How to Clean the Tough Stuff: The Dishwasher

You might be thinking…”Why would anyone need to clean the dishwasher? Doesn’t it get clean when the dishes are washed?”

Well, kind of.

Although dishwasher detergent does run through much of the area, there are still many crevices and corners where food gets stuck and mold can grow. And mold 101 tells us that the best place for mold to grow is in places that are often warm/ and or have moisture, such as the dishwasher.

So–you must be wondering–how do you clean a dishwasher?

Items needed: toothbrush, all-purpose cleaner (preferably one that’s “green”), microfiber cloth, glass/ bowl of warm, soapy water, one cup of white vinegar, one tablespoon of baking soda
-Start with an empty dishwasher. Empty out every dish, spoon, lid, etc.

-Remove both the racks and wash with a basic cleaning agent or warm, soapy water.

-Take the toothbrush and dip in the soapy water. Vigorously clean the seal of the dishwasher (the top part of the lid that prevents water from leaking out.) Make sure there are no huge chunks of food or debris that can be easily removed with your hands before you start to scrub.
-NOTE: If you have a stainless steel appliance, you may want to
read the manufacturer’s instructions on how to clean the
dishwasher before you begin.

-Take your microfiber cloth and wipe down all the grime that you removed with your toothbrush.

-Wash the toothbrush off and begin cleaning the edges and the bottoms of the door. Just be sure to get all the little cracks and crevices.

-After you’ve cleaned the edges and bottoms, clean the spinning arms (the “blades” that spin around to clean the dishes) using the same process.

-After you’ve cleaned the spinning arms, you can now move onto the drain at the bottom of the appliance. First, look for any visible food particles or other debris that may be visible and clean it out. Then, use the same toothbrush/ microfiber cloth process.

-When you’ve finally finished manually scrubbing all the insides, you can put the freshly cleaned dish racks back into the appliance.

-To kill bacteria and remove bad odors coming from your dishwasher, place one dishwasher safe cup full of white vinegar and run the appliance on the hottest setting.

-After you’ve ran the cycle with white vinegar, sprinkle one tablespoon of baking soda in the bottom of the dishwasher and run another cycle on the hottest setting.

-Voila! You have a sparkling clean dishwasher.

Remember that when you run a cycle of dishes to never put in any other soap besides dish washing detergent. Regular hand soaps or dishwashing liquid can foam up too much and you’ll see it flood all over your kitchen floor. If your dishwasher ever floods, remember to call Kiwi services for a flood damage repair.