How to Maintain Your Dishwasher

What good is buying a high-spec, quality dishwasher if you’re not going to take good care of it? Consider the workload our dishwashers undertake on an almost daily basis. A bit of maintenance is necessary to make sure it’s operating to its full potential.

Every few months, you’re going to want to give your dishwasher a hands-on clean. It’s a really easy process that shouldn’t take more than 25 minutes max.  

You will need:

• Sponge or cloth
• Vinegar
• Bleach
• Pipe cleaners or any viable substitutes

Consult the manual of your dishwasher before getting stuck in for any specific and important instructions for cleaning your dishwasher. If you can’t find your manual, you should be able to find an online version to consult. Also make sure that it has been turned off at the wall to do a full clean.

How Do You Clean A Dishwasher?

Cleaning your dishwasher will help make sure it’s working to its full capabilities and will improve its lifespan. You’ll want to do this every few months and here’s how you do it:

Unclog Your Sprayer Nozzles

• Remove any racks and parts to access your sprayer arm.
• Leave these to soak whilst you clean your dishwasher, if possible.
• Grab your toothpick, pipe cleaner, whatever you’re using and take it to the nozzles of the sprayer arm.
• Dig around and remove any debris from the nozzles. This will improve the spray and in turn, the performance of the part, leading to a more thorough clean for your dishes.

Clear the Drain

At the bottom of the dishwasher is the drain. Consult your manual to see how best to access the drain, some will require screws to be removed momentarily, others are more easily accessed.

Get rid of any food, gunk, mess etc. from around the drain. This should eliminate any funky smells that are arising, and alleviate the pressure on the pumps, which helps with the lifespan.

Remove Soap Scum and Other Stains

Your dishwasher will naturally accrue some soap scum, mildew, mould and other stains. Get rid of these to make sure your dishes are being washed in a clean dishwasher and to improve the performance and life of the unit.

Soap scum is easily tackled:

• Get a plastic cup and fill it with vinegar.
• Put this on the top rack of your dishwasher and turn it on for a normal cycle.
• The vinegar should then mix with warm water to remove scum throughout.

If you find rust stains, then you can buy specific rust removers for your dishwasher. However, if you find rust stains, this means that there is a problem with either the dishwasher or the water running through it. You may want to contact a professional, or invest in some iron filters or water softeners.

Use bleach to attack any mildew or mould stains from inside and around the dishwasher. These are often found building up in the small gaps between the housing unit of the dishwasher and the appliance itself.  

How Do I Maintain My Dishwasher?

How can you make your dishwasher run better? Here are some of our tips on how to keep your dishwasher in good health so you can get the results you want.

• Make sure you’re using the correct programme – Use the light setting if you have a light load (if you must), use the correct, intended settings for a full load. These programmes are different for a reason, and they’re there for a reason. Use them to your advantage.
• Heat up your water – Before you start a dishwasher cycle, run your tap on hot. This will send hot water into the dishwasher on the first attempt, rather than waste time and energy on heating the water.
• Don’t overload – We get it, you’ve nearly fit your entire load into the dishwasher. Just. one. more. plate. As tempting as this is, try to avoid overloading at all times. This may not clean your dishes to a good standard and you might end up having to rewash them.
• Dump food before loading up – Make sure you’ve scraped off any food off of your plate before loading up. This will make sure you don’t have to clean out your dishwasher every week as opposed to every few months. Leaving food or anything on your plate will contribute to build-up of debris and affect performance.
• Only use the dishwasher when full – It is really tempting to just use the dishwasher for even the smallest loads. It’s why you bought the thing, right? So you don’t have to scrub dishes, no matter how many there are. If you have to wash a small load, it may be best to do it by hand or just ensure you use a complementary setting. Otherwise, try to only use your dishwasher when it’s full. This is good for your bills, the environment and for the lifespan of the unit.

For our full range of dishwashers, head to our dedicated section. Choose from integrated, semi-integrated or freestanding models from a number of top, market-leading brands. We also have a gorgeous collection of Fisher & Paykel Dishdrawers for a unique dish washing solution that is as much a cool design feature as it is a functional dishwasher. Please get in touch if you have any queries and enjoy our free delivery which is available when you buy today!