Your Appliance Cleaning Guide: How to Clean the Dishwasher

Don’t forget that it’s important to occasionally clean your cleaning appliances!  You probably run the dishwasher every day, and this hardworking appliance requires routine deep cleaning to continue working efficiently and getting your dishes, pans, and silverware clean and sanitized every time.  Here’s how to clean your dishwasher the right way:

1. Fill the kitchen sink with hot water and dish soap. Remove the grate from along the bottom of the dishwasher and let it soak in the soapy water.  Any other items that can be removed from inside the dishwasher, such as the silverware crate, can also be soaked.
2. In a bucket, soak several small towels or rags in vinegar.Remove the racks from inside the dishwasher and give them a thorough wipe with one of the vinegar-soaked rags. If there is significant soap scum buildup, you may need to use a sponge and some “elbow grease” and really give them a scrub.
3. Reach into the dishwasher and use a toothpick to clear out gunk and buildup out of the holes of the spinning arms. Wipe off the spinning arms, and any other component of the interior that you can reach with a vinegar-soaked rag.
4. Give the grates (which have been soaking in the sink) a good scrubbing with the soapy water and then drain the water. Use a rag with vinegar to remove soap scum buildup, if needed. Be sure all bits of food are rinsed out of the grates and return them to the inside of the dishwasher.
5. Finally, sprinkle baking soda (1-2 cups) along the bottom grates, racks, side walls, etc. and run a short, hot-water cycle.

Special Tips:

• Hard water deposits: Calcium and iron buildup can generally be removed using citric acid. Fill the dishwasher’s detergent cup with citric acid and run a full cycle.  (Be sure the dishwasher is empty.)  We recommend running a second cycle (with an empty dishwasher) with only dish detergent to be sure the citric acid (and loosened buildup) is completely removed.
• Mildew: Mildew can build up on the gasket or other interior areas, and to remove it, you can mix ½ of ammonia with 1 gallon of water and use a cloth or sponge to scrub away the mildew. (We recommend using rubber gloves for this.)

Keeping your home clean can feel like a fulltime job, and when you add cleaning your appliances to the mix, it can seem downright overwhelming!  More and more homeowners are choosing to call on a great professional cleaning company to handle the cleaning chores and keep their homes sparkling and sanitized.  First Coast Home Pros is the best Jacksonville FL cleaning company homeowners in Ponte Vedra, Mandarin, Southside, Riverside, and San Marco call on for maid service and routine, high quality house cleaning.  Call on us for a 1-time deep cleaning or for weekly, biweekly, or monthly cleanings to keep your home looking great!