Cleaning your dishwasher is an important job that’s often overlooked. Here’s how I clean our dishwasher and keep it like new!
Dishwashers are truly remarkable inventions! I am so grateful to have one. They take care of the dirty dishes, saving you valuable time and sparing you from the chore of standing over a kitchen sink, especially after preparing a big meal with an abundance of dishes, glasses, and utensils. However, over time, the dishwasher itself can accumulate soap scum, grease, and food debris, which might affect its performance. That’s why it is crucial to regularly clean and maintain your dishwasher to ensure optimal functionality and achieve spotlessly clean dishes every time.
Cleaning Kit
- Cleaning cloths
- Kat’s cleaning spray, multipurpose cleaner, or Reusable Wipes
- Mini cleaning brush
- Kat’s sparkle spray or stainless-steel cleaner
- Dishwashing liquid
- White vinegar
- Bicarb soda
- Paper towel
- Olive oil
Steps to clean the Dishwasher
All these step and DIY recipes can be found in my book, The Clean Home.
QUICK CLEAN
- Clean door seals. To keep your doors looking pristine, start by giving door seals, rim buttons, and handles a thorough cleaning. Simply spray them with a cleaning spray and wipe away any dirt or grime using a cloth or wipes. For stubborn stains, use a mini brush to help remove them effectively. Once the surfaces are clean, give them an extra shine by polishing them with Kat’s Sparkle Spray or a stainless-steel cleaner. This will not only remove fingerprints but also leave your doors looking sparkling clean.
- Clean filter. Start by filling up your kitchen sink with warm, soapy water. Next, remove the filter and give it a thorough rinse under hot water to remove any built-up gunk. Place it in the sink, use a mini brush to gently remove any trapped particles from both the mesh screen and plastic frame. Rinse the filter once again to ensure all debris is removed. Finally, securely place the clean filter back into the dishwasher, making sure it is locked in place.
- Remove any food caught in the cutlery basket/tray.
DEEP CLEAN
This simple routine will leave your dishwasher clean and smelling fresh.
- Clean the dishwasher following the previous steps.
- To effectively clean your dishwasher and eliminate grease and limescale buildup, place a jug filled with 1 cup of vinegar on the top rack. This will allow the vinegar to work its magic on both the machine and the pipes.
- To freshen up the dishwasher’s smell, sprinkle 1 cup of bicarbonate soda on the bottom of the dishwasher.
- Set your dishwasher to the economy setting with the hottest temperature and run a complete cycle.
- Once the cycle is finished, use a cloth to wipe away any remaining gunk from the interior.
- Wipe down the outside of your dishwasher and any surrounding cupboards or walls that may have splatters from dirty dishes.
- For stainless steel dishwashers, you can easily polish the surface by using a paper towel with a small amount of olive oil. Simply wipe in the direction of the grain, adding more oil to the towel as needed. This will help to restore the shine and remove any fingerprints or smudges, leaving your dishwasher looking sleek and clean.
Kat’s Tip:
To ensure the effectiveness of using vinegar in your dishwasher, I recommended not to pour it directly into the bottom. This is because many dishwashers run their drain pump at the beginning of each cycle to clear any leftover waste water from the previous load. As a result, pouring vinegar into the bottom would cause it to be drained away before it can properly clean and remove buildup.
I put my bicarb in a stainless steel shaker, it’s so much easier to use removing all the lumps to prevent waste.
Alternatively, if you don’t love the idea of using bicarb and vinegar, you could use this readymade Vamoosh dishwasher cleaner.
How often?
Weekly – quick clean
Monthly – deep clean
Maintaining and cleaning your dishwasher regularly is of utmost importance for its performance and to ensure sparkling clean dishes. Following my steps, you can easily tackle grease and food debris that may accumulate over time. Not only does a clean dishwasher enhance hygiene, but it also prolongs the appliance’s lifespan, saving you from costly repairs or replacements.
23 comments
Thank you for this! I’ve never known the best way to clean the dishwasher and I certainly didn’t want to pay asking price for the commerical cleaners to do the job. Looking forward to giving your method a go 🙂
Ooh yeah! That gunk under the door… Get rid of that!!!
My parents lived out in the country where they had minerals in the water. They would put a cup of vinegar in the rinse cycle with every load. The dishes came out spotless and the dishwasher never had any build up. This works like a charm!
is this the same for 2 drawer dishwashers
Yes it is the same for 2 draw dishwashers. U can actually pull them further apart and clean even more parts just remember how you got it apart so u can get it back together.
Don’t forget to pull out the filter from the bottom, it gets all covered in gunk, if you don’t clean it regularly, you’re dishes won’t wash properly
Is the vinegar in the bowl meant to all spill out during the wash cycle, or just some spill out and more water collect in the bowl?
I wondered the same thing. I can’t see how it would but surely that is how it cleans the inside. I’m not sure but hopefully someone can shed some light
run a load of citric acid instead of powder in an empty wash with vinegar as the rinse
Don’t forget to remove and clean the filter. Then remove the spray arms and clear any foreign bits that block the spray nozzles.
Great tip thanks
How often do you recommend cleaning your dishwasher?
Hi Alison,Ooh i usually try to clean mine every few weeks.
Cleaning the filter is the nastiest thing ever. Needs to be done though.
It is isn’t it Christy, i’m always glad once i’ve done.:)
Thankyou so much for this dishwasher tip! For years I have done this by hand, dismantling and scrubbing etc (a very messy job) because I have found none of the commercial cleaners have worked.
Finally I used the jug of vinegar on the heavy duty setting and to my amazement, all clean! The filter basket was full of the gunk that collects under the cover of the pump etc and the spray arm was completely clean! and so much cheaper and healthier than the chemicals listed in the commercial dish washer cleaners!
Vinegar is amazing Val, I am so glad that you have seen how well it works 🙂
Hi Kat, I had cleaned my dishwasher a couple of times now using this method. I found at the end that the jug with vinegar is still sitting on the top shelf full. Is it supposed to empty throughout the cycle?
The dishwasher you are dealing with also requires cleaning very much. It is quite essential that you maintain the dishwasher so that it can work for longer life span. Thanks for sharing these wonderful tips. This will surely help a lot of people to understand. Keep up the good work!
Benchtop dishwasher afterpay
Clean your dishwasher with vinegar and baking soda once a month to keep it working well.
Isn’t it amazing what these basic home ingredients are capable of?! Kat x
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