It seems a bit odd to think that you need to clean something that’s sole purpose is to clean other things, but the truth is you really do, and what we are talking about here is your dishwasher. This toil-saving machine is so popular that an estimated 45% of Australian homes have one in their kitchen. It’s hard to believe we used to do the washing up by hand!
You would be forgiven for thinking that your dishwasher is also self-cleaning while it does its work, most people do, but unfortunately, that is not the case! Load after load of dirty dishes eventually takes a toll, leaving behind a scummy film made up of tiny bits of food, minerals from your water supply, even undissolved dish detergent, and of course, bacteria. This film builds up on the dishwasher’s interior walls, in the filter, and on the racks. After enough of it collects it can even stop the machine from working properly by clogging up the spray arms!
Worse yet, the scum can leave behind unsightly spots and film on your glassware, dishes, and utensils, and make your dishwasher begin to smell badly. The built-up residue will eventually cause damage to the filter and pump, resulting in you having to make costly repairs!
This can grow into a real mess, so you need to prevent it from happening in the first place! Make a point of frequently running your dishwasher on its cleaning cycle. How often you need to do this depends on how many cycles your household runs on a daily and weekly basis. Here are some general preventative measures to help keep your dishwasher clean:
- Clean out the filter well and the bottom of the dishwasher to remove bits of food every day.
- Remove and clean out the filter, and wipe off the edges of the door and the gasket to remove debris every week.
- Give the interior a deep clean by running a cleaning cycle every month.
- Wipe off any visible drips, spots, and films whenever they become noticeable.
We have focused on the dishwasher’s interior so far, because that’s where the real action is taking place, but we should also take a minute to make sure the exterior is clean as well. Most dishwashers have a stainless steel finish that oily fingerprints tend to show on, giving your dishwasher a dirty, grimy appearance that can drag down your entire otherwise tidy kitchen.
Some dishwashers feature a fingerprint-resistant finish, but not all of them, so you should periodically check on how things are looking. If you can see messy marks then it’s time to polish your dishwasher’s exterior! It’s important to use cleaning products specially formulated for stainless steel finishes, and never use abrasive pads and cleaners that can mar the exterior with unsightly scratches. Another good trick is to wipe in the direction of the metal’s grain to avoid streaks.
If you follow these basic cleaning tips regularly your dishwasher will be able to do a proper job on your dirty dishes because it will be just as clean and sparkly as they are!