Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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269 of 278 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Works well -- but no instructions and complicated setup, November 13, 2004
I am a grad student living in a tiny apartment without a dishwasher. I hate washing dishes -- I've always had a dishwasher before. The Haier HDT18PA really seemed like my only option -- but the reviews on Amazon were so mixed. Finally, I bought it anyway in desperate hope that it would work.
When I finally got the machine, it was a disaster. I couldn't figure out how to hook it up. The pieces didn't seem to fit my sink and the manual was useless -- it was a real mess. I went to Home Depot to try to find a piece that would fit, but they assured me that the pieces that came with the machine (i brought them with me) had to actually fit my sink -- I was not putting it together right (remember, with no instructions, how could I know?) I went home, and tried for a week to get the pieces to fit -- Finally I got it right! Then I tried to get it running -- no luck! ... Eventually I discovered a small piece of tape inside that was holding the water spinner from moving.
And then ... FINALLY ... it worked. This thing washed my dishes. It washes small pots and pans covered with grease and all the nasty stuff I don't want to touch. It's GREAT and so easy to use now that I got it hooked up. Seriously -- it's small, but I usually cook for only two people -- and this covers the plates, glasses, and the sauce pot or whatever. I'm truly in love with this machine.
Now -- I'll try to save you the hassles I've gone through. First, check your sink and see if you can unscrew something to reveal the threads on the faucet. You may think your sink is so smooth that it looks like nothing can unscrew, but try it with some pliers or a wrench -- you may be surprised. Anyway, there's a piece in the kit that then screws on to replace the piece you just unscrewed. Then, there's another piece (the "quick release") piece that fits on the washer hose and then snaps onto that piece on your sink if you press down the white circle on it first. Once you attach the quick release piece to the piece on your faucet, you should be able to turn on the water without anything splashing or spraying. At that point, you then turn on the dishwasher, and it works.
And also, make sure to remove all the tape and foam from the inside of the machine -- it's all over the place -- you need to search hard.
I think that a lot of the bad reviews stem from people who just had to deal with the nightmare of setting this thing up without instructions. So I hope my supplements to the manual prove useful to you.
I would highly recommend that you get this machine if you don't have space for a full size. It changes my willingess to cook, knowing I don't have to wash the pots and plates!
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38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
It's exactly what I was looking for., April 14, 2005
I have had this unit for 2 years and it's still going strong. Why am I writing after all this time? Because I am so impressed with this unit that I am considering other products by the same company. I noticed it was still for sale and thought I would see what others' experiences were. I have to say from reading the other reviews, that there are many misconceptions about this unit.
For one person, maybe two, it rocks. It's not a family machine. It's a nice, compact system that takes up couple square feet of counter space. You can put about 4 plates, 4 glasses, and couple bowls, and silverware in a single load; and that's it! If you over load it, there just isn't enough water flow and the dishes don't get clean. And use liquid detergent with some kind of spot free rinse. And run the water to get it hot before hooking up the washer and starting the cycle. It makes a difference.
Installation was a breeze with a little common sence. You have to hook it up to your sink and that means you have to take the ring off the end of your faucet and replace it with the coupler provided. Almost all faucets have a screw on end unless they are very designer. Check your faucet before buying, but chances are very good you'll have this.
Maybe I got lucky, but my machine did come with an instuction manual that was good as far as manuals go.
After two years, have I had any problems with the unit? Yes, actually, neither were due to a defect in the machine. For a while nothing was coming out clean. I tracked it down to a piece of carrot stuck in the spout on the end of the bottom wash arm. This prevented the water from coming out of the spout at pressure thus turning the arm. I popped it out with a toothpick and the problem was solved.
Another problem once was that the water was not emptying from the unit. I tracked that down to a faulty release valve. Tipping the unit 45 degrees forward to reset the valve did the trick.
Finally, once every so often it seems to forget what part of the cycle it is in. Right in the middle, it will stop, beep at you as if done and then turn off. In those cases I open the unit, find the dishes either not clean or water still in the tub and just restart it. It goes theough another full cycle and is fine after that. Quirky, but not a big deal.
Bottom line, as with all machines, don't get mad at it, just think about the problem and see why the malfunction is happening. Once you know why something is wrong, you can fix it.
This machine has been a steal for me at the $150 I spent on it when I consider the number of dishes I didn't have to wash by hand.
So, get it, use it right, and enjoy being a single guy or gal not having to do dishes on a Friday night.
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40 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not recommended, October 4, 2002
By A Customer
Within three months of buying it my dishwasher had broken down. It was still under warranty, so I called customer service, with the following responses: no answer; told they would get back to me; told that the supervisor would get back to me; told that the repairman would get back to me; told that the supervisor would contact the repairman and the repairman would get back to me; told "Oh. That's not your phone number? That must be why no one has gotten back to you."; told that now the repairman would definitely get back to me and they would call back and make sure he had done so in two days. Etc. Finally gave up after two months of this. Am buying a different dishwasher from another company.
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