Indesit DIO3T131FEUK

Verdict

A very modestly priced integrated dishwasher with three racks, the Indesit DIO3T131FEUK has a good range of wash cycles and decent running costs. It does struggle to fit in the tallest of wine glasses, and the shelves aren’t quite as flexible as with more expensive models, but at this price the build quality and features are good. Decent wash performance in all but the toughest of tests, makes this a good choice for those on a tight budget.

Introduction

For those on a fairly tight budget, the Indesit DIO3T131FEUK is one of the better buys for a family that wants an integrated dishwasher. 

Its powerful cleaning aided by solid build quality makes for a great combination. It’s not without its flaws, and there are some spacing issues that may require a bit of careful attention, plus a finicky Push & Go mode – but overall performance and quality are very good.

Design and Features

• Height adjustable racks
• Range of washing programmes
• 14 Place Setting

The Indesit DIO3T131FEUK is a full-size integrated dishwasher that has space inside for 14 place settings, which is standard for this size machine. As a more entry-level machine, the three racks provide a good amount of space but aren’t quite as flexible as on some, such as the Hotpoint H7IHP42LUK.

The bottom rack features tines for plates, bowls, and plates, and the back set can be folded down to accommodate larger cooking items such as pans.

I found this rack to be very spacious, and it’s hard to find a dishwasher that offers anything better than this.

The middle rack has wine-glass holders on both sides, as well as tines for smaller plates or utensils, they are however not able to be folded, which I found could make it hard to fit some items, such as mugs and bowls, as they get caught on the tines.

With a dishwasher this size, the main issue is for long-stemmed wine glasses, which can catch on the cutlery rack at the top.

Although the middle rack is height adjustable, using the clips on the side, lowering it meant that the water arm caught on my plates underneath. In the end, to get my plates and wine glasses in, I had to tip the wine glasses to quite a shallow angle.

The cutlery rack at the top is fairly simplistic, having space for a pizza cutter, serving spoons or spatulas. Unlike on the Hotpoint H7IHP42LUK, the cutlery rack is fixed and doesn’t open up on either side to allow taller items to be placed below.

Positioned on top of the door of the DIO3T131FEUK is all of the available wash cycles which is a handy guide to quickly select your chosen cycle. The cycles available are Eco 50°C, Auto Intensive 65°C, Auto Mixed 55°C, Glass 45°C, Fast&Clean 28’ 45°C, Extra Hygiene 65°C, Extra 50°C, Prewash and Push & Go 50°C.

There’s an LED screen that shows which cycle is selected, a light when the dishwasher salt and rinse aid require replacing, and a button for the ‘Push & Go’ cycle. However, the LED screen doesn’t display the length of time each cycle takes, so you’ll need the manual to hand to see this.

The Push&Go Cycle is designed for everyday use, running a short (1h 25m) cycle at 50°C, and is selected by turning the machine on and then holding and pressing the button for three seconds. They are instructions I kept forgetting, and I found it quicker to manually select the other modes.

In addition to the regular modes, there’s a time-delay button and an option to select which single rack you want to wash for part-loads.

When a mode has been selected and the Play button hit, a small LED light will shine on the floor letting you know that the dishwasher is in use, when finished the machine will beep and, in most modes, open the door to allow drying, beeping and turning the light off when finished.

Performance

• Decent Running costs
• Good Eco Cleaning power

I started the cleaning test by loading the D-rated Indesit DIO3T131FEUK with several dirty items, and then put it into the Eco mode.

I found that this cost around 24p per cycle, assuming 24.5p per kWh, which is a touch more expensive than the budget Candy CF 57CF0W-80 freestanding dishwasher, which has a C-energy rating. That works out to a reasonable 1.7p per place setting.

Cleaning performance in this mode was generally very good. I found that my dirty coffee cup was refreshed.

It was a similar result for my dirty tea mug.

Testing with a dried-on red wine stain in a wine glass, I found that the inside of the glass was cleaned very well.

However, due to the angle that the glass sat at, some water pooled on the side and dried to leave a mark that needed cleaning off.

With a plate with left-over mac-and-cheese on it, Eco mode was all that was needed to fully clean it.

Similarly, a plate with dried-on tomato ketchup was handled brilliantly by the Eco wash cycle.

My toughest test is a bowl used to make microwaved scrambled eggs. Here, Eco mode struggled a bit, and the bowl came out quite dirty.

I turned to the automatic Intensive 65°C wash in a fresh attempt. This took the cycle cost to 38p, but the dishwasher did a much better job. There was a small trace of residue left, but a quick wipe with a damp dishcloth was all that was required to remove this mess.

For a mix of dishes that need a bit more cleaning power than Eco, but not the full-on power of Intensive, there’s an Auto Mixed wash that runs at 55°C and costs around 28p to run.

If you need lightly soiled dishes to be cleaned quickly, then the Fast&Clean 28’ function would work well, costing around 15p to run. I tested this cycle with a dirty coffee cup and found that the wash programme worked well.

This cycle does not come with a drying function (as you can see from how wet the plastic container is, below), so everything will need to be dried manually, or left with the door manually opened.

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