How To Maintain A Dishwasher

Dishwashers are a great invention. What did we do before we had them? Anyway while Dishwashers are great they do require cleaning and maintenance. Now it's not that hard to keep your dishwasher in tip top shade. This hub has some tips for cleaning and maintaining your dishwasher.

1. Use your dishwasher regularly. It will help to prevent food and other debris from building up in there, reducing the need to clean it.

2. Run the dishwasher or wait until just after you've run it, then empty the dishwasher completely. Do the other steps with the dishwasher empty.

3. Check all the spinning arms. Look to make sure all the holes are open so that water can run through them freely. The hole in this photo has accumulated some debris.

4. Clear any debris out of the holes in spinning arms. Use fine pointed or needle-nose pliers if you have some. Otherwise, try a toothpick or something similar. Take care not to scratch anything if you're using a tool with a metal point.

5. Wipe around the edges of the door and around the gasket. This space doesn't get washed during the dishwasher cycle. Use a damp cloth and, if you like, a bit of mild spray cleaner. An old toothbrush or other soft, household brush can help get into corners and up under the gasket.

6. Clean under the bottom of the door. In some dishwashers, this is a dead spot where water doesn't go, so it can accumulate debris. Wipe this off.

7. Inspect the bottom of your dishwasher around the drain. There will be a grate or grill around it, under the arm. This is where wastewater goes. Look for debris clogging up this area. You shouldn't have to clean this often if you're careful about what you put in your dishwasher, but you should remove any solid matter that builds up, especially bits of paper, shards of broken dishes, gravel, etc. You may be able to pick up solid objects accumulated on the outside by hand. If you think stuff has gotten down inside, you'll have to do some simple disassembly to get at it.

8. Remove hard water deposits or scale, if needed. Run one cycle of your dishwasher empty, with a mild, food acid of your choice. Do this after you've done the other cleaning steps here, so that it will also take care of anything your cleaning missed or knocked loose. A "light" or short cycle is usually sufficient. Place powders into the detergent cup. Place liquids in a right-side-up cup or bowl in the top rack.

9. Remove mildew or mold with bleach. Run a separate cycle from any acid cleaners you have used and never mix bleach with other cleaners or with dishwasher detergent.

10. Tackle rust stains. Use a dishwasher-safe rust remover for the stains themselves, but ask how they got there in the first place.

11. Spray the front of your dishwasher with a mild spray cleaner of your choice and wipe it with a sponge or soft cloth. Pay particular attention to the controls and the handle. Also, don't miss the little ledge between panels. It tends to collect dirt.

12. Refill your dishwasher's rinse aid dispenser about once per month. Rinse aid helps to prevent spots on your dishes. Unscrew the round knob in the dishwasher door and pour in rinse aid according to package directions or your dishwasher's manual.

13. Clean the flatware basket with a brush if there is any accumulated debris. Liquid dish soap will help.