To Get The Most Life Out Of Your Dishwasher, Clean This Part

Dishwashers are supposed to have a lifespan between nine and 16 years, but a lot of homeowners kill this appliance prematurely with a lack of proper care and maintenance. In fact, experts say that dishwashers can go years and years beyond the average with a little TLC. A large part of this care is cleaning your appliance. You can freshen up the inside of your dishwasher with a bowl of vinegar and make sure you scrub the racks and basin (maybe don't fall for that internet hack of cleaning potatoes in the dishwasher). There's one part of your machine that you are likely neglecting, though, and that's the filter.

Your dishwasher's filter is often an "out of sight, out of mind" component since it's normally located at the bottom of the appliance under a cleaning head. Know how, sometimes, your dishwasher has an icky odor that you just can't manage to eliminate? This could be the fault of a grimy filter. You should be cleaning it pretty frequently with warm water and a soft utensil, like a used-up toothbrush – some of the pros say as often as once a week with heavy use — and replacing it entirely either when it's too disgusting to redeem, or every couple of months. You should be able to source replacement filters from your dishwasher's manufacturer. Alternatively, if you have the part number, you might be able to buy it right on Amazon.

It turns out that there are multiple ways you can baby your dishwasher to keep it ticking along. Learn how to load a dishwasher correctly and demonstrate the procedure to your family members or roommates. Overloading a dishwasher makes all the parts have to work harder, which adds to wear and tear that can, over time, cause a machine to fail. If you live in an area with hard water, be sure to clean the residue off your interior parts regularly to prevent harmful mineral buildup. And, while you're in there, go ahead and gently inspect the spray heads. Are they obstructed by food gunk or other materials? Use a toothpick to clean 'em out.

At the end of the day, two great preventative measures for dishwashers that don't require tremendous know-how or DIY spirit are keeping it clean, as mentioned, and using it regularly. Yes, using your dishwasher is a form of maintenance! Running it at least once weekly is essential to keep things working the way they should. While running your dishwasher too frequently will wear it out, you should have no worries about regular, modest washing. For holidays and other occasions generating heavy-duty dishes, you can either run a few smaller loads to spread out the strain on your machine, or roll up your sleeves and do a few the old-fashioned way. Your dishwasher will hopefully pay you back in years of worry-free service.