What Is a Smart Dishwasher?

A smart dishwasher is a connected smart home appliance (like a smart microwave or a smart oven) that brings enhanced features to your standard dishwasher. These features can include Wi-Fi connectivity and flexibility options such as voice controls via an enabled virtual home assistant and smartphone controls.

What Can a Smart Dishwasher Do?

Smart dishwashers have the edge over standard dishwashers in two areas. Added features make smart dishwashers more efficient and more flexible, addressing common issues such as food particles redepositing on dishes. Also, technology features enable you to incorporate your dishwasher into a smart home design.

New Functional and Flexible Features of Smart Dishwashers

Smart dishwashers incorporate features that make this appliance more useful and work better than previous generations. While many of these features are mechanical or functional updates, it’s essential to include them when considering if a smart dishwasher is the best choice for you.

• Bottle jets on the top shelf help thoroughly clean the inside of baby bottles, reusable water bottles, and other tough to clean items.
• A thin third rack holds large, flat items such as platters, baking sheets, or spatulas and cooking utensils.
• Adjustable racks can be moved higher or lower and sliding or fold-down tines make room for larger items.
• LED lights increase visibility and front-viewing windows let you peek in during the wash cycle.
• High-efficiency filters remove food particles during the wash cycle and, in some models, pass that material through to a built-in food disposal unit.
• High-powered turbojets and re-designed sprayer arms use less water more efficiently to get dishes cleaner while also conserving water and energy.
• Enhanced dish drying capabilities with additional heating elements, fans, and vents dry dishes in a shorter amount of time and use less energy.
• Water recycling reservoirs store filtered water from the rinse cycle for use in the next load’s wash cycle, reducing water consumption by 30% or more.

Smart Dishwasher Technology Features

Along with the improvements in function and efficiency of smart dishwashers listed above, smart dishwashers incorporate new technology that gives you the capabilities you would expect of a smart appliance.

• Wi-Fi connectivity integrates your dishwasher into your connected smart home.
• Start wash cycles anytime from your smartphone, monitor performance, and check cycle status.
• Lock or unlock the dishwasher door from anywhere, particularly useful for child safety.
• Compatible with voice control systems such as Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant, allowing you to start a wash cycle, enable various features, and lock or unlock dishwasher door with just your voice.
• Receive alerts on your smartphone when rinse aid or detergent is low, when a wash cycle finishes, or if the sensors detect a malfunction or leak.
• Download new cleaning cycles for special items, such as delicate stemware or heavily soiled pots and pans.
• Sensors automatically detect the size of the load and the amount of grime on dishes to adjust water and energy use to operate efficiently for even small loads.
• Monitor energy use in your area and program itself to automatically activate the wash cycle when local energy consumption is low, running the cycle during off-peak hours to save you money.
• In models with built-in detergent dispensers, you can receive an alert on your phone when detergent is getting low, or you can set it to order more detergent from Amazon automatically.

Common Concerns About Smart Dishwashers

Smart dishwashers are significantly different from the dishwashers of the last 20 years or so. Here are some of the common concerns many people have about smart dishwashers.

Are Smart Dishwashers Incredibly Expensive Compared to Ordinary Dishwashers?

Smart dishwashers are still somewhat expensive compared to standard dishwashers. You can buy a reasonably decent standard (not smart) dishwasher for just under $300, whereas smart dishwashers range from $650 to $1,600 depending on the brand, model, and included features. However, there are standard dishwashers with no smart features on the market with price tags close to $2,000.

Are Smart Dishwashers More Expensive to Repair?

Yes and no. Many standard dishwashers are beginning to incorporate some of the functionality features more commonly found in smart dishwashers. The good news is that several manufacturers are increasing the warranty on certain parts, such as motors and sprayer arms, to as long as 10 years.

Can Someone Hack My Dishwasher Through the WI-Fi Connection and Cause Problems?

Smart dishwashers connect to the internet through the same Wi-Fi connection the rest of your devices use, including computers, smartphones, tablets, TV streaming services, and smart home hubs. It’s vital to ensure you set up your Wi-Fi securely and use complex passwords and other standard safety measures to keep all of your connected devices safe from tampering.