Dishwashers

The 24-inch dishwasher and its smaller cousins:

the full-size built-in, 24 inches or 60 cm wide, is the one most kitchen remodels here plan around and holds a family’s day of dishes. A slim 18-inch model gives up about a third of that space for a narrower gap. A countertop dishwasher needs no cabinet at all: it sits beside the sink, fills from a hose on the tap or by hand and drains into the sink, which makes it the one a tenant can take along when the lease ends. A fully integrated machine hides behind a cabinet panel that has to be refitted when it changes kitchens. In a remodel a dishwasher is usually planned alongside a new cooking center from stoves and cooktops and a hood from extractor hoods.

A cold-only kitchen tap and the dishwasher’s own heater:

plenty of Costa Rican kitchens have no hot water line, and that does not rule a dishwasher out, because every machine heats its own water. Models designed for European kitchens expect a cold feed; those built for the US market are meant for a hot connection and can run longer cycles on cold. Read the rating plate on the edge of the door as well: US-spec machines run on 120 V, but some 60 cm European models need a 220 V outlet near the sink.

Hard coastal water and the salt compartment:

tap water in much of Guanacaste, Puntarenas and Limón is hard, and inside a dishwasher it shows as white film on glasses, crust in the spray-arm holes and scale on the heating element. Some machines carry a built-in softener, refilled with dishwasher salt through a cap under the lower rack. For a house in Tamarindo or Puerto Viejo that is worth paying for; in most of the Central Valley it matters far less.

What ₡200,000 buys in a dishwasher, and what ₡600,000 adds:

a basic 24-inch built-in from a brand like Midea starts around ₡200,000 new, and Bosch, Teka or Smeg run past ₡600,000. The extra money buys quieter running, a stainless tub and leak protection more than cleaner plates. With new ones that cheap, a used entry-level machine has to be close to a giveaway, while a well-kept European one is the used buy worth chasing, as long as it never ran for years on hard water with the salt compartment empty.

The filter, spray arms and lower rack of a used dishwasher:

ask to see it run, ideally still installed. Open the door halfway and let go: it should stay put or close gently, and a door that drops flat has a broken spring or cable. Twist out the filter at the bottom of the tub; a sour smell or a layer of grease means it was never cleaned. Spin both spray arms by hand and look into their holes. On the lower rack, check the tines and wheels. Once the plastic coating chips, the wire rusts and leaves orange marks on the plates. At the end of the cycle the tub should be empty; standing water points to a blocked filter or a tired drain pump. On a machine from a coastal house, thick white crust on the heating element or along the door seal is a reason to bargain hard or walk away.

Unhooking a dishwasher from the kitchen to sell it:

a built-in is screwed to the counter and tied to the water valve, the drain and the power, so say whether it is still installed, whether the hoses go with it and, on a fully integrated model, whether the door panel does too. Photograph the tub with the racks out, the filter and the rating plate. Give the width, and say whether your water is hard and the salt was kept topped up, because a buyer from the coast will ask. Someone driving over from San Ramón will want to watch it finish a rinse, so leave it connected until the sale is agreed if you can.