Cleaning the dishwasher is something you should do on a regular basis. But, if you don’t know how to clean a dishwasher, this post will teach you.
Get more tips from all of our cleaning posts.
Let’s start with this: Cleaning your dishwasher is a thing. It’s something you are supposed to do.
I know, I know. When I found out, it was news to me too.
When we lived in our apartment, I never cleaned our dishwasher. It cleaned our dishes and I assumed that meant it cleaned itself too.
But you know what they say when you assume … you’re usually wrong.
So yes, I was wrong about the dishwasher. It never occurred to me at the apartment, but when we moved into our house, I could see build up on the bottom of the dishwasher like we never saw in the apartment, so I googled and yup, cleaning was needed.
Is needed.
You have to do it regularly.
Sigh. Just one more thing for the to do list, right?
But, actually, cleaning the dishwasher is really easy. It’s three steps. It takes a bit of time (which means you need to hand wash your dishes for a few days), but you only have to do it once every three or so months, so no big deal.
A dishwasher is just one of the things you have to clean in the kitchen, but may not think about cleaning. For other things you might forget, check out our list of Ten Things You Forget To Clean In The Kitchen.
How To Clean A Dishwasher
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It’s three steps. Just three. And you use items that you probably already have in your home. So you have no excuse to not do this right now.
Well, after you read the post.
Remove and clean the filter
Fun fact: There’s a large filter at the bottom of the dishwasher. That filter traps any scraps left behind on your plates so that they don’t float in the water and contaminate your dishes while the dishwasher is running.
But then, those scraps accumulate there, making it hard for water to actually go through the filter. If you don’t clean it, you might actually start to notice sediment buildup in your dishwasher or in your cups and bowls.
So, you want to remove the filter and clean it.
I wash it with dish soap, then rinse it with hot water. This way, I’m sure to clean the outside and inside of the filter. The inside is where the gunk really builds up, so you want to make sure you clean it.
Quick note: If your family has a bad habit of not cleaning off their plates, you might want to clean the filter often, especially if you notice your items aren’t getting clean when you’re running the dishwasher.
Wash with vinegar
Pour one cup of distilled white vinegar into a dishwasher-safe bowl and place that bowl on the top rack of the dishwasher.
You want the bowl facing up.
Run a dishwasher cycle on high temperature and sanitizing wash. Ours will only run these settings on a normal wash, not on a one hour cycle.
Let it sit overnight.
When the dishwasher runs, the water will fill up the bowl, then cause it to overflow. That will cause the vinegar to steam throughout the dishwasher gradually, then spill onto the bottom of the dishwasher, cleaning it two ways.
When the cycle is done, the bowl will still have liquid in it, due to the final rinse, and it may have some sediment in it as well. That’s fine. Just dump that out in your sink.
Wash with baking soda
Sprinkle one cup of baking soda in the bottom of the dishwasher. Make sure to get some onto the dishwasher spray arm.
Don’t worry about rubbing it in or anything like that.
Run the dishwasher again on the same cycle: high temperature, sanitizing wash. Again, let it sit overnight.
That’s it. It’s a lot of waiting, but there’s not really much to it.
Cleaning A Dishwasher: Frequently Asked Questions
So, there’s an all-purpose cleaning vinegar. You don’t want to use that. You want to use distilled white vinegar. This video explains why better than I ever could.
We don’t use dishwasher cleaner. We just use distilled white vinegar and baking soda. But, if you have limescale and mineral buildup in your machine, you may need to use it.
Have you cleaned your dishwasher with this method? Let us know in the comments.
Biplab Chakraborty
Tuesday 12th of December 2023
This post is very informative and helpful. I have been using a dishwasher for about three years But I can't clean it properly, your post is beneficial to me, thanks
Tithi Akter
Tuesday 18th of July 2023
Very Informative and helpful post. I have been using a dishwasher for more than one and a half years. During that time I cleaned it up periodically. But I got confused, did I do the right thing? Your post is helpful to me in resolving the cleaning process. Thanks.