Around the seals
Once the spray arms are clear it’s time to make sure the door seals are clear of any dirt. Take a cloth and wet it with a 50-50 mixture of warm water and vinegar. Wipe around the door seals – a soft toothbrush may also be handy for this – just enough to make sure any dirt or build-up is gone.
An important point to remember is not to be heavy-handed when doing this, as you don’t want to damage the seals.
Now that all of the food debris and build-up is has been taken care of, put any racks or shelves back inside the dishwasher as normal.
Now it’s time for the vinegar to work its magic.
Take two small, shallow dishwasher-safe bowls. Fill each with a cup of neat white vinegar and place both on the bottom shelf at each end of the dishwasher.
If you don’t have hard water or limescale build-up, then you may only need one cup of vinegar.
Run the dishwasher through its hottest cycle with the vinegar bowls inside. Vinegar really is a magic tonic for dishwashers: it’s antibacterial and will get rid of grease, dirt, limescale and hard water, plus it will kill off any lurking odors too.
Once the wash is complete, for an extra odor-neutralizing step, you can take some baking soda which will refresh the smell.
Sprinkle baking soda all over the floor of the dishwasher, then put it through a rinse cycle and leave to dry.
Some people recommend leaving the baking soda overnight and running another wash cycle in the morning.
In my experience, I’ve never noticed a difference between rinsing with baking soda straight away vs leaving it on, but it might be worth a try for really stubborn smells.
For best results, try to repeat this process every three months and clean the filter monthly.
Et voila! Your dishwasher is clean and sparkling once more – and ready to go to war on anything your household can throw at it!
Interested in putting your dishwasher to work? read our rundown of weird things you can clean in the dishwasher. – And you’ll definitely want to check out the items you should NEVER clean in a dishwasher.
Want more dishwasher care tips? check out our list of the worst dishwasher mistakes to avoid – they might just surprise you!
What’s your favorite kitchen cleaning hack? Let us know in the comments!
The best detergents and products to keep your dishwasher in good condition
Hard Water Detergent Booster
Natural Rinse Aid
Natural Dishwasher Pods
Dishwasher Salt
RELATED: HOW TO USE VINEGAR IN A NATURAL CLEANING KIT
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