7 Things You Need to Know About How to Clean and Operate a Dishwasher
I would like to thank Josephine Cochrane of Illinois. I’d like to, but I can’t. She’s been dead for more than a century. But if I could I’d thank her for inventing the dishwasher. Personally, I’d give up just about anything but my dishwasher.
I’ll admit to being a stickler when it comes to properly washed dishes, glassware, and utensils. If they come out spotted, gritty, or cloudy I’m not happy. And if that happens, I know how to clean a dishwasher to get it back up to its tip-top operation.
If your dishwasher is not turning out beautifully clean, cloudless, spot-free, sparkling dishes, pots, glassware, and flatware—without handwashing them first—don’t assume the dishwasher is broken. If it runs, you can make sure it runs well by knowing how to clean a dishwasher. And you can stop that pre-washing.
Years ago before we remodeled and sold our home in California, I’d lived with a low-end, plain-wrap, well-used, 18-year old dishwasher. All was well until I began noticing that dishes came out feeling gritty, glasses were streaked and cloudy, food remained stuck to flatware. Ugh. It was really bad. I assumed my Tappan had lived out its useful life and deserved to be put down.
Not feeling up to a kitchen remodel right then (you know how that goes—new dishwasher cries for new cabinets and that means new countertops which leads to new flooring), I set out to find a solution. I learned the problem wasn’t the dishwasher so much as the owner-operator.
At a total cost of about nine bucks and a crash course in how to clean a dishwasher and keep it clean, I had good ol’ Tappan working like new in no time. And I didn’t resort to pre-rinsing. I still refuse to pre-rinse.
De-grunge
Just like a car, a dishwasher needs routine maintenance. You need to get rid of limescale, soap scum, iron, and grease that builds up inside every dishwasher. You may be able to see stains and other crud, but much of this is hidden in the hoses and other out-of-sight places.
One of the best ways to clean a dishwasher is with a monthly “acid bath.” You can do this with unsweetened lemonade Kool-Aid, Tang powdered drink mix, citric acid or commercial products— Glisten Dishwasher Magic and Affresh, both of which contain citric acid.
Glisten and Affresh safely and effectively remove limescale, iron, soap scum, grease, and food stains that build up inside the dishwasher. Unlike the drink powders, Dishwasher Magic also kills 99.9% of germs and extends the life of your dishwasher while improving its cleaning performance.
If you use the drink powders, fill both detergent cups with Tang, or pour one package of the lemonade powder into each cup. Or 2 tablespoons citric acid into the detergent cup. Run the empty dishwasher through a complete cycle. If you opt for Dishwasher Magic or Affresh, follow the package directions.
I credit Glisten Dishwasher Magic with getting another six years of service out of that venerable Tappan dishwasher.
Water temperature
To effectively clean dirty dishes, a dishwasher needs 140 F. water. And it must enter the dishwasher that hot. If you raise your water heater temperature, beware of the hotter water’s potential for scalding at sinks, showers, bathtubs and in your washing machine. (You can get scald protection devices for children’s sinks and tubs.) The single most important factor in getting good results is hot water. Water should enter the dishwasher at 140 F*. If your newer dishwasher may have its own in-line water heater. Check your manual.
Pro Tip
Water in excess of 120 F. can cause scalding in children and elderly adults. If your dishwasher does not have its own heating device, take proper precautions by installing anti-scald devices or consider installing an in-line water heater for the dishwasher.
Detergent
It’s challenging to beat the Cascade lineup of powdered products, but Costco and Walmart store brands come pretty darn close. Gel detergents of any brand, however, are troublesome. They create more problems than they resolve.
Gel contains chlorine bleach, never fully rinses off the interior tub, clogs the detergent dispenser, doesn’t work well in hard water, and leaves spots—in my opinion.
I recommend that you stick with fresh powdered automatic dishwasher detergent, like Cascade Complete. Just keep in mind that it loses its ability to clean properly when exposed to humidity and air. Unless you are a heavy user, don’t opt for the largest box of detergent; never store it under the sink, which is likely the most humid spot in the house.
Load properly
If you don’t have your owner manual, go online to get a copy. Do an online search for your particular machine or go to a site like Kitchen Manuals Online. Look at the diagrams. There is a proper way to load a dishwasher. Failure to load correctly will return disappointing results. Once loaded, make sure all the moving parts can move. The spray arm should spin freely without hitting anything.
Do not rinse
Scrape food to remove all the chunks, but don’t pre-rinse items for the dishwasher. Automatic dishwasher detergent is highly alkaline and needs the acidity of the food to reach optimum cleaning action. Besides, rinsing wastes time, energy and water.
Rinse agent
A rinse additive like Finish Jet-Dry improves the sheeting action of water and leaves dishes sparkling clean, but it can be pricey. Hint: White vinegar is a reasonable substitute. Fill your rinse additive dispenser with straight white vinegar. Occasionally toss in a cup of white vinegar to the last rinse.
Save water
It takes between 6-10 gallons of water to run your dishwasher compared to 9-24 gallons you would consume doing them by hand. So give yourself a break and let your dishwasher do the job Josephine intended for it to do.
First published: 4-24-17; Revised & Updated 1-19-23
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Any suggestions on how to proceed with attempting to use a dishwasher that has not been used in more than 10 years? I would just use it (start and let it go) but don’t want to risk flooding the place and would rather not call a plumber. Thank you.
Replace all visible hoses!
What is your opinion about Cascade Platinum pods? I’ve been using them for several years along with powdered Lemi-Shine and get great results. Lemi-Shine also makes cleaners for the dishwasher, washing machine & garbage disposal. Please give us your thoughts….
Both are excellent
I agree with all the recommendations – especially cleaning the filter and trap. The first time I used my new dishwasher I was flabbergasted that a regular wash would take well over 2 hours. I normally start a run when I go to bed, so the amount of time wouldn’t matter, but when i ran it after a batch of baking or making jam, and wanted to get everything done and put away it was a bother. I played with various settings and found putting it on the Turbo cycle, and turning off the extra dry setting, gave me a wash and dry in 59 minutes. Ideal! The only downside is that plastic might still be wet, but I set them out on a towel and give them a wipe down. Doing this with my dishwasher was perfect. It also got me to take a look at my washing machine and begin using the Speed Wash cycle on it. Two time saving winners.
Can I use powdered citric acid that I use in canning? If so, would a tablespoon be sufficient?
Thank you so much for helping us to save money, resources, and the environment!
Yes … citric acid has many uses, and preserving food is one of them. Two tablespoons of citric acid in the detergent cup will do a great job of cleaning your dishwasher.
Any suggestions for dealing with VERY hard water? We have a sand well and learning to use this nice dishwasher is a challenge. Things are often coming out covered in a thin white coating, especially dark items or rubber items like my blender edges.
Do I use it with dirty dishes in the dishwasher and run it? Or empty?
You also need to clean the filters under the main bottom blade. Go to YouTube to find a video on how to do this for your particular model. The main trap was filled with gunk, so when I tried the steps above, my dishes still were not getting clean. I also was surprised to see most of the little holes in the spinning arms were also blocked, and I used a turkey skewer to pull out the blockages.
Two more suggestions. If buying a new dishwasher, choose one with a filter that’s easy to remove and rinse. Rinse filter once a month or so. Also, on my dishwasher I discovered there is a strip of the bottom of the dishwasher, where the door folds up into the machine, which becomes soiled and isn’t cleaned during the dishwashing process. At least once a month I take a damp paper towel and wipe the bottom front inner edge of the dishwasher (just inside the door.) I discovered this when the dishwasher had a bad odor that didn’t go away after using Afresh.
Mary, thanks for the great info on how to better use and maintain household appliances! I meant to wish you a birthday greeting yesterday and forgot to follow through- sometimes multi tasking is overrated! 🙂 I appreciate all of the work, research, and effort you put into EC!
How timely! I just purchased a dishwasher from a friend who is remodeling her kitchen, it works fine but not “like new”. I’m going to get lemonade on my way home! I suspect it will smell wonderful in addition to cleaning.
thank you!