Customer Reviews

Danby DDW1805W Space Saving Dishwasher

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I used to sell dishwashers at Sears. I've owned several built in full sized dishwashers, even a stainless steel Bosch. This is the first one I am 'giddy' over.
I recently downsized to move to Manhattan, which meant getting a small kitchen with no dishwasher. After months of sink washing, I broke down and bought this (Actually, a house guest felt sorry for me, and got it for me after I mentioned I was about to buy it). But not without reading all the specs and reviews. I bought it from eTronics (I've bought from them before) and was pleased with the customer service (so far). They had the best price (no delivery charge, as they have a local store too).

After unpacking and inspection, I concluded that it was built with the same specs as the top of the line Kenmore (which I used to sell). It has a form fitting stainless steel interior, mechanical controls (which, IMO, are better than electronic on a machine that gets wet alot), well fitting seals, and stable casters. The interior is FULL size depth and height, just 6 inches narrower in width (Another brand, which I viewed on the spot, was NOT nearly as deep, and had rickety trays). The upper tray has two height settings, but I found the lower setting is not suitable for standard size dishes to fit below. The trays fit well, perhaps a bit too snug, but we'll see if they loosen up with use. The tines are spaced a bit close together for my taste, but after a washing, it appears the 1805 can handle dishes so close together. There is a lower spray arm, middle spray arm and top sprayer (non-spinning). The food filters and heating element in the base are sturdy and well made. Complaint: The hose hook-up are 6 feet long (apparently that is measured from inside the back where they connect to the machine, as they seemed too short and the 1805 must be right up against the sink counter to hook-up.

I've never had a portable before, and (with the exception of my dear grandmother) always looked down on them. This one looks solid and has clean lines in any kitchen. On the rear panel, however, you will see a few (covered) rivets and seams, along with the black-plastic lined hose receptable, and serial tags. Unless you store it against a wall, you will see these protrusions. It should fit in with all your other appliances without standing out.

The standard load time took about 45 minutes to run. The machine attaches easily to your faucet, though you do have to replace your areator with an adapter that produces a narrower stream of water from the faucet when the DW is not in use. I've only used the "economy" cycle, which worked great, but there are also Pots and Pans, Delicate, and Rinse only cycles. Additionally, the Delicate cycle can have a no heat option, and the Pots and Pans can have an extra boost option. It heats the water steaming hot.

Very Quiet. Though not as quiet as the Bosch I owned (which I think is quieter than a Meile), it was as quiet as my Kitchen Aid. It was definitely quieter than all the plastic tub models out there.

Though hardly used, I have experienced NO leaks. This even was operated on a non-level floor. My building is 110 years old and the floors are VERY slanted and swelled. This was my biggest concern. After each cycle, I took my flashlight and looked underneath for any signs of water....none. (My neighbors below would not appreciate an un-requested shower).

I am a penny-pincher, and stressed over the purchase. Not because of the price, but because of the value for the price. I couldn't believe that such an inexpensive dishwasher could deliver like this one has.

I can seriously say that this dishwasher outperforms dishwashers at twice its price. It carries an in-home 1 year warranty, but I always like stores like Sears where if you complain enough they take it back without any questions. So this was a bit of a leap, as Danby relies on authorized service centers (of which I hope I will never use).

(*UPDATED DEC 2009)
I bought this almost 5 years ago (wow! time flies), and I can say that it is still working great. One wheel keeps falling off, but duck tape took care of that! (Of course). Everything else on it is working fine; fittings, timer, exterior finish, interior lining. no leaks, etc. I use it about 2x per week with Cascade lemon. Always a very full load, and often dishes that have been sitting around a couple days. I hope it lasts me another 5 years.

After moving from a home with an under the counter dishwasher, to a home without a dishwasher, and no under the counter space to put one, it didn't take very long handwashing dishes before I had to find a solution. I searched high and low for a "portable" dishwasher, and finally came across Danby. I ordered it, waited for delivery, and have now been using it for about 2 months. I have to say this thing cleans BETTER than my under the counter dishwasher at my old house. Because it is portable, I can even use it as a kitchen island! Two of the lower wire racks fold down so you can clean large pots, pans, etc. I would recommend this to anyone with no space to put an under the counter dishwasher. Only precaution....be careful attaching the hose to your faucet. If you push the connector too far down, the ball bearings will come out, and they are not easy to get back in place.

I can't believe I spent my life hand washing dishes! Living in an older home with a small kitchen means losing precious cabinet space when installing a dishwasher. I never thought a dishwasher was really necesary, but I recently noticed my hand washing was not getting the dishes clean, so I broke down and bought the Danby. The thing is compact, but big enough to do the dishes of two people (we let the dishes accumulate for a couple of days to allow for a full load). It cleans dishes like crazy - even those coffee cups that had what I thought were permanent coffee stains - they came out sparkling white. I don't think they were EVER that white! The hoses are a bit on the short side, but who wants to string hoses clear across the kitchen anyway? I AM SOLD ON THIS PORTABLE DISHWASHER. It does a better job than some built ins I have witnessed in other homes. The only negative? It was packed in a box half filled with those styrofoam packing peanuts. I'm still chasing those damn things all over the house!

Danby Portable 1805W
Pros: Sturdy/well-built, roomy interior, excellent cleaning, well-priced.
Cons: Very long "normal" wash cycle; no end-of-cycle signal.
Recommend: Definitely!!

My kitchen floor space, cabinet and storage space are extremely limited and a portable dishwasher my only option. I tried the Haier 18" portable but this dishwasher is riddled with problems and within two weeks I returned it. I considered the Sears Kenmore 18" portable but it is over priced. I read the positiwe online reviews for this Danby but couldn't find it locally. A few weeks later, I found this Danby online at what I consider a bargain price and free ship-to-store for pick-up. Once I got it home and unpacked, my goodness, it is almost identical to the pricey Kenmore (or is the Kenmore almost identical to the Danby?).

After my experience with the Haier, I was skeptical, but the Danby 1805W is more than I expected. It is attractive, sturdy, and easily moves about on the large casters. Unpack it and the dishwasher is ready to be attached to the faucet (with the provided adaptor), plugged in, loaded, and started. The stainless steel interior is also attractive and well put together. It is roomy, easy to load and unload. No problem with normal-size plates and platters. It holds quite a load of dishes, and there is a nice size flatware tray which holds plenty. I found the "normal" cycle to be quite long (90 minutes) but the dishes were spotlessly clean and dry when removed. It operates fairly quietly. There is storage for the cord and hoses. The manual could be better written and the control dial and buttons labeled better but after a couple of reads and use, it's easy to get the hang of it. Did I mention that the cleaning was thorough, spotless, and the dishes dry when finished? All-in-all, it's not perfect but it is a remarkably good machine and I am thrilled to have it.

*Updated - See below*

Do not buy this machine, or any other Danby product for that matter, because their customer service is nonexistent.

I owned my Danby Portable dishwaser for about 6 months before my latch broke and the wash cycle therefore would not start. I live in Hartford, CT, and I called ALL of the service centers listed on Danby's website in CT and they either stopped working on Danby products (which I will address later), or they would not travel to Hartford, or they would not return my phone call.

After a week of waiting for a return call from the messages I left, I decided to call customer service and they actually gave me a service phone number that would come out to look at my machine and repair it.

After the repairman looked at the machine he told me that he needed to order a part for it. A week later I called the service center and they stated that the part that I needed was on backorder for 4 weeks.

I called Danby customer service and stated that it was unacceptable that I should have to wait 4 more weeks for my dishwasher to be available for use. They told me that it was not their responsibility and to return it to the place that I bought it. I called the retailer and they stated that they had never
heard that before and that they would call Danby and verify this statement. I called the reteiler a week later and they said that they had left several messages and Danby never returned one call!!!

After this I relunctantly realized that I would have to wait until the part came in. A full 6 weeks after the initial service visit I called the service provider. they stated that they have not receieved the part yet and that they severed their relationship with Danby because of the extremely poor customer service, parts backordered, etc..... but they would honor their commitment to me whenever the part came in.

The convenience of this portable dishwasher is dwarfed by the incompetence of Danby's customer support. I will never purchase another Danby product again, nor will I ever recommend one to anyone else. I will however, make it a point, that if someone ever mentions the Danby name to me again, to ensure that they walk away from the conversation feeling exactly the same way about Danby that I currently do.

**UPDATE**

Ok, after I finally got so fed up that I called Danby again. And, to my surprise the woman that took my call actuallly listened to my story and told me that she was sorry and that she would get a replacement machine to me right away. The machine came in 3 business days and they took away the broken one.

The whole "experience" that I went through with this machine has been less than memorable. Although the machine works very well and the fact that it was eventually replaced still does not overcome the grief that I was put through by Danby's customer service. The fact that there was one "good apple" in a basket of rotten ones does not change my mind that this machine and all Danby poroducts should be avoided due to lack of customer service.

I feel compelled to contribute since I found all these posts very helpful when I was dishwasher-shopping. I think J. Reid's comments were the ones that finally sold me on this product. Overall, I'd say we LOVE this dishwasher, though there are some caveats. I bought this model Jan. 2006 from Etronics, cost 301 + shipping, = $400 total. It was shipped to our doorstep, no major damage (the box was a little tweaked but all else ok). It does a great job cleaning, no leaks, nice stainless interior like this person said. Thankfully though it had a 1yr. warranty and a local repairer. 8 months after purchase, the timer died; repaired under warranty, no problem. 12 months after purchase (just barely still under warranty!) the power switch died. No cost to us, no problem. Now, it's almost 3 years into its life (and, just over 2 years since the timer was replaced), and the timer appears dead again. I called the local repair shop, it will cost $75 just for them to come out on the first visit, not to mention the part cost or the install cost. And, the repair shop says they're having increasing problems with the company supplying parts timely. So, final story: interior on this thing is awesome, it does a wonderful job, never leaks, we use it at least once (sometimes twice) a day, takes just over an hour to clean on full normal (not fast) cycle...BUT the parts on the control panel are all plastic and short-lived. And, if the parts are hard to come by after warranty, well, you might want to think twice.

I just upgraded to this dishwasher from the counter top model both from danby. Danby's products are outstanding. The dishes are always spotless and moving this dishwasher up to the sink is a breeze. The cords retract nicely and it serves as an additional counter top. Lots of features and if you have a Pur water filter attached to the sink the adapter fits right on. No problems fantasrtic machine, I highly recommend this product.

I purchased this dishwasher about 3 weeks ago, and a few days ago the faucet connector came apart as I was detaching it from the faucet after doing a load. I have been very happy with the dishwasher otherwise - the construction quality and features are excellent, and even the manual is good. However when I investigated replacement parts for it, I found that I am far from the only one having this problem. So I called the Customer Support 800 number in the manual and quickly got to speak to a real person (!) and explained that the faucet assembly has come apart more than once, and while I was able to figure out how to get it back together correctly the first time, the second time, one of the four ball bearings went down the drain.

She did not seem surprised by this and told me she would send me a replacement for the faucet assembly right away. I received it three days later. I am still using the original assembly for now with just three ball bearings, and from now on am going to be very careful when I attach or detach it from the faucet, as well as always do it over a tub so nothing can fall down the drain. But if anything does happen, I have a replacement assembly ready!

All in all, I recommend this dishwasher - it does an excellent job of washing with no streaks or spotting and is sturdy and easy to roll to and from the sink.

When I received this item I immediatley knew that something would be wrong.The box it was packaged in and delivered in was open and torn up.Not open like someone opened it I mean it was sent in a box with no bottom and no side, just taped together with styrofoam.I opened it and thought well it maybe ok, this is a big item to send. The right front wheel is off balance from the rest so the whole machine wobbles, the back panel had puncture marks in it and was off level from the rest of the machine. I thought jeez what have I bought. So I thought well I will hook it up and use it,see how it does. It ran beautifully and cleaned my dishes cleaner than I have ever seen them. At that point I thought well the damage is in the back and the wheel doesn not cause it to wobble while it is running so I will just be grateful I finally have a dishwasher. As I was unhooking it from the sink the ball bearings that hold the connector piece in place fell out and down my sink. So I spent 2 days trying to call the company and get a replacement piece or something. NOTHING NO ANSWER AT ALL....Even during the times they SAy they are in the office there is still no answer. So I searched online and in stores for this piece. NOWHERE!!! Danby is not even registered at Sears or Maytag ar any big dishwasher supplier for that matter. HELL all of the actual plumbing repair stores did not have the piece I needed. I was told over and over again, no one really uses that hook up anymore ma'am, or "Wow what an ancient piece". So I went online and had to order a $90.00 hose and hook up from GE. Once it came in I realized it was not compatble with this Danby dishwasher. So I spent another week trying to call Danby and still NO ANSWER. Finally my husband cut the tubes from the dishwasher and used hose clamps and metal nipples to piece the dishwasher hoses and the new GE hookup together. I did have to go out and buy a new adapter for my sink as the Danby one does not work with the GE. But now the dishwasher works and it still cleans beautifully. The GE hookup is made with little plastic nudules that cannot fall out instead of ball bearings which if you are not careful will fall down your sink. So I would have liked to give this product a 1 or even a 0 based on customer service (NONE) and the way that the item was packaged and the way it arrived so damaged, BUT the dishwasher does slean so very well. You dont even have to rinse the plates before you put them in and they still come out sparkly. So all in all I WOULD NEVER EVER BUY FROM THEM AGAIN. If you add up the cost of the dishwasher and shipping, plus all the money it took to repair it, I could have gotten a much higher quality dishwasher with no problems at all for less than what this dishwasher cost me in the end.

Got new worked GREAT for over year and a half.

Then stopped filling completely, not letting in enough water to clean or operate washer arms. Two service calls, pressure sensor replaced, problem not solved.

Edit: Helpful Customer Service phone people; I packed up and returned this "unfixable" one and they sent me a new unit via truck freight.