Tips

How to Clean a Dishwasher

If you use your dishwasher often, it would eventually become coated with grease and soap residue, and clogged with leftover food.
A dirty dishwasher won’t wash cutlery and crockery well, they won’t sparkle and, most likely, won’t be coming out clean.

We have a few tips to help you maintain the health of your dishwasher daily, so you don’t have to do a deep clean too often.

Scrape the leftovers before loading the dishes, some people even go as far as to rinse the dishes well – this is not a bad idea and will help the dishwasher run even smoother as grease would’ve been removed. Unfortunately, the dishwasher isn’t able to miraculously make the food bits disappear, they need to be cleaned manually – either before loading or after a washing cycle.

Don’t overload the dishwasher. When the dishes and glasses are too tightly packed and on top of one another, the dishwasher is unable to wash them well as water and detergent can’t reach all of the pieces. Better leave a few glasses and a bowl for the next load or wash them manually – it’s easier than having to run a cycle all over again when the dishes come out dirty.

You can help your dishwasher do better by turning on the tap and wait until hot water starts running. This will guarantee that the first cycle of the dishwasher run will be hot, which means that any grease and stuck food particles would be removed easier.

Make sure to run the correct cycle and cleaning detergent, according to what you wash and whether the water in your area is hard or soft – this always makes a difference.

Make a maintenance wash and a deep clean as often as necessary. You can run an empty dishwasher with white vinegar between deep cleanings, if concerned about the cleanliness of your appliance.

A deep clean involves the cleaning of the filter, the inside walls of the dishwasher, dishwasher seals and sprayers.

First, remove the filter and soak in cleaning solution or white vinegar. This should help to easily remove the accumulated dirt. You can use a toothbrush to clean the net-like part better.

Spray a bit of kitchen cleaner on a damp towel, wipe the inside walls to remove food particles and grease.

Using the toothbrush again, and a kitchen detergent, scrub well the door seals – food, grease and dishwasher detergent residue get trapped between the folds and cause the spread of mould.

Clean well the water sprayers, using a toothbrush if necessary.

Replace the clean filter and run an empty dishwasher with cleaning detergent.
You can also choose to use white vinegar for the maintenance wash instead of commercial dishwasher cleaner.

At Repairs4U we are always happy to help our clients, whether with advice or a repair.
We offer same or next day dishwasher repair services in London, provided by competent and friendly certified engineers.
Our dishwasher repairs are guaranteed to last for a year, as we use only genuine spare parts, obtained directly from the manufacturers.

 

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