When we bought a house with space for a dishwasher, for the first time, we opted for a mid-range Blomberg, which was, perhaps, a mistake. It was good, but never great. It developed overheating problems after a few months, and while the shop where we bought it was very good at honouring their warranty - even giving us an elderly replacement when it was not possible to repair - it gradually become more and more unreliable. We don’t tend to replace items until they give up completely but we reckoned without our son, returned to Cyprus and working here after a few years at university in the UK.
Our son - who had been living in a household with an excellent dishwasher - offered to buy us a new one. The old one, and it was nearly eight years old, was starting to smell, in addition to not doing its job. Then the door started to break, around the same time as, our local white goods shop was having a sale. So we did a bit of research, and checked what was available; again, there were only three or four options.
CHECKING BEKO DISHWASHERS
We searched online for reviews and double-checked the model number; while many of the Beko dishwashers in the DSFN range, including this one, were highly rated, we noted that a similar one (the 1534) was prone to leaking and not recommended at all. We also learned that the 1531 has a ‘slimline’ variation for those with less room. But it seemed that this particular model would suit us nicely. It cost a little over €300, which our son was more than willing to pay, and could be fitted the next day.
USING THE DISHWASHER
I skimmed through the instructions, and noted that while any excess food needed to be scraped from plates and dishes, it was recommended not to rinse them before putting in the dishwasher, since the chemicals in powder or tablets is activated by the grease of dirty plates. Other recommendations were more obvious: to ensure gaps between plates; not to overfill; to avoid putting wooden items in the machine; to place knives and forks pointing downwards in the cutlery holder.
Loading the dishwasher is fairly standard, with an extra bonus that the vertical plate holding spikes in the back row at the bottom can be pushed downwards, to allow for serving dishes or jugs to be placed more easily. We put mugs and glasses at the top, along with some smaller serving dishes; plates and bowls go in the bottom, along with any pots and pans that will fit.
Quite a bit of cutlery fits in its intended container, which has differently sized holes to take various shapes and sizes of handle. Large spatulas or similar items can be placed on top of little shelves that fold down at the sides over a row of glasses at the top.
PROGRAMMES
The main programme which we have used almost daily is the 50C ‘economy’ wash. It takes about two hours from start to finish, ending with a thorough drying session. We were astounded, for the first few days, at how clean and sparkling everything was when we ran the dishwasher for the first time. I don’t think our previous machine ever produced such an excellent result. We generally use either hard or gel-based tabs, depending on which is best value, and have found that they all seem to work well.
There is a quick rinse programme which is recommended to use if dishes are to be left in the dishwasher overnight; this just ensures that items don’t dry out completely before being washed. We’ve used this a couple of times, but usually forget and it hasn’t been a problem.
There’s a hot (70C) wash recommended for heavily soiled pans, or simply to clean the dishwasher out from time to time, but we haven’t had to use that. Nor have we used the 35C ‘quick’ wash, which apparently takes only half an hour and can be used to clean items which are not particularly dirty or greasy. The other option is a 60C 'Quick clean' wash which lasts about an hour, but doesn't fully dry the dishes. I use that sometimes if I know I will want to unload before two hours.
FILTERS
When I empty the dishwasher, I remove the main filter at the bottom and give it a quick rinse. Sometimes it’s fairly clean; other times it has small bits of food caught in it. Unlike our old dishwasher, I have not had to remove the twirly spray arms, although it’s not difficult to do so if something like a grain of rice gets caught in them. That was a regular occurrence with our other machine; the new one seems to be better made in almost every respect.
CONCLUSION
We’re still within the warranty period, but so far have been extremely pleased with our Beko dishwasher, and would recommend it highly. When we chose it, it was available in the UK, but, as is the way with so many consumer goods, it seems now to have been replaced by others in the same range; however, parts are still available and the slimline (DSFS 1531) version can still be found on Amazon for about £230. Beko is a good brand, and their dishwashers all appear to be similar and highly-rated other than the rogue 1534 model as mentioned above.
2022 UPDATE
Eight-and-a-half years after this was originally written, our Beko dishwasher is still going strong. There's a crack in the plastic bar to pull it open, but that's just cosmetic. Everything else has functioned perfectly, and I'm quite surprised to discover that it's as old as it is. Even quite dirty pots and pans come out sparkling without any prior rinsing or pre-washing. With our son no longer at home, we generally run it every other day, more when entertaining.
There's no bad smell, no build-up of dirt, and no mechanical problems. There's a bit of black mould around the edges, since I don't remember to wipe it after every use, but a bit of vinegar on a cloth gets rid of most of that. Once or twice I've run it at the 70 degree hot wash with a cup of vinegar and no crockery, particularly if we've been away for a while and it's become musty.
Unfortunately Beko dishwashers no longer seem to be available here. If there was a modern equivalent I would have no hesitation about replacing this one with a new Beko, when it eventually stops working - and I hope it still has several years of life.
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