How to clean your dishwasher

Let’s be honest – the appliances in your kitchen don’t get nearly as much TLC as they deserve. Your dishwasher saves you from the dreaded washing up duties, so we don’t want to take it for granted. But how do you go about cleaning an appliance like a dishwasher?

First things first, gather your equipment. Here’s what we’d recommend having to hand:

• Warm water
• White wine vinegar
• Baking soda
• Toothpicks
• Toothbrush
• Microfibre cloths
• Rubber gloves
  

Step One

You will need to remove the filter, the racks and the utensils holder. To make life easy, have a sink or a bucket filled with warm water and a cup of white wine vinegar and pop these into the water! Leave them to soak for at least half an hour.

Step Two

With the racks out the way, you should have a clear line of sight into the dishwasher. So, you should be able to see any lingering debris (i.e. the pasta you ate 2 weeks ago!) Remove any of this, and wipe down the sides / back of the appliance, and also wipe down the spray arms.

Remember to check in any crevices or small holes for any old food and use your toothpicks / toothbrush to remove!

Step Three

You can buy ‘dishwasher cleaners’ that are expensive – but we recommend simply using white wine vinegar. Fill a dishwasher safe bowl with the substance, place it in the bottom of the empty dishwasher and run the machine on a short cycle.

The vinegar will remove any remaining debris, grime and residue.

Step Four

When that’s finished, run another short cycle but this time with a cup of baking soda in the bowl. The baking soda will remove any stains from the dishwasher and also freshen it up!

Step Five

Now let’s clean the dishwasher door! Use a cleaner that is specifically designed for your dishwasher’s material – i.e. if it’s made from stainless steel, look for a cleaner that is designed for stainless steel. Use this substance along with your microfibre cloth to give the internal and external of the door a good going over.

Maintaining the shine!

Now you’ve done the hardwork, how can you ensure it stays gleaming?! You’ll notice that the machine runs far more efficiently and your dishes come out looking sparkling. So, you want to try and maintain this as long as possible.

As a rule of thumb, you should repeat this cleaning schedule every 6 months. But as soon as you notice your dishes coming out of the wash looking a bit grimy or dull, it’s a sure fire sign that the appliance is in need of some TLC!

Of course… you could jut ask your Well Polished cleaner to do this for you every few months instead?!