Getting my first dishwasher - do i need an aquastop?

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mehanix

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Hello,

I am going to be purchasing my first dishwasher soon! It'll be a small one, 6/8 place, countertop model, and I wish to connect it to the same water supply/drain pipe as the washer.

From my research thus far, i noticed that some brands (mostly Bosch) come with this feature called AquaStop, while others don't have such a feature and apparently, it is recommended in their user manual to shut off the water supply to the machine after each use. (as an example: https://www.manua.ls/candy/cdcp-8e-s/manual?p=16 this one, section "at the end of the wash cycle", same thing mentioned on page 19).

1. Is that really necessary? I suppose it is, because it's in the manual, but it seems odd to me. I don't do that for the washing machine, for example. Am I putting myself in danger if doing that? Do i risk flooding the house by leaving the water on? Is the water always under pressure and connected to these appliances? (washing machine, dishwasher)

2. Could I buy an aquastop hose and connect it to a non aquastop-featuring device? Is the hose... independent, so to say, or does it connect to the dishwasher in some way. I'm asking because i read there's electricity involved in there, and i suppose it needs to power up from somewhere?

Thank you. I've been scouring the web but I can't find any info about this topic, but I did find this forum. Hope the questions are alright.

Have a good one!
 
My dishwasher was fine for over 30 years. Then she divorced me! :p
 
In all the years I’ve owned a dishwasher and even thinking back to my parents’ and grandparents’ dishwashers, I’ve never encountered one that’s flooded the house or even leaked at all.

It’s not a bad idea to have it if it’s available, but I don’t think it’s particularly necessary, especially in a typical ground floor kitchen in a house. Maybe if you’d some ludicrously high pressure water mains or you’re in a flat with a risk of flooding the unit below you or something like that you might consider it more essential.

I’m not sure that you can just add it later. I have Aquastop on my Miele dishwasher and washing machine and it works with a solenoid valve in the end of the hose. It’s electrically connected to the machine. When the machine fills, the valve opens at the end of the hose, so supply hose is never under the full mains pressure.

Their Aquastop feature also includes sensors in the base of the machine that detect water too. If it’s detected or cuts the water and starts the drain pump continuously.

I’ve always noticed it seems to be more of a feature in the continent, which might be because UK and Irish water mains tend to be a little underwhelming when it comes to pressure.
 
I live in a small flat so yeah, the risk of flooding the people down below does exist. Thank you for the feedback, I suspected as such as well.
Did your parents turn off the water supply after every wash, as it seems to say in some of these non-aquastop dishwashers?
 
I'd just buy one that has a stop built in?
I have had two smaller (450mm) under counter Bosch machines.

No floods etc, both have an AquaStop ? ie a solenoid operated valve.
there isn"t much water in a dishwasher, although I guess some major malfunction could conceivably result in the feed being open?
Loads of dishwashers are under the counter with no physical way of turning off the water quickly and mine is integrated so even harder.
 
No. They definitely didn’t turn off the water to any appliance ever in Ireland anyway. It wouldn’t even have been practical as the valves were probably behind the dishwasher.

I’m not aware of anyone who does that, but I do remember it was common in France to turn off the water at the mains stopcock before going on long holidays.

Just bear in mind that British and Irish water mains run at about 2 to 4 bars. French and other continental water mains can often be 6 bars, or even higher. They’re brilliant for showers but I think it’s likely why you don’t have compression fittings (every fitting is brazed) and avoid any junctions under the floor etc

In some countries, like in the Nordic ones, floor drains are installed in laundry rooms, kitchens and bathrooms to mitigate any flood risk especially in multi-storey buildings and also to make access to cleaning blockages easier.

The UK and Irish plumbing systems are a bit idiosyncratic - gravity feeding bathrooms from a buffer tank in the attic to make up for lower pressure mains.

My sense is that Aqua stop is useful everywhere but it’s probably significantly less likely you’ll ever see a burst hose in the UK or Ireland, unless they decide to increase the water pressure on public mains.

So yeah it’s useful but it’s definitely not a feature that would seem absolutely essential here.

For peace of mind if you’ve a risky location, I suppose why not though! It’s becoming a standard feature.
 
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Tigercubrider said:
I'd just buy one that has a stop built in?
I have had two smaller (450mm) under counter Bosch machines.

No floods etc, both have an AquaStop ? ie a solenoid operated valve.
there isn"t much water in a dishwasher, although I guess some major malfunction could conceivably result in the feed being open?
Loads of dishwashers are under the counter with no physical way of turning off the water quickly and mine is integrated so even harder.
Click to expand...
by 45mm you must mean slim-line, right? I'm looking for those countertop ones, going to be installing it to the same water supply/drain as the washing machine, and be placing it on the counter right above it. I literally have no other space anywhere in the kitchen.
I was looking at a Bosch 6-plater, but there is literally no information on whether it is equipped with aquastop or not. I'd imagine you'd advertise it if it were, so it probably isn't.
Since it seems you can't add it sepparately, i'll look into other models that fit my budget and have this feature advertised. Thanks, haha!
 
Ask Bosch? I think “aquastop” would be a trade name so ask if there is a solenoid valve fitted.
inwould expect so
 
If your washing machine hasn’t got aquastop, and you’ve never had any issue, your dishwasher will be exactly the same risk. Supply hoses on Bosch machines are excellent and it’s very unlikely you’ll ever have any issues.

SKS62E32EU appears to have AquaStop but call Bosch UK or ask the retailer to check the exact specs.​

 
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My dishwashers have never been a problem, but my washing machine, less than three years old, lightly used and (I thought) in excellent nick, recently started flooding the kitchen when it failed to stop filling. I never use appliances at night or when out and luckily noticed and was in time to stop the flood before it got to and ruined my parquet floor. I'll go for Aquastop or similar when it's replacement time.
 
I'm surprised that insurance companies don't mandate such devices to minimise risk of water damage.
A couple of years ago my kitchen door suffered storm damage and water ingress damaged my kitchen flooring.
Insurance paid out to relay the kitchen laminate and I paid extra to run the flooring throughout my ground floor.
I worry that a dishwasher/washing machine leak would now cause significant damage. :eek:
 
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