Dishwasher Care 101

Your dishwasher takes care of your dirty dishes. But how will you take care of your dishwasher in turn?

Dishwasher care should be part of your routine for it function optimally and keep your plates, glasses, and food containers clean. After all, you can’t expect it to wash itself (though that would be an awesome feature!).

But if you don’t know where to start, read this guide so you’ll get some practical tips on dishwasher care.

Use your dishwasher regularly.

The great thing about basic dishwasher care is that it only requires a thorough cleaning once or twice every month. For most models, running it regularly will already keep debris from building up.

So it’s a good idea to use your dishwasher as much as you can instead of turning it into a neglected feature in your kitchen. This is also a good way to see if all parts are working correctly or if an electrician should take a look at its electrical cord or wiring ASAP.

But if you always have encrusted cheesy leftovers from pizza or your favourite Mexican food takeaway, it’s a good idea to deep clean at least twice a month. That’s something we’ll discuss in the following sections. 

Use eco-friendly cleaning products.

Avoid using the same kind of cleaning products that you usually have for your laundry. Most detergents are abrasive and coarse and could damage parts of your dishwasher.

Luckily, there are mild eco-friendly cleaning solutions for dishwashers now available in the market. You can try making your own cleansers from distilled white vinegar and baking soda, too.

It’s also better to use filtered water for cleaning so you won’t have problems with calcium deposits from hard water when it’s time to rinse your dishwasher parts. 

Pro-tip: you can do this for washable parts of other kitchen appliances like your espresso machine, as well. 

Clean every part of the dishwasher.

For a thorough clean, you’ll need to dismantle all the parts that can be removed from your dishwasher. These include the dish rack, utensil holders, and the bottom spraying arm.

Carefully inspect all parts for grime, grease, and stubborn leftover food bits. Soak them in the same way that you’d put a greasy frying pan for a couple of minutes in a sink with warm water and dishwashing liquid. 

For extra-stubborn scum and trapped food, you can use a clean toothbrush to scrub them out. Then rinse and carefully clean the parts with a microfibre cloth afterwards. 

Wipe down all exterior parts.

It’s not just your dishwasher’s interiors that need maintenance and care. To keep it functioning and looking spiffy even after its warranty expires, make sure to wipe down and clean its exteriors, too.

Grease splatters from your stove and could coat the dishwasher door along with the dust that settles on the surface. This can harbour bacteria or lead to rusty spots.

You won’t even have to call a professional cleaning service for this particular task. Some disinfectant wipes or a microfibre cloth can clean it up in a jiffy with just a few swipes.