I do a pretty good job keeping up with my schedule in which I deep clean the appliances in my kitchen. Most of us tend to think about the stove and refrigerator. But if you have a dishwasher, this should be added to your list of deep cleaning every three or six months.
Think about it this way. It’s an appliance used every day. It cleans dirty dishes. Still not getting the picture?
That’s probably because you assume since it is an appliance that cleans, it doesn’t require cleaning. Not true.
You might compare it to your teeth. You can brush your teeth and take care of the surface. But if you don’t floss, you are missing the crevices of your mouth where particles of food can buildup.
It is the same thing with your dishwasher. The food builds up in areas of the dishwasher you don’t see. And since the inside of it is moist and hot, odors can easily develop.
I have mentioned before the benefits of cleaning with a toothbrush. This is a great cleaning method for the dishwasher, as well. Dip the toothbrush in hot, sudsy water and look for areas where gunk has formed.
You will usually find this around the hinges of the door and the rubber seal of the dishwasher door. If this is your first time cleaning, you might need to use a commercial cleaner. Soft Scrub is something I highly recommend.
Then you should scrub the inside of the door as well, with a cloth. Again, you can use hot, sudsy water or a commercial cleaner.
Take out the bottom rack and look for food particles that may be stuck in the drain, removing them. Then do a thorough wiping down of the rest of the inside.
Now for the final cleaning stage; there are a couple of options you can use. One is with baking soda. Take one cup of baking soda and sprinkle it all over the bottom of the dishwasher. Then run it through a cycle (can use the shortest cycle), using the hottest water setting.
Or you can use vinegar. Fill a dishwasher safe cup with white vinegar and place it on the top rack. Run it through a shorter cycle. Both the baking soda and vinegar sanitizes your dishwasher and removes odors.
Now you have a clean dishwasher that is ready to clean.
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When Your Refrigerator Has Become a Science Project
Photo by basykes in Flickr