Whirlpool 6th Sense PowerDry ADP900IX: How well does it wash?

How we tested
Using our regular mix of assorted kitchen crockery, we loaded the Whirlpool with glass, ceramics, plastic, pots, pans, a cheese grater and even a stainless steel milk jug to see how well it cleaned across all types of kitchen materials and utensils. Our fair-sized test dinner plates meant we needed to raise the upper basket to its higher position.

Using the default 6th Sense programme with PowerClean, we also placed in a range of standard test items including a breakfast bowl with dried on Weetabix, scrambled egg in the Pyrex dish used to cook the egg and red wine dried into a greasy-fingered wine glass. We used a leading brand triple action dishwasher tablet for all tests.

We ran a second cycle using the ADP 900 IX’s Eco programme and a third to see how silent the Silent wash was. We then ran a fourth standard programme (thank you Whirlpool for too much feature choice!) to try out the PowerDry function.

Performance
Jumping ahead of the rest of the review through their combined brilliance is the PowerClean and PowerDry features. It’s always easy to dismiss outlandish claims and marketing, but in this case they’re totally justified.

The PowerClean is extremely efficient at removing really stubborn grime, rivalling Samsung’s flagship WaterWall for sheer automated elbow grease. It’s not quiet and clearly only gets to items near the lower rear of the machine, but it certainly works well in the right situation. We came to the conclusion that, if we owned the ADP 900 IX, we would put most cooking pans in there rather than wash them by hand. Praise indeed.

The PowerDry feature delivers handsomely, too. It dries the whole compartment quickly without a single watermark or cup pool. The Whirlpool’s standard drying performance is very good without PowerDry, but with it it’s outstanding.

The wine glass test came up properly sparkling and the concrete-Weetabix was duly demolished and the bowl polished. The scrambled egg on Pyrex proved, as always, really stubborn but the ADP 900 IX did an exceptional job of cleaning this, leaving only a handful of small egg stains. Had we placed this bowl at the rear, facing the PowerClean jets, we think this would have been close to a perfect egg bowl clean as you can currently get.

Whirlpool 6th Sense PowerDry ADP900IX: How much will it cost to run?

Like cars, performance and economy rarely go hand in hand. On the main 6th Sense wash with a full and dirty load, the ADP 900 IX used 1.45kWh of electricity. This is at the very top of Whirlpool’s stated energy consumption range for this programme.  It took around 20 minutes longer than the 3hrs 36mins stated and used nearly 23 litres of water – close to double Whirlpools suggested figure for this wash. That said this wash proved it had great cleaning ability and an incredibly dry.

The Eco mode wash proved considerably more frugal, saving over 300Wh of electricity at 1.15kWh per cycle, and sipping just 8.9 litres of water over its 1hr 40-minute run time. Neither wash is going to break any records for their frugal use of electricity (22pence / 17pence), but in the grand scheme of things the extra electricity running costs compared to the very best over the course of a year is less than a tenner.

Head to the Whirlpool 6th Sense PowerDry ADP900IX specs for more testing info

Should I buy the Whirlpool 6th Sense PowerDry ADP900IX?

It’s not the most frugal with water or electricity and it’s a little noisier than stated, but the Whirlpool 6th Sense PowerDry ADP900IX more than redeems itself with exceptional wash performance and class leading drying. The PowerClean and PowerDry features are inspired, the fit and finish is exemplary and the self-cleaning filter is our new ‘must have’ feature.

That’s a yes, then. Indeed, the only serious reason not to consider the Whirlpool is if you often wash plates up to 30cm in size, as the maximum it can fit is 28.5cm. If that’s the case, consider the LG D1484CF (£599) or the Samsung DW60H9970FS as they both accommodate up to 30cm plates. Head to our dishwasher reviews page for more options.

Verdict

A stylish 60cm dishwasher with outstanding washing and drying performance – put it on your shortlist.

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