User Review Bosch SMS60L12IN Dishwasher Review

I was in search of dishwasher reviews for the past couple of years, specially from Indian users.
I couldn't find much except for a review or two on YouTube, but they were not in detail for me to take the plunge.

Finally I bit the bullet and bought a Bosch SMS60L12IN from Amazon for 31.5k.

I'd summarize few points which might be useful for prospective buyers.
This review applies to all dishwashers in general since all the models from different brands sold in India are more or less with similar specs.

Which Brand?
  • AFAIK Bosch, IFB, Siemens, LG & Samsung sell dishwashers in India.

  • Bosch has only one model in two colors with different model numbers.
    People quoted that the silver model is an upgraded one with water saving features blah blah blah.
    But I verified the specs and both are in fact color variants of same model.

    Siemens has a model or two IIRC, but they are priced higher and share 90% of the components with Bosch. Both are sold and serviced by same channels too.

  • IFB has 5-6 models, out of which all the models have 12 place holders except the top of the line Neptune SX1, which has 15 place holders. This particular model has extra pullout basket for small cutlery, which is of practical use. I later found out how significant this feature is (More on this later).

  • LG and Samsung sell one model each, which are priced higher and I doubt their after sales service w.r.t dishwashers.

  • I found build quality to be better in Bosch.

  • In terms of service I heard/found Bosch to be better, can't comment on the spares availability/cost of spares at this moment. There are many horror stories about IFB service, so I stayed out of this brand.
Purchase and Installation

  • For months, I pestered almost all major stores for a demo and no one gave a positive reply. Croma, Bajaj electronics have a Bosch demo dishwasher with transparent window to see how the dishwasher works etc, but they never showed interest in showing a demo as well.

  • All of them were offering a discount of 1-2 k, so I chose Amazon as I was getting it for almost 8k discount on MRP. These store guys were selling very old stocks, but the one I ordered from Amazon was imported in Dec 2016. I think all Bosch dishwashers sold in India are made in Turkey.

  • I got a installation request acknowledgement from Bosch on the very next day I ordered on Amazon. They had been following up for installation even before it was delivered from Amazon and installation was done within hours of delivery. Satisfied with the overall purchase and installation experience.

  • There is nothing complicated about installation, just connecting the inlet hose and proper drainage for drain pipe. The purpose of waiting for installation is more or less to verify damage and to avail warranty.

  • Also ours is a free standing unit, if you want to integrate this into kitchen, you might need to get some additional work done to mount the machine into place.

What are these three cleaning agents?
  • A dishwasher needs a combination of three cleaning agents. Using all three( Salt+Detergent+Rinse Aid ) is the key to perfectly washed dishes. You can use any brand of dishwasher cleaning agents, as long as they are dishwasher compatible.

    Bosch recommends "Finish" products, which are imported and cost a bomb when compared to other brands. IFB sells their own brand of cleaning agents.

    We personally use & recommend Fortune Products >> http://fortunedishwashing.com/
    They are cheaper compared to imported brands.
    I compared the wash quality with Finish and I couldn't find any difference.
    Many Bosch/IFB users gave similar feedback about Fortune products.
    They are not easily available in super markets, but you can order from their website or their Amazon store.

  • What are these three cleaning agents anyway?
    • Salt - Don't confuse this for normal table salt.
      This is special salt, used to convert hard water into soft water which prevents hard water stains(white powdery stains) on the dishes. It is mandatory if your water hardness is medium to high. Depending on your dishwasher model, you can adjust the salt dispensing levels.

      You don't need to refill salt for every wash, you need to refill once in a month or two based on usage.In our case, we use dishwasher everyday and we need to refill it once a month with 1KG of salt. Cost of refill is around Rs. 100 per KG.

      http://fortunedishwashing.com/product/fortune-dishwasher-salt/

    • Detergent - As the name suggests, these are detergents specially made for dishwashers.
      You need to fill the detergent for every wash, just like a washing machine.

      http://fortunedishwashing.com/product/fortune-dishwasher-detergent-1-kg-pack/

    • Rinse Aid - It is a special liquid used to reduce the surface tension of water, so that water won't stick on the dishes during rinsing. This actually makes a lot of difference to the final wash quality. If you don't use it, then the dishes would have water droplet stains and white stains.

      You might have to refill rinse aid every 10 washes on average. So a 500ml Rinse Aid should be sufficient for a month or two, if you use the dishwasher daily.

      http://fortunedishwashing.com/product/fortune-rinse-aid/

      You can buy a combo pack of all three, which is more in tune with the usage cycle.
      http://fortunedishwashing.com/produ...tarter-combo-pack-free-descaler-worth-rs-150/

    • All in one Tablets - If you are lazy and don't want to buy all three of them and refill every time. These all in one tablets come with a combo of Detergent/Salt & Rinse aid all in a single tablet. You will need to use one tablet per wash.

      Manual says that if your water hardness is medium to high, then you would still need to use salt in addition to these tablets. I've tried to use tablet alone and the results weren't great. Ended up using the additional salt as well. So I won't recommend tablets, plus these are costly compared to the purchasing the individual detergents.

      For example, this costs almost 1200 for 34 tablets >> http://www.amazon.in/Finish-All-Max-Powerball-Tablets/dp/B01ET6E9XE?tag=googinhydr18418-21

Stacking the dishes and Usage
  • You need to dump all left over food particles from the utensils. Soaking is not necessary for normal utensils. Wok's on which deep fries are done, would wash well with soaking.

  • Plates go into plate holders and large dishes go on bottom rack.
    Small plates, cups, small utensils go into the top rack. There is a free standing basket for cutlery into which you place all the ladles, forks & spoons. But using this basket is tricky, as it can be placed only on bottom basket and is difficult to fit in if the bottom layer is full. This is where extra basket in IFB Neptune SX1 comes handy. Otherwise you are forced to use the assorted holder in the top rack for placing spoons and forks.

  • All dishes should be facing downwards on the racks and should not be stacked on top of other.
    Stacking the dishes is tricky and time taking for the first few runs till you get the hang of it.

  • Once you are done stacking, check for the refill indicators. Only for the first use you need to fill the salt and rinse aid. Post that you need to fill them only if the respective refill indicator is lit.
    As I had mentioned earlier, refill cycle is roughly once a month for salt and once every 10 - 15 washes for Rinse Aid (100-150ml per refill).

  • Now comes the wash options, depending on the model there will be Auto, Eco and Intense modes.
    We normally use Eco and Auto modes and are yet to use Intense kadai mode.
    Since water temperature goes to around 70 degrees, we never risked using that mode owing to plastic boxes in the wash.

    Auto/Eco modes usually take 1.5 hrs for the cycle to finish.

    Unlike a washing machine, there is no lock for the door, no sound indicators for the wash completion.
    You can open the door in the middle of wash, it automatically pauses and resumes once the door is shut. But avoid opening the door as the vapor that spews out is very hot.

    Once the wash cycle is done, machine turns itself off without any buzzer.
Wash Quality
  • Aluminium, Wood and plastics which are not dishwasher compatible should not be used in dishwasher according to manual. I tried aluminium dishes, they got cleaned properly, but are slightly discolored and have white stains even after rinse aid is used. So I won't recommend using aluminium utensils.
    I've used wooden spatula's and wash is fine.

    Silverware, steel, glass and food grade plastics are washed perfectly. Shine on the utensils and the squeaky noise from the clean dishes is so satisfying.

  • Specially if you are using Tupperware boxes for carrying lunch, the difference in wash quality is reason enough for you to buy a dishwasher. Even those sticky oil stains are washed perfectly, leaving the boxes squeaky clean. When we used to wash the dishes manually, getting the oil stains from plastic boxes is a nightmare and oil stains never used to go off.
Power Consumption
  • This particular model is rated at 1.5KW, but I guess that rating is only for the heating element.
    Never calculated the actual usage, but should be on par with any washing machine if not less.
    There is no significant spike in electricity bill, so I never bothered to check the power usage in detail.

I will add a few pictures later today, of the dishwasher and utensils before/after wash.

My parents were reluctant to get rid of the maid and get a dishwasher instead. They were apprehensive about the performance earlier, but after looking at the wash quality, even they are on the scout for a dishwasher. Since I know the practical advantages of an extra rack, I'm pushing for IFB Neptune SX1 and will update this review accordingly if we end up buying that.


This is how dishwasher was delivered by Amazon. Luckily no damages.

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A few pics from yesterday's wash cycle.

Notice that refill rinse aid indicator is lit. It's been almost 3 weeks since last refill.

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After refill, with the indicator off.

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After the wash cycle.
Those plastic flap like things you see at the bottom of the pic is where you add the detergent and the rinse aid.
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Bottom rack, where plates and large utensils usually go.

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Top rack. Since the bottom rack is full and we couldn't fit the small cutlery basket, We had to improvise and use the Etagere for small cutlery.

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Notice how the stainless steel utensils are shiny. If you don't use rinse aid, there will be a cloudy layer of water droplet marks over them.

I'll do a set of before/after wash pics of dishes, once I get some time over the weekend.
 
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I bought a built in Miele 7150 for my new house. Seems to be a pretty decent model and is rated pretty high by consumer reports. Of course price is on a different planet compared to Bosch as it is a Made in Germany import.
Nice, They claim to save 50% in electricity with a hot water line connected. I am guessing you installed another Solarizer, if so might as well get a hot water connection to it and the WM. I am getting 80C water in summer and they all go to waste, since we use less hot water in summer. So I got a thermostatic valve and set the temperature to 60C but yet to connect to the LG dishwasher which accepts upto 65c hot water connection.
 
Nice, They claim to save 50% in electricity with a hot water line connected. I am guessing you installed another Solarizer, if so might as well get a hot water connection to it and the WM. I am getting 80C water in summer and they all go to waste, since we use less hot water in summer. So I got a thermostatic valve and set the temperature to 60C but yet to connect to the LG dishwasher which accepts upto 65c hot water connection.
Yes have a hot water line from solar coming in.
 
The house we moved into @ Praha has a built-in noisy, crappy dishwasher. The results became so gross, I went back to the good old indian method of cleaning each dish, plates, forks, knives individually.
Even the HVAC system was a complete rip off, the stupid thermostats in the rooms malfunction everytime it snowed. Things got so bad that we were using ancient room heater in the bedrooms.
We talk about corruption in India, real estate agents here act like a bunch of mafia!!
They will dig up a pond in the backyard, throw in a few chep folding beach chairs and call it a swimming pool.
Is it possible to take out the crappy washer from the panel and replace it with something half decent?
 
I have just ordered this Midea Torrino DW - https://www.amazon.in/dp/B08WSP52ZL/ for ₹21,500 as the reviews are fairly good on both Flipkart and Amazon. Though it may not have the build quality of few good ones like Bosch, Siemens or LG but it seems to be VFM.

Now I am confused what detergent/tablet to get. I have shortlisted a few from Amazon, kindly guide -

1) Finish Classic - ₹12..5 per tablet https://www.amazon.in/dp/B08GQT4XFC/

2) Finish All-in-one - ₹21 per tablet https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0727RZQT6/

3) Finish Quantum - ₹24 per tablet https://www.amazon.in/dp/B08HRYT3C3/

4) Fortune 5-in-1 - ₹12 per tablet

5) Fortune 1kg combo pack - ₹470 https://www.amazon.in/dp/B00SBMHYKS/

I have read that Classic tablets need Salt as well and they aren't really that good. Hence, the more expensive options like All-in-One or Quantum are preferred. No idea about Fortune tablets. Which one should be preferred??
 
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Same for me. Only using Fortune since I bought the dishwasher 2.5yrs ago. I would say don't go for tablets either. I prefer using powder and rinse aid and I haven't been using any salt because my water source is very soft.
 
Same for me. Only using Fortune since I bought the dishwasher 2.5yrs ago. I would say don't go for tablets either. I prefer using powder and rinse aid and I haven't been using any salt because my water source is very soft.
Will try powder as well after this pack of tablets.
 
Is it okay to use an after market long inlet Hose for a dishwasher? Do washing machine hoses fit a dishwasher well?
 
Is it okay to use an after market long inlet Hose for a dishwasher? Do washing machine hoses fit a dishwasher well?
I don't think there should be a problem as I'm using aftermarket inlet hose 3m as my dishwasher is placed away from the tap.
Just make sure you use the water filter supplied by the manufacturer between the tap and pipe and you are good to go.
 
Now I am confused what detergent/tablet to get. I have shortlisted a few from Amazon, kindly guide -
Have extensively used both.
With a relatively soft water source, there is not much difference between Finish/Fortune.
But for very hard water, I found Finish to be marginally better.

We too mostly use Fortune tablets.

Is it okay to use an after market long inlet Hose for a dishwasher? Do washing machine hoses fit a dishwasher well?
Indeed we can, it's a standard connector and in fact, I've done the swapped to long hose the very next day after installation.

 
Fortune tablets and Finish Classic powder both caused rust on stainless steel vessels and even on the stainless steel interiors of my Lg dishwasher.
Cleaning performance wise, if you use porcelain plates or even melamine/plastic plates you won't know the difference between a top spec Finish quantum tablets or a fortune tablet. But if you use stainless steel vessels, water/white spots are very easy to spot, this is very the top spec Finish tablets shine.
For Tea stains, finish classic powder has poor performance, fortune does a good job but it causes white/brown spots on the interior of the machine, you can also see this feedback review in amazon on a user who had a siemens machine.

ifb salt and detergent both suck. As does crystal tablets.

If the water is very soft like less then 80tds then you will not see any white spots. Increasing salt to combat hardness will increase the chance of any stainless steel vessels, cutlery to show signs of rust.
 
Fortune tablets and Finish Classic powder both caused rust on stainless steel vessels and even on the stainless steel interiors of my Lg dishwasher.
Cleaning performance wise, if you use porcelain plates or even melamine/plastic plates you won't know the difference between a top spec Finish quantum tablets or a fortune tablet. But if you use stainless steel vessels, water/white spots are very easy to spot, this is very the top spec Finish tablets shine.
For Tea stains, finish classic powder has poor performance, fortune does a good job but it causes white/brown spots on the interior of the machine, you can also see this feedback review in amazon on a user who had a siemens machine.

ifb salt and detergent both suck. As does crystal tablets.

If the water is very soft like less then 80tds then you will not see any white spots. Increasing salt to combat hardness will increase the chance of any stainless steel vessels, cutlery to show signs of rust.
Hmm.. Never noticed it. I do have a water softener for overhead tank and also I do use the Dishwasher Salt. Most dishwashers have settings for level of harness of water. Did you try using a higher hardness water level in the softner setting of your dishwasher? The worst I had ever noticed were white spots (dried hard water stains) on steel vessels. I never had rusting issues. Why would Stainless Steel rust? Could it be the quality of the Steel itself that is causing the issue?
Will try powder as well after this pack of tablets.
I would suggest go for individual products Rinse Aid, Dishwasher Salt and Dishwasher detergent. They workout much cheaper. Keep the Tablets as a backup when you run out of any one of the individual products.
 
Hmm.. Never noticed it. I do have a water softener for overhead tank and also I do use the Dishwasher Salt. Most dishwashers have settings for level of harness of water. Did you try using a higher hardness water level in the softner setting of your dishwasher? The worst I had ever noticed were white spots (dried hard water stains) on steel vessels. I never had rusting issues. Why would Stainless Steel rust? Could it be the quality of the Steel itself that is causing the issue?
I have adusted the salt from H0 all the way to H4. When the incoming water TDS is low it works, no water stains.

Stainless steel can rust the combination of high salt setting and high humidity inside the machine is a perfect scenario for rust. When I first started using fortune tablets the door inside had rust spots, as long I was using fortune tablets with H1 setting.
When I started using the powder from Ifb, Finish I had to set the salt to H2 or higher depending on the incoming water TDS which varies from under 50 after monsoons to around 250 just before the monsoon (when the river beds/dams etc are in lower levels). Now at those high settings even the spoons/ vessels from 80s era and even from 2020 start to rust. This can be minimized if you choose a shorter cycle or if you open the door as soon as the final heating rinse cycle is over. The last drying cycle is very humid inside and it causes more rust. Machines which have fan to assist in drying fair better.

Atleast in the LG dishwasher using IFB salt sucks, a full load of salt in the compartment doesn't last more then a month even at the lowest salt setting, Where as the finish/fortune salt last for several months inline with what the manual says.

With the finish quantum /ultimate no rusts, no white spots with rinse aid set to Off and salt set to the lowest setting.
 
Fortune tablets and Finish Classic powder both caused rust on stainless steel vessels and even on the stainless steel interiors of my Lg dishwasher.
That's the first instance of rust I've heard of.
We extensively use our Hawkins stainless steel cookers almost every day and several stainless steel cutlery.
White spots would appear sometimes, but tweaking the rinse aid dispense settings would fix it usually.
I would suggest go for individual products Rinse Aid, Dishwasher Salt and Dishwasher detergent. They workout much cheaper.
If you note down the cost of individual products and work out a per wash cost of the consumables, it in fact works out to be closer to the cost of 1 tablet.
So it's down to the preference usually, cost-wise both combinations are more or less the same.

In our case, if we use individual Fortune consumables, then it's costing around Rs.15 per wash, whereas Fortune tablets work out to Rs.14.5 per wash.
The average consumption cycle in our case is, 1Kg detergent per month, 500ml Rinse Aid every two months and 1KG Salt every 2 to 3 months.
 
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That's the first instance of rust I've heard of.
We extensively use our Hawkins stainless steel cookers almost every day and several stainless steel cutlery.
White spots would appear sometimes, but tweaking the rinse aid dispense settings would fix it usually.

If you note down the cost of individual products and work out a per wash cost of the consumables, it in fact works out to be closer to the cost of 1 tablet.
So it's down to the preference usually, cost-wise both combinations are more or less the same.

In our case, if we use individual Fortune consumables, then it's costing around Rs.15 per wash, whereas Fortune tablets work out to Rs.14.5 per wash.
The average consumption cycle in our case is, 1Kg detergent per month, 500ml Rinse Aid every two months and 1KG Salt every 2 to 3 months.
Not quite true in a general sense. May be it works out the same in your use case. In my case I use software with total carbonate hardness of less than 20. So my requirement for Salt and Rinse aid is much lower. For certain people with much harder water then they might need these in greater quantities so they need to depend on the settings in the Dishwasher.
 
I have received the DW but should I wait for the company technician to install it or I can do it myself especially in current situation?

Second, This DW comes with only threaded 3/4 inch connector socket but I don't have such a tap in my Kitchen. I have one in my bathroom but unfortunately the DW can't go in due to its extra width. So I am planning to use my Washing machine's inlet pipe instead unless I am able to arrange a plumber to change tap in kitchen. Cool?
 
I have received the DW but should I wait for the company technician to install it or I can do it myself especially in current situation?

Second, This DW comes with only threaded 3/4 inch connector socket but I don't have such a tap in my Kitchen. I have one in my bathroom but unfortunately the DW can't go in due to its extra width. So I am planning to use my Washing machine's inlet pipe instead unless I am able to arrange a plumber to change tap in kitchen. Cool?
Yes, you can use the washing machine inlet pipe for the dishwasher too, just make sure you use filter (usually comes with DW) between the tap and inlet pipe.
I'm using similar setup myself as the pipe i received with the DW was small w.r.t dishwasher location ended up getting a 3M washing machine inlet pipe for dishwasher and it works as expected no issues.
 
I have received the DW but should I wait for the company technician to install it or I can do it myself especially in current situation?

Second, This DW comes with only threaded 3/4 inch connector socket but I don't have such a tap in my Kitchen. I have one in my bathroom but unfortunately the DW can't go in due to its extra width. So I am planning to use my Washing machine's inlet pipe instead unless I am able to arrange a plumber to change tap in kitchen. Cool?
Please refer to this post.

https://techenclave.com/threads/bosch-sms60l12in-dishwasher-review.184344/post-2125952
 
Thanks for the pic reference. My washing machine guy doesn't have it and I am not able to procure it especially due to lockdown. Couldn't find it on Amazon either.

Currently using WM's pipe but don't know why it is leaking a lot of water at back, hence DW showed E1 error on Intensive mode. So ran it on Eco mode yesterday. Maybe I haven't yet found the optimum settings yet but I am not very happy with its performance. Utensils aren't squeaky clean like what I expected. Maybe I need to bring down my expectations.
 
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