How to Clean a Dishwasher

We’ll help guide you through how to clean your dishwasher quickly, easily and efficiently.

We’ll show you the best products to use and give recommendations on less harmful, more eco-friendly products which will help maintain, protect and improve the lifespan of your dishwasher.

What is the best way to clean the inside of a dishwasher?

Cleaning a dishwasher can be a very tedious chore, the easiest way is to keep on top of the cleaning to avoid lengthy deep cleans. 

Always rinse dishes thoroughly, removing any food particles before adding to your dishwasher and remember not to overload it.  

Dishwasher being filled

How to Clean the inside of a dishwasher

  1. Remove the Racks

    Firstly, remove all racks, utensil holders and the filter. Soak in hot soapy water for 30 mins to remove grease and grime.

  2. Clean the filter

    Clean the filter at the bottom of your dishwasher – this gets blocked up very easily when you don’t rinse your pots.

  3. Add boiling water

    Add boiling water to the filter system to remove the build up of grease.

  4. Hot soapy water

    Using hot soapy water and a microfibre cloth, wash the inside walls of your dishwasher, ensuring you reach all the corners where grime builds up.

  5. Clean the parts

    Clean your racks, utensil holders and filter funnel and replace in your dishwasher.

  6. Lemon Juice

    Add the juice of a whole lemon and 2 tablespoons of salt to a bowl of water and place on the top rack of your dishwasher.

  7. Hot Cycle to finish

    Run your dishwasher on a hot cycle. Once finished, dry thoroughly and leave the door open.

After every cycle, keeping the door a jar will help air to circulate and this reduces the lingering smells. Adding half a lemon in a bowl to your dishwasher, whilst you are waiting to fill it up, will keep your dishwasher smelling fresh all day.

How to clean a dishwasher door

Keeping the door clean of your dishwasher is just as important as the internal area. Food deposits and grease can stick to the seals of the door causing mould and a build up of grime.

A microfibre cloth and soapy water is best to use to wipe down the door and seals of your dishwasher. Dry thoroughly using a microfibre cloth, and shine using a Chamois leather.

  1. Use soapy water and a microfibre cloth
  2. Wipe down all the stainless steel
  3. Use a toothbrush to clean the seals, getting in all crevices
  4. Dry thoroughly using a microfibre cloth

Your dishwasher will now look shiny and new.

How to get smells out of a dishwasher

If you don’t look after your dishwasher, it won’t work efficiently. Not rinsing dishes and leaving pots and pans for lengthy times without running the cycle will all contribute to very unpleasant smells.

Follow our once-a-week checklist to keep your dishwasher smelling fresh and working well:

  • Add the juice of a whole lemon and 2 tablespoons of salt to a bowl place on the top rack of your dishwasher.
  • Run on a quick wash; 30 mins cycle.

Some cleaning gurus are promoting cleaning with white vinegar. It wouldn’t be my choice of cleaning products. Frequent use of vinegar on stainless steel and rubber seals can lead to corroding and unattractive rusty areas. 

Using hot soapy water, a microfibre cloth and a toothbrush for cleaning is sufficient enough. Weekly cleans and rinsing dishes will all lead to getting the best results from your dishwasher.

  • Leave the door ajar and enjoy the lemon scent.

How often should you clean a dishwasher?

Cleaning your dishwasher weekly is recommended. This will contribute to the efficiency and lifespan of your dishwasher.

It also saves time on the monthly deep cleans and keeps your dishwasher in excellent condition.

Daily maintenance is also required if you want to get the best results out of your dishwasher. Rinsing dishes, correct stacking and not overloading will also help when it comes down to reducing cleaning time.

Can you clean a dishwasher with white vinegar?

Some cleaning gurus are promoting cleaning with white vinegar. It wouldn’t be my choice of cleaning products.

Frequent use of vinegar on stainless steel and rubber seals can lead to corroding and unattractive rusty areas. 

Using hot soapy water, a microfibre cloth and a toothbrush for cleaning is sufficient enough.

Weekly cleans and rinsing dishes will all lead to getting the best results from your dishwasher.

Can you clean a dishwasher with baking soda?

Baking soda is a great cleaning agent, it becomes tempting to use on everything.  Whilst baking soda is safe to use on some appliances, you can’t use it on everything.

It’s abrasive, which means it can cause discoloration on your dishwasher. It’s also extremely messy to clean with and can take twice as long as hot soapy water.

Can you clean a dishwasher with lemon juice?

Lemon juice is great to use to freshen up your dishwasher – this can be used whilst your wash cycle is full or empty.

Applying the juice of a whole lemon will disinfect your machine and leave it smelling fresh.  Lemon will even add a shine to your dishes if you leave them in the wash cycle.

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Matt Tomkin

I am an avid tech lover and the journey started back when LCD TVs and Plasma image burn were all too common. Over the years I have sold technology in retail stores but more recently have been building numerous businesses all based around technology. It's great to be able to test new tech and provide my thoughts on a platform like this.