WATCH – Tech That! Bob, the world’s smallest and fastest dishwasher – ✡✡✡✡

A dishwasher isn’t usually something I’d consider buying, but when I saw the Bob prototype in 2019, I did a double take. According to Daan Tech, the company behind Bob in France, it is the world’s smallest and fastest dishwasher.

Obviously, some people may see this and immediately decide that it’s irrelevant and useless for them, especially if they have a larger family with many dishes to wash – but that’s not who Bob is aimed at. The ultra-small dishwasher is geared more towards, for example, a couple living in a flat or a home with very limited kitchen space – or maybe even a campervan.

Bob works totally independent of any plumbing or pipes, which makes it easy to set up and install virtually anywhere. It has a built-in water tank that can be refilled, and an outlet pipe that you stick in the sink to drain all the water after a cycle. It’s 2020 so, of course, WiFi is enabled, and it is used to manage Bob online, such as by changing the start-up picture on the screen or ordering more cassettes.

Speaking of “cassettes”, these are proprietary cartridges inserted into the machine that dispense the right amount of dishwasher liquid. The company recommends using these cassettes but, if you don’t want to, then any dishwashing liquid from the supermarket will work. Unfortunately, during my testing, it appeared that my dispensing system was damaged during shipping, but the company assures me this will be fixed.

Owing to its size, I was quite sceptical about how well Bob would clean my dishes, but I was left pleasantly surprised. There are different washing modes depending on your needs (express, daily, glass, intensive and eco). Even on the express mode – which is a speedy 20 minutes – I was greeted by clean dishes after abusing them with coffee and greasy food. Of course, if you have more stubborn stains, the intense mode will sort it out with a longer wash cycle and hotter water.

As a bonus, Bob can be fitted inside with a UV light, which will sanitise anything from face masks to your keys. Sadly, this was not built into my unit, but can be added as an optional extra when purchasing Bob online.

Currently, Bob is only available for shipping within Europe, with Israel and the North America soon to follow.

Coming in at £300, it isn’t the cheapest dishwasher out there but, if you’re low on space and don’t own a dishwasher, then Bob is worth a look.

To buy or not buy? ✡✡✡✡

Bob is available from: daan.tech, RRP from £299.90

Watch the review here: