Review: HomeLabs Countertop Dishwasher

​If you need a countertop dishwasher for your apartment, office, man cave -- or any location that has a compatible faucet, a 3 prong outlet, and dirty dishes -- HomeLabs' Countertop Dishwasher will not disappoint.

​First, I need to commend the fast shipping on this dishwasher by both Amazon Prime and HomeLabs. Check this out: I ordered the dishwasher on a Monday at 8:17 p.m., and at 8:52 p.m. of the same hour, was told the dishwasher had been shipped.

​Furthermore, the dishwasher was expected to arrive four days later, which I expected -- even for Prime. It's a dishwasher, not swim trunks! It was on my doorstep, with the FedEx guy, 2 days later on Wednesday in the afternoon at 1:13 p.m.

​And, to top it off, the order was placed on Prime Day of 2018, which, if you remember, Amazon had some serious issues, bugs, and dogs with their site.

​Specifications

​The dishwasher arrived via FedEx in packaging that would later seem heavier than the dishwasher itself. At only 65.2 pounds (according to FexEx), I could have easily lifted the package by myself if its dimensions were not an awkward 26'' x 24'' x 23'' (according to FedEx).

​Additionally, I live on the second floor, so this prompted the FedEx deliveryman to ask if I needed help bringing the dishwasher upstairs. Thank you, for that, FedEx!

​​According to FexEx, the total weight of the shipped dishwasher was 65.2 pounds. According to HomeLabs, the total weight of the naked dishwasher is 44.1 pounds. So, after some math, for the record, and if you care, the dishwasher came with 21.1 pounds of packaging.

​Once I stripped the packaging away from the dishwasher, I was easily able to lift the 44.1 pound unit onto my countertop, by myself.

​According to HomeLabs, the exterior of the dishwasher has a length of 19.6'', a width of 21.6'', and a height of 17.2''. According to my tape measure, the dishwasher has a length of 19.5'', a width of 21 5/8'' (21.62''), and a height of 17 3/16'' (17.18'').

​I couldn't find any interior dimensions from HomeLabs -- though there may be -- but with the interior rack removed, I measured a length of 17.5'' (stainless steel area), a width of 19 3/8'' (19.37''), and a height of roughly 11 1/4'' (11.25'') from the top of the interior to the top of the wash arm.

​On the electrical side, the unit comes with a 3 prong plug for grounding, which is to be expected. In other word, it fits into any standard 3 prong outlet that you'd plug an air conditioner into.

​On the plumbing side, the unit comes with a drain hose, an inlet hose, a quick connect piece, and a faucet adapter. The drain and inlet hoses come connected to the quick connect piece, so you just need to screw the other end of these hoses into the back of the dishwasher.

​The bottom end of the faucet adapter accepts the quick connect piece and the top end connects to your faucet. The top end of the faucet adapter has a thread size of both female 55/64'' - 27 (inside thread) and male 15/16'' - 27 (outside thread).

​This means that if your faucet has an aerator thread size of either female 15/16'' - 27 (inside thread) or male 55/64'' - 27 (outside thread), the HomeLabs' Countertop Dishwasher is compatible with your faucet. If you don't know your faucet aerator's thread size, just give the manufacturer of your faucet a call.

​To simplify the above for the non-plumbers (including myself), if your faucet has a female 15/16'' - 27 aerator thread size (inside thread), then the faucet adapter's male 15/16'' - 27 (outside thread) will screw in. If your faucet has a male 55/64'' - 27 aerator thread size (outside thread), then the faucet adapter's  female 55/64'' - 27 (inside thread) will screw in.

​How Well Does It Clean The Dishes?

​A dishwasher is only as good as its dish detergent in the same way that a shower is only as good as its shampoo.

​In short, a pre-rinse of dishes combined with the dishwasher's "Heavy" setting and Seventh Generation's Dishwasher Detergent Gel Lemon Scent got the dishes sparkling clean, but this took quite a few loads to get right.

​You see, and if you care enough, I'm no tree-hugger, but I care about the impact my nihilistic existence has on the environment. I try to leave as little evidence as possible of my existence.

​So, the first detergent I bought and used in the dishwasher was Nature's Promise Automatic Dish Detergent Gel. It's basically a "non-toxic" grocery store knockoff version of Seventh Generation.

​Well, after running that first load, I was disappointed to not only find food still on the dishes, but some of the glassware was now covered with a cloudy residue. The dishes were dirtier than when they went in.

​​I love Dawn and it's what I've been using to clean my dishes by hand before purchasing the HomeLab Countertop Dishwasher. Having said that, I really wanted to combine Dawn and my new dishwasher.

​Well, I did just that, along with some baking soda according to an article on the Huffington Post and some other mommy blog. A couple pumps of Dawn (a very small amount to avoid suds from leaking from the seals of the dishwasher) and a spoonful of baking soda went into the load.

​When the load was finished, not only did the dishwasher surprisingly not leak of suds from the Dawn, but the dishes were actually cleaner than when I used the Nature's Promise Dish Detergent Gel. However, that cloudy residue was still evident on my glassware and silverware.

​So, to Google I went to determine what this cloudy residue was. I stumbled upon a YouTube video of a local Fox news station's report on my exact problem. Go figure!

​According to the video, phosphate was removed from dish detergents to meet a multi-state ban and this somehow explains why dishes are coming out with a horrible chalky and cloudy residue after being washed in the dishwasher.

​The news report says the chalky white residue appearing on the dishes after running the dishwasher is due to the limestone in hard water, and that lemon juice or a citrus additive breaks down the limestone.

​As you may have guessed, my next load consisted of Dawn plus the juice of 2 limes. When the dishes were done, some of the glassware was nearly sparkling, while some still had the cloudy residue, though improved from the last load.

​I suspected the location of the glassware in the dishwasher determined how well it could be cleaned, indicating that the dishwasher itself wasn't properly distributing my homemade dish detergent and also discriminating against certain dishes.

​I began to think maybe there was just something wrong with the dishwasher, but part of me thought it really was just the detergent. So, I did the research to qualify a dish detergent that was "non-toxic" and contained some type of citrus.

​​Enter Seventh Generation's Dishwasher Detergent Gel Lemon Scent.

​Due to the company I had recently, the next load of dishes would be massive. So, I pre-rinsed the dishes with a high pressure hot water (just to remove food particles), loaded the dishwasher, filled both the detergent dispensers to the rim with Seventh Generation's Dishwasher Detergent, set the wash cycle to "Heavy", and watched reruns of The Office.

​When the dishes were done, 1 hour and 40 minutes later, I opened the dishwasher to let the moisture escape. I then peeked in, with a particular interest for the glassware.

​You're supposed to wait 15 minutes before removing dishes after being washed because they become sensitive and break easier than they already can.

​I opened the door all the way, pulled the loading rack all the way out, and honed in on the glassware, only to immediately be taken back what I saw. Were my eyes deceiving me? Nope -- the glassware was crystal clear! There wasn't a cloud of chalky residue to be found on any dish, glass, or utensil!

​How Many Dishes Can I Fit In It?

​According to HomeLabs, this countertop dishwasher has a "6 place settings capacity".

​​For a quantitative measurement based on the interior dimensions I took, the interior of the dishwasher has a volume of roughly 3,813 cubic inches.

​​What does a typical packed dishwasher look like for me? You'll likely find 4 dinner plates (10.5''), 3 or 4 dinner bowls, 2 or 3 dinner saucer plates (7.75''), 2 or 3 full size glasses, a coffee mug, 3 forks, 3 butter knives, 3 spoons, 2 steak knives, a carrot peeler, a spatula, tongs, a chef's knife, a santoku knife, an 8'' x 8'' Pyrex, a 5'' x 9'' Pyrex, a 7.24'' x 11'' cutting board, a 2 cup measuring cup, a 16 oz. Ninja serving cup with cap, and maybe a small funnel.

​I can definitely fit a few more plates and small items in with the above load, but they're not dirty, yet.

​What Are The Dishwasher's Settings?

​Behind the dishwasher's simple, yet sleek and attractive front design is also a simple and intuitive interface.

​​The dishwasher has 4 buttons total, with the 2 on the left being the power button and delay button (i.e., postpone wash cycle), and the 2 on the right being the program wash cycle button and the start/pause button.

​The display yield 12 different indicator lights, with the 3 on the top left being the rinse aid indicator, program ending indicator, and water failure indicator, and the 3 on the bottom left being a 2, 4, or 8 hour delay indicator.

​The remaining 6 indicator lights on the right are the program wash setting indicators. In order, they include "Heavy", "Normal", "ECO", "Glass", "Speed", and "Rinse".

​The Faucet Setup

​​No, it wasn't as simple as purchasing a dishwasher, loading dishes, and eating on a clean plate. I like to research before I buy, so I literally spent hours determining if the dishwasher itself could somehow be compatible with my pull out faucet.

​Turns out the dishwasher wasn't compatible with my American Standard pull out faucet, so after a couple trips to Lowes and Home Depot, and a few calls to Peerless faucet's customer support, I settled on Delta's 4453-DST faucet.

​However, the thread size of the Delta 4453-DST is 13/16'', so I purchased a 13/16'' (male) x 55/64'' (male) adapter from The Home Depot.

​Once I installed my new Delta 4453-DST faucet, I unscrewed to remove its aerator, used the rubber washer from the aerator on the 13/16'' side of the adapter I purchased from Home Depot, screwed the 13/16'' male side of the adapter into the faucet's 13/16'' female aerator thread, screwed the 55/64'' female side of the faucet adapter into the 55/64'' male size of the adapter I got from The Home Depot, and attached the dishwasher's quick connect to the faucet adapter.

​There were some leaks in the beginning, but another slight turn to tighten the faucet adapter put an end to that.

If your situation requires you to change out your faucet in order to have a compatible setup with HomeLab's Countertop Dishwasher, check out the:

• Delta 441-DST
• Delta 4453-DST (13/16'' x 55/64'' adapter is needed)

​Conclusion

​​It turns out that HomeLabs' Countertop Dishwasher is a powerful little dish washing machine, and combined with Seventh Generation's Dishwasher Detergent Gel Lemon Scent for my specific needs, a complete win in my book.

​I work from home and work a lot, so this dishwasher allows me to allocate time I'd spend doing dishes to my work, or The Office, if you will.

​You are probably aware of the expression, "you get what you pay for", but being one of, if not, the cheapest countertop dishwasher you can buy, you clearly get a high quality, solid, and well-built machine.

​It lacks any feel suggesting the dishwasher is cheap, of low quality materials, and could fall a part in a couple of months if you're not gentler.

​In fact, it carries a contemporary aesthetic, sleek style, and futuristic feel to match its quality and craftsmanship. HomeLab's Countertop Dishwasher easily just looks better than comparable units twice its price.

​After using this dishwasher, it becomes clear to see that HomeLab's is a company dedicated to making goods that not only get the job done, and do so in style for an incredibly affordable price, but got it so right, that they still have enough time to leave a witty sticker on the side of the unit to warn the purchaser that any water inside the unit upon opening is normal and harmless, unless it has sharks.