye on more expensive brands and shop them when there’s a price drop, like over President’s Day weekend or Black Friday.
Yes! And, interestingly, not because of the sound factor. Dishwashers under 50 decibels won’t disturb you or keep you awake.
Instead, running a dishwasher at night is more energy efficient, and it will save you money. There is less demand for electricity in general overnight, which means it’s off-peak hours for energy companies, and you’ll get a less expensive rate on the energy you use.
Mark Brezinski works on the Home Team, reviewing refrigerators, minifridges, dishwashers, washing machines, dryers, air conditioners, air purifiers, and fans.
Leigh Harrington has more than 20 years experience as a writer and editor for myriad print and digital publications.
At USA TODAY and Reviewed, Harrington oversees large appliances, including refrigerators, dishwashers, ranges, and laundry, and manages Reviewed's overall home content, including areas of focus like home improvement, cleaning, gardening, cooking, and parenting. She focuses on writing, but mostly editing, consumer ed content and product reviews.
Harrington is also an experienced travel writer, and has authored books including Fodor's Boston, 100 Things to Do in Boston Before You Die, and Colorful Boston, an adult coloring book.
Our team is here for one purpose: to help you buy the best stuff and love what you own. Our writers, editors, and lab technicians obsess over the products we cover to make sure you're confident and satisfied. Have a different opinion about something we recommend? Email us and we'll compare notes.
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