To Clean Your Dishwasher, Add A Bowl Of Vinegar To The Cycle

The dishwasher is a prime example of how human ingenuity simplifies our lives, but we often naively assume our appliance will continue functioning as it always has with no thought to maintenance. It's natural, however, that as we put it through more and more use, the dishwasher itself becomes dirty, which can lead to poor performance. You may start noticing plates coming out unclean, and there might even be an unpleasant smell developing where you put your dishes to get them sparkling. 

The first step you should take when seeing signs that the dishwasher is becoming grimy is to clean it out by hand with soapy water. The area around the drain in the dishwasher, as well as the filter if it has one, accumulates food particles and grease over time and needs to be maintained. But sometimes, cleaning the drain and filter won't do the trick. Thankfully, you can use a common kitchen ingredient in your cabinets for the next stage of your mission, and it's simple white vinegar. Putting a bowl of vinegar on the top rack of your dishwasher during a hot water cycle will give it a deep clean and help remove any odors originating from within. Once the cycle has run, your machine should look (and smell) like new.

When you perform a hot water cycle of your dishwasher with vinegar, it produces a diluted cleaning solution that runs through all the nooks and crannies not easily reached by hand. The acid in the vinegar breaks down grease and works to eliminate hard water stains, leaving you with a dishwasher that looks like it could handle any job again.

Particularly soiled dishwashers may still have a slight odor after the vinegar has done its work. If this is the case, you can take the additional step of sprinkling baking soda over the bottom of the dishwasher and running it for a short hot water cycle. Just like putting a box of opened baking soda in your refrigerator will eliminate unpleasant smells coming from inside, running your dishwasher with baking soda can eradicate any odors left behind after a vinegar cycle finishes. 

And once you get the (I think we can all agree) indispensable appliance spotless, use this vinegar tip regularly as a way to stave off such issues. Make it a part of the hygiene of your machine, a useful proactive measure as basic as ensuring proper loading of your dishwasher.