Dishwasher care tips

Over the past decade, in numerous countries, sales of dishwashers have soared. For example, in the USA 68% of households now have one and, in the UK, nearly 50% of homeowners use one. They are a great time saver.

But you do have to look after these appliances. If you want to know what the best way to clean your dishwasher is and how to get your dishes shiny clean without spending a lot on electricity, just read on.

Clean your dishwasher regularly

An awful lot of people rarely, if ever, clean their dishwasher. This is a mistake. Food debris, mold, and bacteria do build up in them. Especially if, like most people, you only run your dishwasher once or twice a week. The dirty dishes sit there allowing germs to multiply. Luckily, the hot water and detergent kill most of them during the washing process. But if you leave your cleaned dishes in the dishwasher too long the germs multiply again and will contaminate them. Cleaning your dishwasher once a month reduces that risk.

Use the right products

Fortunately, cleaning a dishwasher is not difficult or time-consuming provided you use the right products. White vinegar is especially good for the task because it breaks down mineral deposits and kills most fungi and bacteria. You can find out how to make up the solution by clicking here. Then, all you need to do is to put it in your empty dishwasher and run it through a hot cycle.

Detail clean your dishwasher every few months

Every couple of months, lift the filter out, soak it in a soap solution, then rinse it under extremely hot water. If needed, gently scrub it to get rid of any debris that is stuck in the little holes.

Take the spinning arms out and run water through them. This will dislodge any little bits of food that may have made their way into them.

Don´t overstack your dishwasher

It is far better to run your dishwasher one or two extra times per month than it is to stack it out as much as possible and only run it when you absolutely have to. Running it when it is so full that you can barely get it closed makes it far more likely that the spinning water jet blades will catch on something and break. Plus, it is far harder for the water and detergent to properly reach every item in the dishwasher.

Don´t worry about pre-rinsing

A lot of people assume that pre-rinsing their dishes before loading them into the dishwasher is a good idea. Understandably, they assume that there will be less food debris in the machine, which means that it stays cleaner and that there is less risk of a blockage. In reality, numerous studies have found that this is not the case. Click here to find out why.

If, like most people, you tend to let these sorts of cleaning tasks slip, set up some reminders on your smartphone calendar.

 

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