Our LG QuadWash® Steam Dishwasher Cleans, Steams, and Saves Energy

This post was written in partnership with LG Electronics Canada.

There are a few milestones that let you know you’re an adult. Really, truly grown-up. Signing mortgage papers, buying a minivan, the first time you throw out your back… Oh, and getting excited about new appliances!

LG recently sent us a new dishwasher to replace the aging dishwasher we’ve had since we first moved into our house ten years ago, and I’m legit grown-up level excited about it!

Until a few weeks ago, I had always assumed a dishwasher is a dishwasher. As long as I’m not the dishwasher, right? But after a couple of weeks with our new LG QuadWash Steam dishwasher with TrueSteam^®, I’ve changed my mind. There is a difference, and details matter in making a dishwasher practical, usable, and dare I say it, even a little fun?

First of all, I love the way this sleek, stainless steel machine looks in my kitchen.

The controls are tucked away on the door’s top for a polished, minimalist look, and there are no exposed buttons to accidentally turn on or for toddlers to play with. This is such a smart idea with little kids around – I remember my toddlers pressing all my buttons, literally and figuratively!

I’m oddly delighted that there’s an LED light inside the dishwasher. Is it necessary? Of course not. But it sure makes it easier to check that it’s clean inside, and since I’m a dropper, that light makes it a lot easier to rescue forks and spoons from the bottom of the tub. I also love LG’s reliability and the 10-year warranty on the DirectDrive motor. (See? I told you I was grown-up!)

Cleans and Steams

I put everything I can in my dishwasher, from chopsticks to big pots. I refuse to run dishes through twice, so it needs to do a good job the first time. Unlike some other dishwashers, this one has four spray arms instead of two (why do you think they named it QuadWash!), and two of them rotate back and forth while spinning to spray from multiple angles and get all the dishes clean and sparkling.

The LG Steam dishwasher has eight wash cycles plus the Machine Clean cycle and room for one additional downloaded cycle (our dishwasher came with a Pots & Pans cycle pre-loaded). You can also choose from eight additional options like Energy Saver, Half Load, Night Dry, and Delay Start. With the Dual Zone Wash option, you can even vary the spray intensity in the upper and lower racks to clean the delicate china at the same time as you power-wash the roasting pan underneath.

This dishwasher has one more really cool feature I want to share: TrueSteam technology. That’s the four steam jets at the bottom of the door. That versatile TrueSteam helps get the dirtiest pots and pans clean (Heavy cycle), cleans fragile glassware (Delicate cycle), and quickly freshens and warms dishes that haven’t been used lately (Refresh cycle).

Finally, I have to mention just how quiet this machine is! Sometimes I forget the dishwasher is even on, and I have to get almost right next to the door to tell if it’s running or not.

Customize Everything

One of my favourite things about this dishwasher is how easy it is to customize the racks to fit any load of dishes. On both the middle and bottom rack, the tines fold up and down to quickly adjust the racks for smaller or larger dishes, or fold completely down to wash the pots. I caught hubby folding the individual tines up and down and making Transformer noises the first day we got it. ?

The middle rack adjusts up and down to accommodate taller dishes or glasses as needed, and if you appreciate a glass of wine every now and then, this model also has a fold-out cup rack that supports long-stemmed glasses.

At first I wasn’t sure how useful the shallow third rack on top would be, but now I can confidently say it’s awesome! It’s perfect for washing cutlery and utensils, and the left half of the rack drops down to make extra room for larger utensils or slightly deeper items. Not to worry, the Quadwash Steam dishwasher comes with the usual utensil basket on the side, but if you wash all your cutlery on that top third rack you can take the basket out entirely to make more room for dishes or big pots on the bottom.

Saves Energy

Compared to our last dishwasher, this new generation of LG dishwasher has made dozens of improvements for performance and is Energy Star^® certified.

To start with, each spray arm runs one at a time which does make for a longer cycle – the Normal cycle runs a substantial 2 hours and 28 minutes – but also a significantly reduced expenditure of energy. I always try to wait until the dishwasher is full before running it, but if you do need to run a smaller load, those independent washing arms let you wash just the top or bottom rack (Half Load option) and save energy.

Instead of a traditional heating element like my old dishwasher, this one uses a hybrid condensing dry system. Basically, the dishwasher uses the heat of the dishes to passively condense the water on the sides of the cooler stainless steel tub without using more energy. Plates, bowls, and glasses get dry this way, though I do usually find shallow puddles of water on top of anything laid flat.

A Smarter Dishwasher

Okay, so this is a “smart” dishwasher. But what does that mean you ask? This model comes with WiFi SmartThinQ^® technology that lets you connect your phone and the dishwasher wirelessly using LG’s SmartThinQ app.

Using the app, you can:

• Check how much time is left on the cycle and get a notification when the cycle is done.
• Download new cycles to your dishwasher. (E.g., Pots & Pans, Casseroles, Glassware, or Night Care.)
• Track how many cycles remain before you should run a Machine Clean cycle.
• Use the SmartDiagnosis^™ function which tracks your pattern of use and sends your dishwasher’s info to the LG Customer Information Centre to diagnose and remedy any issues that might come up.

I honestly don’t use the app much – the dishwasher chirps a cheerful little tune to let me know when the load is done – but I like knowing that SmartDiagnosis is available if needed.

The LG QuadWash Steam dishwasher with TrueSteam gets near universal rave reviews on every site I checked, and after using it for the past few weeks, I can see why. It’s a great machine that does exactly what it says it will. If you’re considering a new dishwasher, add this one to your short list!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored conversation. Nevertheless, all opinions expressed are completely honest and 100% my own. Your experience may differ.