Clean the inside of your dishwasher to keep it running longer!!
In my previous life as a deli worker, I washed a lot of dishes. Needless to say, I don’t like washing dishes 😉 When we purchased our home in 2005, the first appliance we bought was a dishwasher. I clean the inside of it which has been the key to keeping our dishwasher running so long.
The dishwasher works by spraying the bits of food off the dirty dishes. Small particles go down the drain while the chopper and filter break down bigger pieces. Cleaning the inside of the dishwasher ensures the parts do not get clogged and broken by any food debris.
How to Clean the Inside of Your Dishwasher
Cleaning your dishwasher is super easy and doesn’t use any harsh chemicals. In fact, I bet everything you need to clean it you already have on-hand at home. Let me show you how I did it!
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Step One
First, I emptied the dishwasher. Next, I poured a cup of vinegar into a heat safe measuring cup and placed on the top basket. Then I ran it through a normal cycle.
While the vinegar cycle was running, I cleaned the outside, which I must say was in desperate need of a cleaning. Yuck!!
I use 409 for cleaning surfaces in my house. It is a bit harsher but I find it to be very effective. On the day I was cleaning I ran out of 409. I used a mixture of vinegar, borax, dish soap, and hot water. This cleaning solution did the trick! Look at what a difference it made. So clean and sparkly!
Step Two
Step two is the baking soda wash. After the vinegar rinse, I took out the measuring cup. Then I sprinkled about 1/2 cup of baking soda onto the bottom of your dishwasher. You can use up to a cup depending on how dirty it is. Put the baking soda right on top of any piece of equipment on the bottom (ours has the spray arm on the bottom). Then I ran another regular, empty cycle.
After the second cycle, I wipe down the inside. I use hot, hot water from the hose in my kitchen sink to rinse it out, wipe it down, and thoroughly clean it. Some surfaces don’t get completely cleaned and need some extra attention. The hinge joint of the door is one of those places so I cleaned it up with some of the cleaning solution.
As a housewife, I have to clean a lot of things: the floors, the laundry, the children! Appliances take the back burner. Cleaning the dishwasher is an easy, two-step process. It leaves it sparkling clean and takes less than 30 minutes of hands-on cleaning. Your dishes will be cleaner and the dishwasher will run better.
Seriously did not know this… And DEPERATELY need to try this today!! It’s so awful…. Thanks my dear!
Anytime dear! I hope it works for ya 🙂
This is such a smart way to clean the dishwasher! We are doing some spring cleaning here in Tucson and will have to add this to the list. We are doing some professional carpet cleaning too. Thanks so much for sharing!