Abstract This paper reports experimental testing of an adsorption dishwasher employing different desiccants, such as 13X zeolite, microporous silica gel and SAPO-34 zeolite. Thermodynamic comparison of the selected adsorbents was carried out on the basis of the experimental measurement of the main thermo-physical parameters, such as specific heat, adsorption equilibrium curves and sorption enthalpy. A sensitivity analysis on the adsorption dishwasher parameters was carried out adopting full factorial design (FFD) on a modified dishwasher prototype. Finally, the actual energetic performance for the optimized configuration were experimentally evaluated returning a consumed electrical energy of 0.636 kWh, which is 41% lower than that of standard cycle performed by a standard dishwasher with energy label A.