by Product Specialist
While dishwashers are great for cleaning and sanitizing your dishes, the kitchen appliance itself needs to be cleaned every so often. Dirty dishes may expose your dishwasher to grease, food debris and soap scum that tends to accumulate inside the machine.
It is therefore important to know how to clean your dishwasher so you can keep it clean and effective. Follow these quick and easy steps to clean your dishwasher.
Cleaning the Drain
The first step is to clean the dishwasher drain so it maintains a clean flow of water. Remove the dish rack in order to get to the drain, and clean the drain of any food participles and soap scum that may be trapped in there.
Wash with Vinegar
Next, empty the dishwasher and place a cup of vinegar in the container on the upper rack. Run a hot water cycle using the vinegar. This will eliminate grease and grime that may have accumulated in the machine. Vinegar also gets rid of odors, leaving your machine smelling fresh.
Rinse with Baking Soda
Sprinkle a cup of baking soda across the bottom surface of the machine and run a brief hot water cycle. This will get rid of any stains to the walls of the dishwasher and leave it smelling fresh.
Wash with Bleach
If your dishwasher has mold or mildew, washing with bleach can be the solution to this problem. Add a cup of bleach to the bottom of the machine and start a full washing cycle. This will eliminate those tough stains and mold components.