How to Clean a Dishwasher (with Video!)

Is your dishwasher starting to smell or not perform as it once did? A dirty dishwasher is often the culprit, accumulating grease, food particles, and soap scum over time. Don’t worry—our comprehensive guide, complete with an easy-to-follow how-to video just below, will walk you through the steps to keep your appliance sparkling clean and running like new.

Your dishwasher is responsible for washing your dishes and silverware but also needs to be cleaned itself on occasion. Like the other appliances in your kitchen, the dishwasher must be cleaned and maintained to keep it in its best shape. The inside of your dishwasher can accumulate things like grease, food particles, and soap scum. These items can make the dishwasher look bad but will also eventually create a foul odor in the appliance.

The inside of a dishwasher is a moist, warm, dark place; this makes it a spot that easily harbors bacteria. Cleaning your dishwasher from time to time is a must, but the good news is that the process is relatively straightforward.  Taking time at least once a month to clean the appliance will keep your dishwasher running and smelling like new. Follow these five easy steps to make cleaning your dishwasher a breeze.

How Often to Clean Your Dishwasher

As we mentioned, there’s no need to take time every week to clean the dishwasher. Doing it just once a month is going to be more than enough. However, this requires a deep clean and a scrub of the drain trap to be helpful. If you’re using the dishwasher frequently, you can wipe down the controls and panel once a week to knock out fingerprints.

If you have a hard time remembering to clean the dishwasher once a month, consider adding an alert on your smartphone for it. Also, pay close attention to the dishwasher whenever you use it. If it has mold, unsavory odors, or isn’t cleaning as well as it used to, it’s time to put on some rubber gloves and give the machine a good cleaning.

Five Easy Steps for Cleaning Your Dishwasher

In only five steps, you can ensure your dishwasher looks and runs like it did the day you brought it home. We’ll walk you through each of these steps so you can do it yourself. We’ll also delve into your options for cleansers to do the job for you if you prefer to use natural substances. But first, let’s turn our attention to the dishwasher door.

1. Tidy Up the Dishwasher Door Before you start working with the dishwasher interior, you can make the appliance look better quickly by thoroughly cleaning the door. This can be done using a homemade or store-bought dishwasher cleanser like Affresh or you can choose to use a bucket of warm, soapy water. When cleaning the door, it’s essential not to use abrasive scouring pads or harsh cleaners since these things can scratch the dishwasher surface.After you have cleaned the door, take a smooth cloth and wipe it down to remove excess moisture. If there are still smudges and fingerprints present, take a dry cloth and add rubbing alcohol to give the door another pass. Next you will open up the dishwashing machine door to gain access to the sides and top. Take a toothbrush and dip it into heated, soapy water before scrubbing all around the edges of the door. It’s important to really get into the rubber seal’s grooves and additional crevices, as well as those in the hinges. This step may require more intensive scrubbing with an abrasive detergent if there is much buildup. After it’s all clean, use a sponge with hot soapy water to wipe away all the debris. A second sponge can be used to remove the cleaning solution you used.
2. Clean the Dishwasher Tub The next thing you want to do is clean out the dishwasher tub. However, before you get started, take some paper towels and clean out all the debris found in the dishwasher base. In most cases, the majority of this will be located next to the drain. After you remove the debris, turn on the dishwasher and let it run an entire cycle. It should be empty during the process. There are several cleansers you can use for this step. The easiest and most efficient option is using vinegar. All you need to do is place a dishwashing machine-safe cup of white vinegar in the appliance’s top rack. Turn on the hottest possible water to disinfect the dishwasher before running the cycle. When the run is complete, use a dry cloth or paper towels to wipe down the interior of the dishwasher. If you prefer to use something besides vinegar, an unsweetened lemonade blend packet can be placed in the detergent dispenser area. You can also clean out the dishwasher by sprinkling a mug of baking soda in the bottom side of the tub. No matter what method you choose, use the warmest water available. Any of these options will freshen and clean the appliance.
3. Spruce Up Components and Accessories Now that you’ve made it through the first two steps, it’s time to think smaller. All the parts and accessories in the dishwasher need to be cleaned. You can take out items like utensil holders and racks to make this easier. You’ll want to clean off any debris, such as stuck-on food fragments. The spray arm can be scrubbed down using a toothbrush to eliminate any clogs.
4. Get the Dishwasher Filter Shining To clean the dishwasher filter, you need to get access to it. You can do this by pulling the bottom side rack entirely out of the appliance. Most of the time, dishwashers have filters in the bottom rear corner. For those who have removable filters, you can twist it to detach it before you rinse it under hot water to get rid of food and debris. Wipe down out the space under the filter using a damp sponge, cloth, or toothbrush. After everything is clean, you can place the dishwashing machine filter back into the machine. Keep in mind that the filters are going to vary between different models and manufacturers of dishwashers. If you still have a copy of your owner’s instruction manual, it will include directions about how to clean the filter. If you don’t, this informative manual is often located on the manufacturer’s website.
5. Remove Mineral Buildup and Hard Water Deposits Another problem that may or may not be present depending on the quality of your water is the presence of mineral buildup or hard water deposits. If you have some lemon juice (or a lemon) in your refrigerator, you already have the solution ready. Take a mug of lemon juice and place it either in the basket or the top rack of the dishwasher and then run a typical cycle.The acidity of the lemon juice is fantastic for removing iron buildup and hard water spots. Depending on your water supply’s quality, this may need to be repeated regularly to stave off deposits and buildup.

Cleaning Products for Your Dishwasher

At AppliancePartsPros.com we recommend the Affresh Dishwasher Cleaner pack, to keep your dishwasher fresh.  If you don’t have a dishwasher cleaner at your home, there are natural options that you can utilize.

• Baking Soda – One of the most popular natural cleaning options is baking soda. It works to remove the gunk from a variety of appliances and other items. If you choose to use baking soda, drizzle a cup of it on the underside of the dishwashing machine tub before running a full hot washing cycle.
• Rubbing Alcohol – The exterior portion of your dishwasher can be cleaned using rubbing alcohol. Add rubbing alcohol to a microfiber cloth to clean the machine’s handle and door to get rid of fingerprints. Keep in mind that if the dishwasher’s buttons are plastic, acidic cleansers should not be used since it can break down the material.
• White Vinegar – The last natural cleanser for your dishwasher is white vinegar. It can be used to keep the dishwasher tub clean and sparkling. All you need to do is fill a cup with vinegar and put it in the middle of the top rack. Next, run a high heat dishwasher cycle and follow that up by wiping the machine down. You can substitute with lemon juice if you need to remove water spots.

The Best Way to Get Rid of Stubborn Stains and Odors

When you have odors or stains that don’t seem to go away using any of the methods above, there is another option. For extra cleaning power, make a unique mixture of two cups of baking soda and three tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide. Mix this up into a paste before placing a spoonful on parchment paper and letting it dry for several hours.

After these have dried out, all you need to do is add them to the bottom of your dishwasher. You’ll then want to run the empty machine on high heat another time. If you want extra odor-fighting power, you can also add a few drops of essential oil to the substance.

How to Prevent the Dishwasher Sump from Clogging

Assuming you own a modern dishwasher, it’s no longer required to rinse off all of your dishes before you pop them in the machine. In fact, this can actually cause the machine to run less efficiently since it may believe the dishes are clean and sanitized when they aren’t. This can result in a shorter cycle that doesn’t thoroughly clean the dishes inside. However, you can and should continue to remove large food pieces off of the dishes. The reason behind this is because they can easily clog up the machine’s sump.

As far as the sump goes, take a look at it frequently to make sure it isn’t covered in all sorts of food debris. This is what causes an odor that can make the entire kitchen smell terrible. If there is a lot of food stuck down there, the sump needs to be removed and disassembled. After that’s done, a toothbrush or sponge with dish soap can be used to remove mold or stuck food.

Wrapping Up

In order to keep your dishwasher clean and running smoothly, make sure you maintain it at least once a month. Once you get into the habit, you’ll have a dishwasher that always keeps the dishes pristine. It only takes a small amount of time and has a massive impact on your enjoyment of the kitchen. As always, if you have any more questions we are always happy to help at AppliancePartsPros.com.