Keeping your dishwasher clean can be inconvenient, but it’s essential to keep your dishes sparkling. This is the only dishwasher cleaning guide you will ever need. You should regularly clean this often-neglected space in your home to keep things running smoothly. Clean your dishwasher today to have it running at its full potential once more.
Why Clean Your Dishwasher?
You’d think that with all the cleaning a dishwasher does, it would be cleaning itself—but that isn’t the case. The more you run your dishwasher, the more food particles, detergent residue, and grime build up. Over time, this leftover grime can affect the efficiency with which your dishwasher runs. Build-up and residue can clog holes and make it harder for your dishes to get clean. Grime and food particles can even transfer from your dishwasher onto your dishes if they build up long enough. Clean your dishwasher regularly to avoid this build-up and have sparkling dishes every time.
How Often Should You Clean Your Dishwasher?
If you want to keep your dishwasher running at its peak potential, you should regularly clean it. It’s wise to remove visible food particles, wipe down the edges, and clean your filter each week. This regular maintenance will help prevent serious issues later. Wipe your dishwasher out and clean your filter when you do.
Every month you should deep clean your dishwasher as described in this guide. Deep cleaning your dishwasher prevents severe residue buildup that can cause problems and dirty dishes. Make a habit of doing both light and intensive cleaning to ensure your dishwasher does exactly what you need it to.
Can You Use Bleach?
Bleach may feel like an easy option for sterilizing anything, but it’s not suited for every use. You should not use bleach to clean your dishwasher. Bleach can damage the metal inside many dishwashers and is not the ideal cleaning solution to use in this part of your home.
We recommend a mixture of vinegar and water to clean dishwashers. Never mix vinegar and bleach cleaners, as they can create poisonous chlorine gas, an extreme health and safety risk. Instead of bleach, if you want a more heavy-duty option, opt for dish soap.
Deep Cleaning Your Dishwasher
When it comes time to deep clean your dishwasher, you’ll need to know how the process works before diving in. Follow this convenient guide to cleaning your dishwasher once a month to prevent damage to your appliance.
Take Everything Out
The first step to cleaning your dishwasher is to take everything out. You’ll want to remove your dish racks and utensil holders as you get ready to clean. If you have enough room in a large sink or laundry tub, you can soak your dish racks and utensil holders in a mixture of warm water and white vinegar for 30 minutes. After soaking these items, give them a good clean with an abrasive sponge to remove any residue left behind.
Clean Your Filter
Most filters twist off, but for some, you’ll have to use tools to unscrew them. Remove the filter and place it in a mixture of warm water and white vinegar. Soak the filter for about 30 minutes to get it completely clean. The vinegar will help remove soap scum and food particles stuck in your filter. After you’ve soaked your filter, put it back in the dishwasher before running your cleaning cycles.
Clean Out Food and Grime
Now that your dishwasher is empty and ready for cleaning, you can start by wiping up any food particles or grime you see inside. Check the walls, dispenser, corners, filter, arms, and any nooks and crannies to clear out food and grime.
If you have trouble getting everything up from the small spaces, try using a toothbrush or toothpick. Be thorough on this step to remove as much grime and residue as possible. Don’t forget to clean the seal, gaskets, and dishwasher door during this stage. Achieve a thorough clean inside your whole dishwasher before moving on.
Run a Cleaning Cycle
Now that you’ve cleaned out most of the food particles and grime left behind, it’s time to run a cleaning cycle on your dishwasher. Remember to put your filter back in its place before running this cycle. If you forget your filter when you run a cycle, you might accidentally void your dishwasher's warranty.
Fill a dish with a cup of vinegar and place it in your dishwasher, then run your dishwasher on a hot water cycle. This will help remove any grime that’s left behind in your dishwasher. Vinegar is a natural cleaning agent that will help remove any residue left behind from the toll dishwashing takes on your machine.
Run Another Cycle
Now that you’ve run vinegar through your dishwasher, it’s time to freshen everything up. Run a short cycle with a cup of baking soda to eliminate odors and remove stains. Your dishwasher will smell fresh and practically sparkle after you run this cycle.
Clean the Outside of Your Dishwasher
Sure, it’s what’s inside that counts—but cleaning up the outside of your dishwasher door doesn’t hurt either! Use a cleaner on the outer door to remove fingerprints, dirt, and spillage from its surface. If you have a stainless-steel dishwasher, use a soft micro-fiber cloth and a stainless-steel cleaner. An all-purpose cleaner and paper towels or a soft cloth will do well to clean most other materials. Wrap up this household chore with this final cleaning step!
Keep Your Dishwasher Clean
Now that you’ve read this foolproof dishwasher cleaning guide, you know how to keep your dishwasher clean for good. Keeping your dishwasher clean helps it run more effectively and helps your dishes look better. Removing dishwasher residue is crucial for allowing your dishwasher to run optimally. Deep clean your dishwasher every month to keep it running significantly longer.
Consider Town Appliance
If your dishwasher has seen better days, it may be time for a new one. Town Appliance offers a variety of built-in dishwashers on sale to help you get your kitchen back up and running. Shop for a new dishwasher with Town Appliance today!
