LG's Quad Wash dishwashers promise better cleaning faster at CES
With four spray arms, LG looks to cut cycle times while giving your dishes a more thorough clean.
LG's adding extra arms to its dishwashers.
LG's engaging in a literal arms race to try to beat the dishwasher competition. After a soft launch late in 2016, LG's rolling out its Quad Wash technology in earnest this year with several models on display at CES in Las Vegas.
With four spray arms that move back and forth while spinning, the LG Quad Wash technology supposedly cuts cycle times by 15 percent while providing a more thorough and better clean. The Quad Wash arms will debut on LG's high end Signature dishwashers, then trickle down to mid-range models throughout the year.
The high-end $1,200 (roughly £970 in the UK and AU$1,650 in Australia) LG LDT9965BD proved a great cleaner in our tests without the Quad Wash arms, but the mid-range $900 (roughly £730, AU$1,240) LDF7774ST and $700 (roughly £570, AU$960) LDS5040ST could have used a performance boost.
All three dishwashers were comparatively slow, so extra speed in LG's lineup will be more than welcome. The fastest cycle on these three all clocked around an hour and a half. LG's Quad Wash line will cut the turbo cycle time to 55 minutes. That's still not as fast as many similar units from GE and Frigidaire with competent quick cycles of only 30 minutes.
Unlike Electrolux's recent dishwasher innovation -- the ComfortLift dish rack -- or GE's and Whirlpool's integration with Amazon Dash, we'll need to test LG's newest tech to see if it pays off in tangible results. If it works as promised, LG could prove wise for avoiding flashy tech and focusing on practical cleaning power.
