Dishwasher Maintenance / Cleaning

Intro: Dishwasher Maintenance / Cleaning

Though I use my dishwasher only once a week or less, it requires periodic cleaning like everything else.

I do my best to save water so I rarely rinse dishes before I put them in there, can you say 'redundant' ! I just make sure there isn't a bunch of food on the dishes and I pour the coffee and drinks down the kitchen sink drain of course.

I pack it so full and carefully I can sometimes go weeks before running it -

(which means I have a lot of dishes and sometimes use them twice) - it's a bachelors life sometimes around here !

STEP 1: Ugh - What's That Smell ?

Recently I opened my dishwasher to find a hideous odor coming from within -

Truthfully I noticed the smell before coming from the Garbage Disposal the last time I ran the dishwasher but I ignored it - just being lazy I guess.

It was time to investigate so I went in and removed two long screws which held a 'plastic filter' on top of the drain on the back right bottom of the machine - ( one screw is circled in the picture )

I then discovered why water was beginning to pool in the bottom too - YUK ! It was from grease build up over time ( a long long time ) and the grease formed a 'circular dam' around the drain - trust me you don't want pictures of that !! eeeewwww !! I used the usual stuff to clean everything - soap / hot water / vinegar / a little baking soda / your mileage may vary .

I also took out the corner rubber pieces at the bottom of the door - they're removable by just pulling upwards on them ! I also cleaned the underside of the door too. You'll have to stick your whole head in there to see that - it wasn't so nice either !

One other area I noticed that had gotten clogged was the ends of the spinner bar - sunflower seeds ? I wasn't sure how they got in there but that's what was clogging up the end holes....

I removed the 'filter' and cleaned all of that gunk / re-assembled / and ran the dishwasher again with a few minimal dishes just to get it all flushed out - no more water pooling on the bottom afterwards !!

STEP 2: A Note on Performance *

For all of us who don't have the Cadillac of dishwashers - ( meaning a top spinner bar & other stuff ) here's a good tip - if you have a simple dishwasher the inside circle of the bottom spinner contains a 'post' or 'column' which 'pops up' when the water pressure is pushing it during a wash or rinse cycle. Since this is the only way that water can get to the top of the dishes ( glasses ) in the top rack, try this:

'LEAVE THE CENTER AISLE OF THE TOP RACK EMPTY'

you find that you won't have a bunch of particles on top of your glasses anymore, because the rinse water can hit the 'ceiling' of the machine and splash back down to rinse everything correctly - experiment - your mileage may vary.

I know people who have those expensive dishwashers and because of the way they load them ( big bowls face down on the bottom rack !?!? ) they still get terrible results - the racks are usually designed so plates are placed vertically in the lower rack - the bottom spinner shoots them with water and then that same water shoots up to the top rack too ! It gets crazy in there !

If you examine the way your dishwasher's 'piping' runs, you'll probably be able to figure out how to put your dishes in there so the water has a chance to 'go everywhere' and that's what really makes things work in there.

Comments

[Thejesterqueen]

Mine gets gunky too and I use it once or twice a day! (10 people in the house!) I normally just run a cycle with vinegar and baking soda once a week or so to keep things flowing nicely.

[tricky_monkey]

I think we have the same machine. That's the underside, it looked clean inside... Thanks for the reminder.

[martianable]

You got it ! Yuk ! that's exactly the same part - but I'm sure they all get like that - I think the grease & dirt emulsify in the hot water bubbles and all that junk gets stuck under there and well.... yak -

Mine actually started building up a ridge that connected to floor of the machine and it began stopping the water from draining all the way out. Kind of like a volcano sticking out of the sea - but now I know what to look for once in a while -

Thanks for commenting to this -

[DIY Hacks and How Tos]

Great tutorial. Thanks for sharing.

[martianable]

thanks - I appreciate the positive feedback :)