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How to Keep your Dishwasher in Tip-Top Shape
As your dishwasher goes into overdrive, here are a few tricks for getting your plates, glasses and silverware sparkling clean
I live in a loft in Brooklyn, a recent transplant to Greenpoint (love my neighborhood!). I work as a freelance writer, blogger, stylist, gilder, and crafter. I curate a daily personal lifestyle blog called the Haystack Needle (http://www.thehaystackneedleonline.com). I'm also one half of the shop Cabin 7 (http://www.shopcabin7.com) — a collection of gilded objects for the home. I started out in magazines, working in the home department of Real Simple magazine and later worked as the home editor of Redbook. I love to scout cool finds for the home — everything from an amazing loveseat to a green laundry detergent that really works. I'm a new mama to our baby girl, Juniper, who amazes me every day with her curiosity for life and big smiles.
I live in a loft in Brooklyn, a recent transplant to Greenpoint (love my... More »
If your Thanksgiving meal looks anything like my mom's, then your dishwasher goes into overdrive after the feast. So many dishes! It's never fun to open up your dishwasher and find cloudy glasses or still-dirty plates after running a load. Here's how to keep your dishwasher performing at its best.
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| Simply use a dampened cloth to clean the dishwasher door panel. If your dishwasher's interior is plastic, the panel can stain. Here's what to do: Rinse off tomato sauces before loading the dishes into the dishwasher. You want to pre-rinse anything with tomatoes, since tomatoes can cause permanent stains. If you notice a green stain inside your dishwasher, the dye in your detergent is most likely the culprit. Simply switch to a different detergent — consider a dye-free detergent. Calcium and iron buildup can cause brown stains to form. Citric acid can remove these stains. You'll need to empty the dishwasher and run a cycle with the citric acid in the detergent cup. Then run a second empty cycle with detergent. |
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by Home & Harmony
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| Cloudy spots on your glasses may be the result of hard water. You'll know that hard water is the problem if a cloth dampened with vinegar rubs away the cloudy film. To remove the cloudiness, you'll need to run your dishes back through on a normal cycle, adding white vinegar to the final rinse cycle. You'll need a liquid rinse agent to prevent the cloudy filming going forward. Care for your detergent. Both liquid and powder automatic dishwashing detergents work well. If you opt for a powder detergent, make sure you keep your box closed and in a dry place (which is not under your damp kitchen sink, where most of us store our dishwasher detergent.) If your detergent looks caked, it won't dissolve well — so it won't clean as effectively. Don't add more detergent than what's called for on the box — even if your dishes look extra dirty. Too much detergent will leave a residue behind. |
Tips for efficiently loading the dishwasher:
• It's energy-efficient to load your dishwasher as full as possible. But for the best cleaning, you don't want your dishes to touch.
• Delicates go on the top rack and heavy-duty dishes (think pots, plates, utensils) should go on the bottom rack.
• It's best to put cooking utensils on the top rack — rather than the cutlery bin. Make sure the utensils are lying down.
• For the best cleaning, stagger your forks and spoons in the cutlery bin with some handles up and some down – that way they don't nest together. Water can't get in between forks and spoons if they're nested together.
• Look inside your dishwasher to figure out where the water sprayer comes out, and then load accordingly. You want to turn the soiled sides of the items toward the water. It's best not to put super tall items in the dishwasher as they can block the sprayer.
• It's energy-efficient to load your dishwasher as full as possible. But for the best cleaning, you don't want your dishes to touch.
• Delicates go on the top rack and heavy-duty dishes (think pots, plates, utensils) should go on the bottom rack.
• It's best to put cooking utensils on the top rack — rather than the cutlery bin. Make sure the utensils are lying down.
• For the best cleaning, stagger your forks and spoons in the cutlery bin with some handles up and some down – that way they don't nest together. Water can't get in between forks and spoons if they're nested together.
• Look inside your dishwasher to figure out where the water sprayer comes out, and then load accordingly. You want to turn the soiled sides of the items toward the water. It's best not to put super tall items in the dishwasher as they can block the sprayer.
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| Since Thanksgiving is one of the few days of the year when people bring out their silver, here's how to care for yours: • When possible, it's best to hand-wash sterling silver and silver-plate flatware. That being said, silver can go in the dishwasher. If you're going to use the dishwasher for your silver, be sure to avoid putting any stainless steel in the load as well. Why? The metals react to each and can cause permanent damage to the finishes. • Don't run your silver through the dry cycle of the dishwasher. You should dry your silver by hand as the heat of the dishwasher, combined with any detergent residue, can leave your silver discolored. More: How to Care for Your Countertops Brighten Up That Space Under the Sink |
Comments
Rough Linen I had heard that you shouldn't put crystal in the dishwasher - I don't know what it is supposed to do as I have never done it!
18 months ago · Like
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lhaymaninteriors Crystal is expensive and it could be broken by things bumping around in the dishwasher. Also, many dishwashers use high heat, and crystal can crack due to the temperature changes during the cycle.
18 months ago · Like
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Ken Burghardt Excellent, with one omission. Most of the best new dishwashers, such as Miele, use less water. To properly clean the dishes the apertures to spray the water are much smaller to give the water more force. These regularly clog up. You can normally lift the spray arm out of the bottom or top, unscrew the connection and reverse run hot water to clear the holes. This should be done on a regular basis.
18 months ago · Like
Judy I don't put crystal in the dish washer either, nor do I put my pretty wine glasses in the washer as they are so fragile. I don't even put my pots or pans in - that may be getting a little too nutsy though, I realize :)
18 months ago · Like
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mizmarz I put a cup of vinegar into an empty dishwasher and run on hot cycle. I do this once a month. This cleans inner workings and keeps machine working better.
18 months ago · Like
angelica1388 Great post. How do i save this entire post for future reference?
18 months ago · Like
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Sharon Binette I recently purchased the Fisher Paykal drawer dish washer. i got the double drawer and it is perfect. I don't need to pull a door down and pull out a rack to load the dishes. Just pull the drawer out and fill with dishes and silverware.
18 months ago · Like
patscats2 With the new dishwashers, some specify a detergent brand and it's important to follow the manufacturer's instructions to get the best performance. I also do a cleaning with the finish cleaner in mine every 3 months or so. As I do my washing machine. Makes both of them really, really clean and smelling fresh.
18 months ago · Like
AXIS Productions Keep in mind you don't really get what you pay for. When I bought my house, it had a dishwasher that I didn't like the look of, but worked fine. We replaced it with a $1,200 KitchenAide. After years of service calls, adding vinegar, powered Tang drink mix (the citric acid helps, says one repair guy) and running the faucet first for hot water, we just replaced it with a $330 Frigidaire that works awesome.
18 months ago · Like
CAROLE MEYER Great tips! Thanks, Carole
18 months ago · Like
gadjett I have found out that the FINISH tablets that I recently started using will clean the copper bottom of my Revere Ware! May take a few washes - I am so thrilled as I had tried several different scrubbings with little or no success - now they look nice hanging on my pot rack!
16 months ago · Like
dominodmv I thought that real crystal-ware contains lead, and with extreme heat inside a dishwasher, the lead components in the crystal would get too hot and cause the crystal to break. You've heard the term, lead crystal...
15 months ago · Like
Ideabook published on Nov. 24, 2011.
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