Keep your house in tip-top shape.
Last week I shared on Instagram and Facebook that I was cleaning my dishwasher.
Seems cleaning a dishwasher peeks a lot of interest! lol
The days are finally getting longer, the sun is warm and the trees are filled with chirping birds. Signs of Spring always get me in a mood to do some Spring cleaning!
To get YOU in the mood for spring cleaning, I’ve teamed up with 9 other bloggers for a Spring Cleaning Challenge later this month and there are some pretty amazing prizes that are sure to motivate you and get that elbow grease going! {Hint: new GE Washer & Dryer} Don’t miss the end of this post to get all the details!
Cleaning Dishwasher with Vinegar:
It might sound odd to “clean the dishwasher”. After all, you are using it to clean dishes, so you would think the dishwasher would say clean as well, right? Wrong! You need to clean your dishwasher periodically to keep it running efficiently and smelling fresh!
What I do is pretty simple. The directions might look involved, but really, it’s very easy.
What you need to clean a dishwasher:
Distilled White Vinegar
Baking Soda
Old soft toothbrush, q-tips, toothpicks
Soft cloth
Paper towels
Steps to clean a dishwasher:
- Start with an empty dishwasher.
- Fill one side of kitchen sink with distilled white vinegar water (I just dump, but I would say 1-2 cups of vinegar with a half full sink of water)
- Remove the utensil holders and racks. Wipe them down checking for stuck-on food bits and debris in the bottom of washer.
- Remove and disassemble the arm and grate and filter, if you have one, from the floor of the dishwasher (I remove all parts that I can remove by hand). Place in sink to wipe down with damp rag and vinegar water. Make sure the holes that spray the water out on the blades are clear of tiny bits of food, you can use a toothpick to clear them if necessary.
- Using paper towels, remove debris and food gunk (I’ve even found hair??) .
- Use a damp rag that’s been wet with vinegar water to wipe down inside and edges of door, use a toothbrush or q-tip to get in tiny places. *if you are having trouble removing some gunk, try using a soft toothbrush and a baking soda paste.
- Reassemble and replace all parts.
- Clean garbage disposal. Click here to read how I clean my drains with vinegar and baking soda. Then run the garbage disposal and dump a cup of ice cubes down while it’s running, to help remove any debris in the garbage disposal.
- Add 2 cups of white vinegar to the bottom of the dishwasher and turn it on to Energy or Low Wash. Stop the machine in mid-wash, so the vinegar can set on the bottom and work. Let it stand for about 20 minutes, then turn on to finish cycle. (sometimes I will let it sit over night, and turn it back on to finish when I get up)
- When done, wipe out the inside with dry paper towels.
- Don’t forget to wipe down the outside while you’re at it. Depending on the type of dishwasher you have, spray the front of your dishwasher with a mild spray cleaner or stainless steel cleaner.
- step back and enjoy your clean dishwasher!
I’ve heard you can clean your dishwasher with a packet of Lemonade Kool-Aid . I have not tried this, but would love to hear if anyone has.
Since we have hard water, I use Lemi-Shine in most cycles to help cut down on hard water build up on my dishes and my machine.
As far as detergent goes, I usually buy what ever is on sale or what I have a coupon for, although I’ve heard Finish is supposed to be the best. What dish washing detergent do you use?
I put the instructions on how to clean a dishwasher into a free printable for you. Just click the picture then use your browser print option to print.
I’ve teamed up with some wonderful bloggers who are ready to motivate and inspire you for a little Spring Clean Challenge! On the first day of Spring, March 20, we’ll each tackle one area of the home and share insights and tips . Then we’ll open up a combined linky so you can link up your own Spring Cleaning efforts posted on your blog. If you don’t have a blog, don’t worry…you can still participate by linking up a photo album housed on Google+, Flicker, etc.
Need a little motivation to get going? Check out these incredible prizes up for grabs!
i Dream of Clean : Facebook : Pinterest : Twitter
Amy’s Finer Things : Facebook : Pinterest : Twitter
Home-EC 101 : Facebook : Twitter
Tidy Mom : Facebook : Pinterest : Twitter
Untrained Housewife : Facebook : Twitter
Live Renewed : Facebook : Pinterest : Twitter
Biblical Homemaking : Facebook : Pinterest : Twitter
Living Well Spending Less : Facebook : Pinterest : Twitter
The Greenbacks Gal : Facebook : Pinterest : Twitter
Warrior Mama : Facebook : Twitter
TODAY:
- Start thinking about your Spring Cleaning plan of attack……and dream about having one of those incredible prizes in your home
TUESDAY, MARCH 20:
- Check back with each of the host bloggers to read their tips for Spring Cleaning.
- Linky will open so get your blog post (or online photo album) ready. For two weeks we’ll share, learn, and clean!
THURSDAY, APRIL 5:
- Challenge will end and winners will be notified and announced by the end of April
Feel free to grab either of these buttons to use on your own blog!
We would love for you to tweet about your progress, use the hashtag #SpringCleaning12 so we can all follow along and encourager one another.
If you’d like to help spread the word, feel free to tweet : I’m joining the #SpringCleaning12 Challenge w/ @TidyMom and hope to #win washer/dryer from @GE_Appliances http://bit.ly/SCC2012
What area of you house are you going to tackle?
About TidyMom
Thank you so much for posting this article! My dishwasher lately has not been getting my top rack of dishes clean, I used your tips on cleaning the dishwasher, I wasn’t able to take the spray arms out as mine are bolted in (too lazy to go find a wrench) I sat on the floor with a opened up paper clip and couldn’t believe the gunk that came out of the little holes on the arms YUCK. I use vinegar to clean most of my house but never thought to use it in the dishwasher! I have it on speed cycle right now can’t wait to see how much better it will clean now. Sorry I missed the entry to win the washer and dryer, both my washer and dryer are 15+ yrs old the washing machine gets rust on my clothes and the dryer you have to use two dry cycles to get anything dry grrr! Oh well I’m just glad I found your article! Thanks again!
An owner of an appliance business told me to run the dishwasher without dishes periodically, and look inside during wash at all the soap that appears. It is amazing how much residual soap there is. He also recommended using less liq soap than manufacturers recommend.
we used to use the finish liquid tabs until i noticed it started giving the silver parts (inside door, etc) of my dishwasher a blue hue to them. almost like iridescent. I’m excited to find this article in hopes that it will get rid of the hue! Thanks!!
Hi Cheryl,
Great article! I heard that half a lemon in a dishwasher can give it a clean and fresh smell, is this true?
We had an incident with a smelly cup that needed blitzing in our dishwasher and it has left a bit of a nasty smell.
Many thanks,
Beth and Andy
My helpful 10 yr old son ran the dishwasher for me and absentmindedly and innocently used dishwashing liquid instead of dishwasher detergent. Yes, we had suds billowing out of the machine. I quickly Googled how to remedy this and discovered that a capful of liquid fabric softener will do the trick. And, sure enough it did. What I also discovered was that my dishwasher smelled terrific for a long while after that! So, now I do that a few times a year just for fun
Thanks for a chance to win such great prizes. I use alot of vinegar also when cleaning my house. I just discovered blue Dawn with vinegar and it works awesome on tub soap scum. I’m definitely add you to my favorites….. thanks, Kristy
i am 85 years old and is difficult to do everything. i can use the white vinegar and brush a little. thanx for your help.
That you so much for this post! I recently moved into a new place and have been looking for a way to clean my dishwasher. Also, the closed soap spot hasn’t been opening lately during the wash. I couldn’t figure out how to get the pieces out of the dishwasher, so I skipped that
That you so much for this post! I recently moved into a new place and have been looking for a way to clean my dishwasher. Also, the closed soap spot hasn’t been opening lately during the wash. I couldn’t figure out how to get the pieces out of the dishwasher, so I skipped that part. But while the vinegar water was sitting in the bottom of the washer I scrubbed around with a toothbrush. And oh my gosh, I have never been so disgusted in my life! Food scraped off into the water. Eww. Also, black/ greyish hair looking stuff came off into the water from the thing that opens the closed soap container.. No wonder it didn’t work! This post really helped!