How to Maintain Your Dishwasher

Whether you’ve just bought a condo or loft with a dishwasher or you’re selling yours, you’ll need to know all about maintenance.

But don’t worry – it’s a lot easier than it seems, and it’ll end up saving you money in the long run because your dishwasher will last longer and keep working just as well.

Your dishwasher has one job: to get your dishes clean. However, it can’t do that if you’re not maintaining it properly.

Follow these three steps to maintain your dishwasher properly:

Clean your dishwasher every 6 months (or more often, if necessary).
Use white vinegar to loosen grime and sanitize.
Use baking soda on the bottom of your dishwasher.

Here’s a closer look at each step, as well as the reasoning behind it.

Step 1: Clean your dishwasher every 6 months (or more often, if necessary).

It’s not a pleasant job, but it has to be done. Every 6 months – or more often, if necessary – you need to clear the drain in your dishwasher. Take out large deposits, including food scraps, that could be blocking the free flow of water from the drain.

Those scraps, if you leave them there, will be circulated through your dishwasher time and time again – every time you use it, they’ll be flopping all around your dishwasher, slamming up against your not-so-clean dishes. The dirty water will stay in there, too, which definitely won’t leave your favorite bowls, plates and silverware sparkling (and can leave major contaminants on them).

Step 2: Use white vinegar to loosen grime and sanitize.

Soap and grime can build up quickly in a dishwasher, and when it does, your dishwasher can’t get your items clean. In fact, your dishwasher has to work harder, too – and that means you’re paying more in energy costs just to run it.

Fill a glass measuring cup with white vinegar and place it on the top rack of the dishwasher. Run the dishwasher through an entire hot water cycle with the vinegar on top. The vinegar will loosen soap scum and grime, as well as sanitize the dishwasher, so it’s ready for Step 3.

Step 3: Use baking soda on the bottom of your dishwasher.

Sprinkle an entire cup of baking soda on the bottom of your dishwasher. Turn on a short cycle (make sure you don’t choose one with a pre-rinse, which will just wash away the baking soda so it won’t do you any good).

Make sure the cycle you choose uses the hottest water possible. The baking soda will scrub away the loosened dirt, grime and grease that the vinegar left behind, and then it’ll all drain away when the cycle is finished.

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