We know, you most definitely would've opted for the Party Dishwasher had it been available a decade or so ago, but since Maytag was the king of dish scrubbing club, you're now stuck with a potentially fire-starting machine crammed beneath your counter top. Maytag Corp. is recalling around 2.3 million dishwashers across North America after finding that a "potential leak issue" could actually come into contact with the machine's internal wiring, which could then cause quite a heated mess in the midst of your kitchen. The faulty machines (Maytag / Jenn-Air branded) were sold between July 1997 and June 2001, which probably means it's about time you ditched that piece for a new one anyway, but considering the company has already received 135 reports of fires and four injuries, you might want to revert to the old fashioned method of cleaning your pots and pans until you get that thing replaced.

[Via Fark]

In today's world, locating a dishwasher to meet your precise needs is becoming a reality, as we've got ones that work on countertops, sans water, and with icky toys, but now Siemens is offering up one for the night owls who'd rather jazz it up at home than head out on the town. The aptly-named Party Dishwasher sports a sleek, silver finish and your standard under-the-counter boxy design, but what it lacks in originality outside, it certainly makes up for inside. Designed specifically for party-throwers who'd rather blow around $900 for a new kitchen appliance than order up a extra dozen or so Merlot glasses, this machine touts a 29-minute rapid wash cycle that can blast the bacteria off of whatever partyware that's dirty so the late arrivals will have fresh glasses (while the early birds' thirst). Additionally, the built-in varioSpeed technology reportedly cuts the wash time of even normal, non-party serving cycles "in half," and it also allows you to use whatever choice of detergent you have (or have on hand, anyway), and then automatically detects the right temperature and amount of water to both conserve resources and finish faster. Of course, all these niceties do come at a price, but whether it's all worth the €679 ($884) is certainly debatable.

[Via Appliancist]

A childhood isn't complete without a healthy stash of colored blocks to play with, but let's face it, the miniaturized (and LEGO-branded) version of Luke Skywalker and R2-D2 will eventually end up in the depths of a youngster's mouth one way or another. Taking a stand for germ-free toys (and the right to chew on nearly anything) is Bosch's LEGO Edition dishwasher, which sports a special "Toy cycle" to rid Tonka trucks and NERF blasters of microbial buildup without harming their "shape and integrity" (read: melting them into a pile of goo). While it sports the same grime-busting action as most high-end dishwashers out there, the additional cycle runs at 40 degrees Celsius in order to eliminate germs without destroying the plastic. The device comes in "freestanding, under the counter, and fully integrated" flavors, and can be found (only in Europe, curiously) now for €649 ($816), €749 ($942) and €899 ($1,130), respectively.

[Via Slashgear]