Dishwashers and more from Blomberg

[Do NOT buy anything made under this brand name. Ignore every kind thing I've ever said about Blomberg. I apologize if I mislead anyone. Events and things I've learned since this post appeared originally have brought about a complete change of heart for me regarding Blomberg and their US distributor. --Paul 2/21/10]

Over the last couple of weeks, I've been made aware a dishwasher brand I know nothing about and that brand is Blomberg. I hate not knowing what something is, so I set out to find out.

Blomberg is new to the US, but they've been a German brand since 1883. Blomberg is owned by Arçelik, the Turkish conglomerate who sell appliances in over 100 countries around the world. What's being sold in North America as Blomberg also answers to the brand names Beko, Leisure, Flavel and Digifusion, depending on the country in question. Folks in the UK seem to be particularly loyal to Beko, and Beko appliances have been top-sellers there for a long time. While Blomberg may be new to the US, the company behind Blomberg has earned its stripes.

In the North American market, Blomberg has been introducing its full product line gradually. They started with their dishwashers, then their washing machines and now their refrigerators. Ultimately, they'll be bringing in their cooking appliances and ventilation products.

My quest for information about Blomberg dishwashers led me to a conversation with Bernie von der Lieth, a consultant responsible for Blomberg's introduction to the US market. Von der Lieth provided me with a wealth of information and I now know more about Blomberg dishwashers, refrigerators and washing machines than I ever thought I'd want to know. And here's what I learned.

Blomberg appliances are luxury appliances, comparable to Bosch and Liebherr. Like other luxury brands, Blomberg appliances are feature-packed and highly efficient. The similarities stop there though. A Blomberg dishwasher or refrigerator will cost half what a comparable Bosch or Liebherr appliance would. Go to a website like AJ Madison and do a price and feature comparison yourself.

All Blomberg dishwashers have stainless steel interiors and all of them feature an in-line water heating system. Unlike most American dishwashers which have heating elements inside of them. These elements waste energy, make the wash cycles take too long and prevent a dishwasher from attaining an optimal temperature. An in-line heating system has no heating element, instead the water is heated directly as it's piped into the machine. This maintains a water temperature of 165 degrees while using far less energy. No heating element also means that you can place plastic ware in the lower rack. 

Blomberg dishwashers are the quietest on the market due to their unique, three-layer insulation system. Their dishwashers have an on-board water filtration system and some models have a built in water softener. The racks inside are full adjustable and in a tip of the hat to appliance installers everywhere, a Blomberg dishwasher's rear leveling legs are adjustable from the front of the machine. If you've ever wrestled with a dishwasher installation, that's a very welcome feature.

Their refrigerators are similarly well-thought-out and equipped. All of their refrigerators' interior surfaces are treated with a process Blomberg calls HygION.  HygION uses silver nitrate (a potent, non-pharmaceutical, anti-microbial substance) to render the interior of a refrigerator an incredibly hostile environment for the wee-beasties that can make you sick. The glass shelves inside are all made from tempered, safety glass; all of their models have a suspended bottle holder, clear vegetable drawers and are highly efficient users of electricity.

My earlier reference to these appliances as feature-packed doesn't do them justice.

Blomberg's timing couldn't be better, they're introducing luxury appliances at a non-luxury price point. In a time of lowered expectations and slashed budgets, these things are a God send. I used to say Ich lieb Liebherr and think I was clever. But that was in a time when people wanted a $6,000 refrigerator "just because." Those days are gone obviously, so I'm changing my tune to Ich Lieb Blomberg. Or maybe I aşk Blomberg (that's Turkish), considering that they're made in Turkey.