Drawer Dishwasher

A drawer dishwasher is a built-in dishwasher whose wash cabinet pulls out horizontally like a kitchen drawer instead of dropping down on a hinged door. Each drawer is a complete, independently operated tub with its own controls, so a double model is effectively two small dishwashers stacked in one cabinet opening. In a compact home that means you can start small: a single drawer washes 7 place settings, and you add a second later, in the same 24-inch slot or in a separate location such as an island, instead of committing to one full-size machine and running half-empty loads. The nearest point of confusion is the compact dishwasher, an 18-inch-wide built-in with a conventional drop-down door. Both get marketed as small-space machines, but they suit different buyers.

How the drawer format works

A drawer slides out on runners at counter height, so you load it standing up instead of crouching in front of an open door, and no door swing eats into the work aisle. A double model stacks two tubs in the same cabinet opening a standard 24-inch dishwasher uses. Fisher & Paykel's Series 9 integrated double (model DD24DI9N), the product line that essentially defines the category in the US market, measures 23 9/16 inches wide, 21 3/4 inches deep, and 32 5/16 to 34 5/8 inches high, adjustable to line up with your counter.

Each drawer holds 7 place settings with round plates up to 11 inches, so the double totals 14. Because the tubs run independently, one drawer can wash an everyday Eco load while the other takes cookware, and a single drawer is a true half-load machine rather than a full tub running half filled. One wash cycle running both tubs uses 3.28 gallons of water. The top drawer measures 43 dBA on the standard cycle. The manufacturer's energy label lists 265 kWh per year. Power is an ordinary 110 to 120 volt, 10 amp household circuit, and water connects through a standard 3/8 inch compression fitting. Installed with the cavity raised toward counter height, the double is ADA compliant and fits the clear floor space an accessible kitchen needs. A Sanitize modifier claims to kill 99.9% of bacteria in the final rinse; the figure is a manufacturer claim, not an independently certified result. Industry trade press reports that this drawer configuration launched in 1997 as a world first.

Drawer dishwasher vs compact dishwasher

A countertop dishwasher is a third neighbor. It is a portable, hose-fed unit sitting on the counter, not a built-in. The sharper boundary is with the 18-inch compact. Under the US ENERGY STAR program, compact capacity means fewer than 8 place settings, which fits a single drawer's 7 but not the double's 14. Physically the formats do not overlap. A drawer dishwasher is a standard 24-inch-wide built-in split into independently operated horizontal tubs, while a compact dishwasher is an 18-inch-wide single cavity behind a drop-down door. Confusing them costs money in both directions. A buyer who wants the cheapest small-space dishwasher pays $2,149.00 starting for the Series 9 double when an 18-inch compact costs a fraction of that. A buyer who wants to split loads or raise the wash cavity to counter height cannot get either from an 18-inch door unit. The European slimline dishwasher, a 45-centimeter class, is a separate, narrower built-in format.

What to weigh before you commit

Budget first. The $2,149.00 figure is one model's starting US price for a panel-ready double, checked September 6, 2026, not a category-wide price, and typical door-style machines cost several times less, so verify current pricing before planning a kitchen budget around the format. Then match the format to your habits. Drawers reward households that run frequent small loads; if you accumulate a full day of dishes and run one long cycle, a door-style tub delivers more per run. Last, plan the cutout from the drawer's own dimensions in the specs above, using the manufacturer's planning guide rather than door-dishwasher figures, which include clearance for a swinging door.