Why You Can Trust CNET GE GDF610PMJES review: Budget-friendly dishwasher sweetens the deal with features
At $600, GE GDF610PMJES is in the running with more expensive models, but it has a hard time with spoons.
Nothing about this GE GDF610PMJES is outstanding, but it's a good dishwasher to compromise with.
GE GDF610PMJES
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
At $600, this dishwasher kept up with feature packages you'd normally see on dishwashers closer to a thousand bucks. It has a respectable lineup of features, like the option to wash only the upper or lower rack, and it gives you double the space for your silverware with two baskets on the lower rack. The GE GDF610PMJES cuts costs with its plastic wash tub and push buttons on the front instead of on the upper lip, so the design is less than glamorous.
If it didn't top our list for cleaning performance, it's a solid cleaner, and tackled the majority of the food we threw at it. If you can look past a basic design and don't mind rinsing your dishes before loading, you'll get more than what you expected at a lower midrange price. I'd recommend this dishwasher as a budget option.
Design
The pocket handle and steam vent in the upper left corner of the GE GDF610PMJES reminds me of a dishwasher from the early 2000s. The two red tips for the jet sprayers are the only pop of color on an otherwise bland interior, but it's not an ugly dishwasher by any means. The unique slate finish is an especially good get for the price and it helps this dishwasher stand out from the stainless-steel masses.
You can find the GE GDF610PMJES at AJ Madison and other large appliance dealers. Like most large appliances, you'll find it cheaper than the $600 list price. Right now, AJ Madison has it for $443. The GDF610PMJES is not available overseas.
Features
Looking at the feature list, the price of this dishwasher looks even more appealing. GE packed so many features in the GDF610PMJES that it keeps up with other dishwashers we've tested that are twice the cost. It offers the standard cycles we normally expect to see -- Autosense, Heavy, Normal and Light -- but the amount of customization options for the price of this dishwasher was a pleasant surprise.
Choose from four standard cycles.
It features a Steam prewash to loosen the gunk on your dishes before the cycle starts. The Heated Dry is great, and left hardly any water spots on glasses or silverware. The Wash Temperature controls give the option to "boost" or "sanitize," customizing how you can get your dishes clean. Along with the choice to delay the start of your cycle for up to 12 hours, it also gives you a countdown timer to let you know when the cycle will end. One of my favorite things about it, is the Wash Zones option that targets your choice of cleaning the upper or lower rack.
Inside, you'll find two detachable wine stem holders on the top rack and two jet sprayers for deep containers. It also has two silverware baskets that can be placed in different corners of the lower rack or simply taken out if you need the extra space.
It's not the quietest dishwasher, but at 51 dB, the noise level isn't overbearing. The only thing missing is an express cycle. You won't be able to get a quick clean with this GDF610PMJES if you need it, but considering the other features you get, losing an express cycle isn't much of a sacrifice.
Usability
Even though it doesn't have foldable tines, the upper and lower racks are still roomy, and together can fit 16 place settings. There's plenty of usable space making it easy to fit standard dishes, yet big enough for most larger dishes as well.
This GE gives you extra space for silverware.
The most notable thing about this dishwasher are the two movable silverware baskets. There's a larger one and a smaller one, and each come with plenty of slots to place your forks, knives and spoons. You can hook the larger silverware basket on the front-end of the lower rack, on the inside of the dishwasher's door, or on the right side of the lower rack. You can also place the smaller silverware basket inside the lower rack on the right or in the back between the tines.
The buttons are responsive, and lined up conveniently left to right with helpful options along the way before you press start.
This dishwasher has two detachable wine stem holders, and you can adjust the height of the upper rack for those oddly shaped and taller dishes you might have. You'll also get the heads up when your cycle is done as soon as the clean light turns on.
Performance
When the steam clears from that vent in the left hand corner and your load is done, you'll pull out some good results. We found some redeposited spinach on the plates and a fleck or two on the glasses, but we're tough on our dishes when we test them. We tossed a load of 112 dishes with 13 different foods that had been adhering for 24 hours into the GE, and it still proved to be a solid cleaner.
In fact, it nearly matched its doubly expensive cousin for its overall clean score. This $600 GE beat the $1,200 GE PDT750SSFSS on plates, bowls and cups by double-digit margins.
This GE keeps up well with more expensive competition.
Despite good results, this dishwasher had a hard time cleaning spoons. The user manual recommended we hook the larger silverware basket onto the front-end of the lower rack. When the cycle started, the water couldn't reach into the curved spaces of the spoons. It cleaned the forks and knives just fine, but it was tough for the GE to reach the spoons with the silverware basket that far forward.
You might want to move the silverware basket to another spot in the lower rack. And since there's plenty of flexibility in this dishwasher, finding a new spot shouldn't be a problem. This GE earned a respectable 69.1 percent for the clean score, even after the mishap with spoons.
This GE did particularly well with glasses.
When we added the Heated Dry option to the Normal cycle, it performed even better. It actually gave us the best dry performance out of all the dishwashers we've tested so far with an average dry score of 64.6 percent.
The verdict
Overall, I was impressed. This dishwasher didn't miss many spots at all and it consistently gave a good clean. You should accommodate for spoons by loading the silverware basket to another spot in the lower rack, but that's a feasible trade-off for the price. With features like a Steam prewash, Heated Dry and Wash Zones, the GE GDF610PMJES is a bargain. It's a close match with other models that are a couple hundred more.
Yes, you'll have to settle for a less stylish design and adjust the loading pattern, but this dishwasher is worth a sacrifice for great features and a solid performance. It's a budget-friendly dishwasher that keeps up with some steep competition. It deserves a spot on your short list.