Maytag Moms ~ Jetclean Plus Dishwasher Review

By now you all know and remember that I’m a Maytag Mom Ambassador-which means that I received an entire new kitchen suite of Maytag appliances!  I’ve been trying out and enjoying all these items in my real life kitchen–and then I get to share my experiences with all of you.  So far I’ve told you about the Maytag Bottom-Freezer Refrigerator with Spill Catcher Shelves , the 6.2 cu. Ft. Capacity Electric Range with Triple-Choice and Speed Heat Elements and today I’m finishing off with the Maytag Jetclean Plus with Fully Integrated Controls.

One of the reasons that I was so thrilled to be choosen as a Maytag Mom Ambassador is because I love to cook, and I cook a lot.  I bake bread, I make dinner, I preserve my garden’s food by canning and dehydrating.  I really USE the heck out of my stove, fridge and most especially my dishwasher!

Because you know what? I’m kind of a slob when I cook.

Seriously.  I don’t know how I use so many pots, pans, plates, cutting boards, knives, spoons, whisks etc. . . I rather frequently do “big batch” type cooking which leaves all sorts of containers greasy and in need of a good cleaning:

Or I’ll do a big cooking/baking project for the blog and wind up trashing the entire kitchen and creating a ton of dishes:

All of this is to say I need a dishwasher that will take a workout!  My dishwasher gets run at least once a day, sometimes twice, and I frequently have to do a load or two of bigger stuff in the drainboard.

So I’ve had my new Maytag Jetclean Plus with Fully Integrated Controls for months now.  To start out with, I just love the way it looks.  My old dishwasher was plain white-and it was a glaring contrast to my cabinets:

The stainless steel exterior of the Maytag Jetclean is just so pretty!  I love the handle 🙂

And not only is the exterior stainless steel-so is the interior:

Now, I know that looks cool and all-but it’s not all about looks.  I think that when the interior is stainless steel it stays cleaner and more odor free than when the inside is lined in plastic.

Here’s what it looks like in operation:

Of course it is always a challenge when you first get a new dishwasher to figure out a good loading pattern.  But I got it down pretty quick.  I really like the fact that the silverware basket splits in two so you can have it in two narrow sections (as you see I’ve got it here-one on the front, one on the right) or you can snap it together to make a bigger single basket.  It’s also got that smaller basket in the corner which you can use for larger items like spatulas or serving spoons.

It’s funny how much things have changed over the years with dishwasher technology.  I remember my mom’s old machine having a blue interior and, compared to this Maytag Jetclean, practically no options!  Not only can I reconfigure the silverware baskets–but the top rack is adjustable!  If I’ve got especially tall items on the bottom rack I can put the top rack all the way up, and if I’ve got things like long stemmed wine glasses or tall coffee travel mugs that I want to fit on the top rack I can adjust it down.  And that top rack has it’s own sprayer head–so it’s getting it’s own water–you don’t have to worry *quite* so much about things on the bottom rack blocking the spray to the top.

Oh-and another thing–there are some really cool cycles you can use on the Maytag.  There is the Jetclean Steam option which takes a bit longer and uses a bit more electricity, but really blasts off the ook and gook!

The Jetclean Plus Steam cycle utilizes high-pressure spray jets and increased temperatures to power through stuck-on food while reducing spots on glassware

There is also a sanitize feature which uses a really hot steam in the final cycles to fully sanitize your dishes.  I am really looking forward to using that next fall in canning season–I’ll just load the entire dishwasher up with my glass jars and get them washed and completely sanitized for canning!  Much faster than boiling just 7 jars at a time in my hot water bath canner.

I actually did something for this dishwasher that I’ve never done before.  I read the manual.  I know–shocking right?  But it was full of information not only on how to operate the machine (which is super easy anyway–I didn’t really need the directions on that), what the features were and then some extras like how long the various cycles take.  There is also a good troubleshooting guide.  I found this particular blurb (which was for glass that has been permanently etched–ie is cloudy and a vinegar soak doesn’t remove it) very interesting (bolding is mine):

This is an erosion of the surface of the glassware and can be caused by a combination of: water that is too hot, from using too much detergent with soft water or by pre-washing. Detergent needs food soil to act upon. If etching has occurred, the glassware is permanently damaged. To avoid further etching, adjust the detergent amount to match the water hardness, stop pre-washing, and use water heating options only when incoming water temperature is below 120°F (49ºC).

See-pre-washing your  dishes before you put them in not only wastes time & water–but it can actually CAUSE damage.  Neat eh?

I just want to say how much I have loved being part of the Maytag Moms Ambassador Program.  I can’t say enough about how awesome it’s been to have the Maytag Bottom-Freezer Refrigerator with Spill Catcher Shelves , the 6.2 cu. Ft. Capacity Electric Range with Triple-Choice and Speed Heat Elements and Maytag Jetclean Plus with Fully Integrated Controls in my kitchen.  Having great quality tools that make a job go more quickly and smoothly is well worth the money.  If my Maytag Range broke tomorrow I’d go out and buy a new one.  Seriously.  I don’t know if I could live with a smaller oven and without the convection bake feature now.

Thank you so much Maytag for having me as part of this program!

Don’t forget to visit Maytag elsewhere on the web:

• The Maytag Page
• Maytag’s Twitter Page
• Maytag’s Facebook Page

“I wrote this post participating in an Maytag Moms Dependable Kitchen Ambassador program by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Maytag. I was provided with a Maytag kitchen appliances set, including a refrigerator, microwave, dishwasher, and range to facilitate my post”