Integrated dishwashers: Pros, cons and need-to-knows
This article unpacks these machines – what they do, how they’re different from other varieties, the difference between fully and semi-integrated versions and whether one of these appliances could be a good choice for you.
For many of us, a dishwasher is a welcome sight – especially if you’ve ever had to spend many evenings hunched over the kitchen sink, cleaning cutlery and crockery by hand.
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But what if you wanted an appliance that not only took care of this menial task, but also blended into your kitchen aesthetic? Well, then you might be interested in an integrated dishwasher – the discreet version of the kitchen classic that not only takes cleaning out of mind, but also out of sight.
This article unpacks these machines – what they do, how they’re different from other varieties, the difference between fully and semi-integrated versions and whether one of these appliances could be a good choice for you.
Integrated dishwashers are designed to blend into your kitchen. Source: ikea.com.au
An integrated dishwasher is a dishwasher sold without any front, top or side panels and with the control panel hidden on the inside, often at the top of the door as you open it.
Before they’ve been installed, they look industrial and unfinished, but they’re designed that way so you can add your own panelling to match your kitchen cabinetry.
Once installed, an integrated dishwasher will blend in with the rest of your kitchen and look like a cupboard.
Denis Gallagher oversees CHOICE dishwasher testing and says integrated units are made for consumers who don’t want a dishwasher manufacturer messing up their carefully calibrated kitchen design.
“Intergrated units allow you to customise your dishwasher to your kitchen aesthetic,” he says.
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A fully integrated dishwasher can completely blend into a kitchen, due to the fact that nearly all the obvious elements of a dishwasher, such as buttons and screens, are hidden from view.
The controls on a semi-integrated dishwasher, however, are visible. They are located on the outside, at the top of the machine’s door, with space for kitchen-coordinated panelling below, giving them an appearance closer to that of more standard dishwasher models.
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“A freestanding dishwasher might be a bit too tall to fit into a space left by an integrated model, but you might be able to remove the worktop on top of the unit to bring it down to size.”
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