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  • Design & Usability

  • Decent Cleaning

  • Our Take

  • Design & Usability
  • Decent Cleaning
  • Our Take

It's also a good value: In stainless, it sells for as low as $533. Black, white, and slate finishes cost even less.

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While some dishwashers perform better and have more useful features, those dishwashers cost twice as much. If you want an affordable dishwasher that adds a few extras and has no problems getting normal loads of dishes clean and dry in a little more than an hour, this GE is worth a look.

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Design & Usability

No matter which finish you pick, the exterior of this dishwasher features controls right on the front of the machine. There's a countdown timer and plenty of buttons for every cycle—no hidden touchscreens here.

One cost-cutting measures is immediately apparent when you open the door: There's a plastic tub instead of a stainless one. That contributes to a sound rating of 51 dBA—not whisper quiet like the 41 dBA you'd get from a $1,000-plus machine, but a little softer than the 53 dBA that's standard on similarly priced dishwashers. Either way, if the dishwasher you are replacing is more than 10 years old, you'll notice a pleasant lack of sound from this GE.

As with the lower rack, there are no folding tines up top. Fortunately, GE did include two bottle jets which you can activate as an optional feature.
Credit: Reviewed.com / Matthew Zahnzinger

As with the lower rack, there are no folding tines up top. Fortunately, GE did include two bottle jets which you can activate as an optional feature.

You don’t get a ton of flexibility inside: Neither rack offers movable tines, and the two removable cutlery baskets caused us some grief. The smaller one that sits inside the lower rack occasionally slid back and forth. The larger one on the front was more stable, but sometimes fell off if we closed the door when the lower rack wasn’t fully pushed in.

GE offers four cycles—AutoSense, Heavy, Normal, and Light—as well as two bottle wash jets on the upper rack. For features, you get:

• Delay in hour increments from 1-12 • A steam prewash option that's designed to help soften tough stains • 2 wash temp adjustments—Boost and Sanitize • Heated Dry • Upper or Lower rack washing for half loads • A one year warranty on parts and labor • Made in GE's Appliance Park factory in Louisville, KY

Most of these options—especially the designated wash zones—come as an unexpected bonus, as some dishwashers that cost hundreds more don’t even have them. Another nod to old-school cleaning is GE's Piranha hard food disposer, which grinds up washed-off food before sending it into a removable filter.

The cycle set may be slim, but you get plenty of useful features—rare for a dishwasher this affordable.
Credit: Reviewed.com / Matthew Zahnzinger

The cycle set may be slim, but you get plenty of useful features—rare for a dishwasher this affordable.

Decent Cleaning

But special wash options don’t amount to much if your dishes aren’t clean. Though this GE did a better job washing away food stains than other machines at its price point, both the Normal and Heavy cycles had some problems removing our tough baked-on spinach and burnt cheese stains.

However, it easily removed the stains most homeowners will encounter. More importantly, the Normal cycle only took an hour and 13 minutes, which is about half as long as many modern dishwashers. And at the end of that cycle, dishes were perfectly dry.

You only get four cycles, but they all serve a distinct purpose.
Credit: Reviewed.com / Matthew Zahnzinger

You only get four cycles, but they all serve a distinct purpose.

The GDF610's Normal cycle is already plenty quick, so instead of a faster cycle it has Light—which is designed for dishes that aren’t heavily soiled.

The Normal cycle only took an hour and 13 minutes

As expected, Light left stains behind on all dirty dishes. However, it did manage to perfectly dry every dish we put in there, so if you’ve got dusty wine glasses and dessert plates but don’t have time to wash or dry them by hand before a party, this is the cycle for you.

Our Take

Lots of people who have bought dishwashers in recent years complain that they take too long, and don't get dishes dry. But the GE GDF610 doesn't have any of those problems. If you want an old-school clean with modern features like steam and bottle wash jets, you should check it out.

Meet the tester

Matthew Zahnzinger

Matthew Zahnzinger

Logistics Manager & Staff Writer

@ReviewedHome

Matthew is a native of Brockton, MA and a graduate of Northeastern, where he earned a degree in English and Theatre. He has also studied at the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin and spends most of his free time pursuing a performance career in the greater Boston area.

See all of Matthew Zahnzinger's reviews

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