Maximize The Ease Dishwashers Provide With 30+ Nifty Hacks

Are dishwashers really worth it?

They’re expensive. They consume too much water, and they amp up electrical costs. Plus, how certain are we that they clean the dishes thoroughly? Remember that time when you ran your finger across a plate, and you were able to wipe the oil off it. You could have fried an egg with the residual amount!

Science says otherwise.

A decent dishwasher, worth around $700 to $1100, costs less than $37 worth of electricity per year and uses about five to seven gallons of water. Hand washing dishes uses up to five times as much water as that!

Sure, some dishwashers fail to clean tofu and other high-protein items off plates. But it could also be due to improper placement of items. The correct placement of items on the rack is essential for proper cleaning. That’s why if incorrectly placed, the water spray couldn’t target the soiled areas. The heat couldn’t dissipate evenly and disinfect all the kitchenware.

Now that you have reconsidered getting a dishwasher of your own, how about we brag about the other perks a dishwasher affords you. Dishwasher owners swear by these lifehacks. With a few tweaks, the word dishwasher becomes a misnomer. You can refer to it as turkey broiler, soupmaker, egg boiler, and veggie steamer.

We know. It’s hard to believe. So scroll down and see for yourself!

Food Warmer

This seems like a no-brainer. But how many of us have actually tried this hack? That’s right – almost no-one. A dishwasher relies on heat to disinfect kitchenware, but we hadn’t really thought of using that amount of heat to warm food. It turns out that it works!

Place your food in a glass container or wrap it in aluminum foil. Then place it neatly inside the rack. You could place as few or as many containers as you dare, but don’t cram everything inside. Press the “heat/dry’ mode without water inside, and you’ll have an alternative to your microwave oven. Given this hack, would you now consider buying one?

Impress Everyone With the Perfect Steak

This has been a much-debated topic broached over the dinner table – how to cook steak! Do you reverse sear, perfect the taste in the oven, thaw steaks or cook them fully frozen? Chef Dan Souza suggests that you “freeze the steaks as flat as possible, uncovered” on a baking sheet. Use oil about an eighth-of-an-inch deep in the skillet to reach the steak’s folds. If you don’t want to cook them in a pan, you can try cooking steaks in the dishwasher instead!

Simply place vacuum-sealed meat on the dishwasher rack, “wash” for an hour and a half, and then open up the bag. You will want to remove excess moisture. Next, dab the meat with tissue paper. Meanwhile, heat some oil on the pan. Place the whole steak on it and sear at high heat. Do this for both sides, and baste with butter. Leave it to rest for 10 minutes before seasoning the meat to taste. Yum!

Warm to Touch

What’s a pro tip chefs and restaurant managers use when catering to loyal customers? Serve food on warm plates. It’s not an absolute essential, but it keeps food from colling down for longer. When the AC is on full blast, food like pasta tends to get cold quickly. You may taste the cheesy tangy flavor of that Rigatoni pasta, but it’s not as sensational as it was when it was still warm.

To impress guests, load dishes in the oven, microwave, or in the dishwasher. You could also just run them under boiling water. Then pat them dry with a crisp white towel and lay it on the dinner table. Of course, you’ll have to do this a few minutes before your guests arrive.

Making Mashed Potatoes

Who doesn’t love mashed potatoes? They’re a good source of carbs and potassium. They also help keep you feeling full for longer lengths of time. So how about making some, just before you start washing the dishes. You could ask your kids to pitch in too! Have them choose their favorite seasonings so there won’t be any picky eaters.

You’ll need to cut potatoes into tiny pieces. When they’re in the dishwasher, all sides should be evenly exposed to heat. Quarter lengthwise, then slice into eighth-inch pieces. Place in a Ziploc bag and then add any additional seasonings. Shake vigorously then place inside the dishwasher. You could also place potatoes in aluminum foil. Seal to make air-tight!

Remove Soil from Gardening Tools

Gardening is backbreaking work. If you’re an avid gardener, you could spend hours choosing the best seeds, sowing crops, pulling weeds, and then watering your plants. It also takes a great deal of patience before you sow the rewards. Sometimes, bugs will beat you to it. So after an afternoon’s gardening, you might be tempted to leave your tools by the side of the flower bed, thinking you will clean them later.

If you cleaned them regularly, you wouldn’t have to replace them so often. To remove clay soil, have your dishwasher scrub them for you. Place them on the rack, and then do a separate wash cycle for kitchenware and garden tools. After, apply a thin coating of oil and store them in the garage.

Making Cinammon Apples

Maybe by now, you’re an expert in the fine art of dishwasher cooking. You might do away with the oven or microwave altogether. All the better! There’d be more kitchen space for you and your family. Impress your friends yet again, with this delightful dessert. All you need are glass jars, a couple of apples, brown sugar, and ground cinnamon.

Cleanse your apples well, and then slice into thin slivers. You can then place them into your glass jar, and then place add the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. We advise the addition of butter as well! Two tablespoons of it and you’ll give Dominique Ansel a run for his money. Screw the lid on and then give it a shake. Then place inside the dishwasher. Run for an hour’s cycle and then serve with some vanilla ice cream.

Wash Garbage Bins

One part of the day we’d like to ditch totally is the part when we take out the trash. When you come to face the pit of that bin, sure, it’s only bits and pieces of food matter, but it’s still disgusting. Given our dislike for it, we frequently load it in the dishwasher.

Unfortunately, this is suitable only to wash small bins. Empty its contents, and then place the bin on the lower rack. We use the regular cycle with detergent. Afterwards, wipe container with soft towels, and then line them with disposable bags. Now you won’t have to dread every time you take the trash out.

Cleaning Chewables for Kids

If you’re a mom, you’ll swear by this observation – kids have a way of making chewables out of everything. You’ll cinstantly find yourself pulling a toy away from your infant’s mouth. You can’t really ask your kid to refrain from doing it, at least, not until they’re older. Until then, the best way to cope is to clean your kids’ toys regularly.

Since this takes time, here is a great time-saving tip- sort toys according to their material components. If they’re mostly made of cloth, you can launder them. If they’re made of plastic, you can put them on the top shelf of your dishwasher. All you need is a quick wash. To keep small toys from falling over, place them in a mesh bag.

Remove Dirt from Vents

If you have noticed your AC unit under-performing, we suggest you take a close look at the filters. You might see some layers of mold on the sides. You might also feel warm air brushing against your skin. You could adjust the thermostat, but that won’t do any good if your air filter is filthy.

Air filters strain dust particles and debris through ducts. Without regular cleaning, those dust particles can keep your AC unit from delivering cold air to your room. Your thermostat may reflect 70, but the air delivered won’t get below 90 degrees. To keep that from happening, place vents in the dishwasher and run a regular cycle. After reinstalling them in your AC unit, you’ll notice that the room gets cooler faster, even at higher thermostat settings.

Remove and Clean Faucet Aerators

Your tap water looks clean, but it holds a couple of minerals. One of which is calcium! As gallons of water flow through your pipes, chalky residue builds up in the inner surfaces. Sometimes you’ll see these on areas where water has evaporated. In small amounts, drinking water with limescale won’t harm you. But it can increase energy bills!

Since calcium is deposited in the pipes of your heating system, your HVAC system will have to work twice as hard to provide you the right temperature. Limescale build-up can damage your boilers, faucets, and radiators. To keep this from happening, you can soak faucet aerators and other removable parts in a cup of white vinegar for an hour. Then place them in the dishwasher for a good rinse!

Remove Gunk from Keyboards

Several studies show that your toilet isn’t the dirtiest place in your home. The filthiest items include doorknobs, light switches, your kitchen sink, and your computer’s keyboard. What’s the common characteristic amongst all of them? You frequently touch them, but there’s no flapper or running water to flush!

You can clean keyboards with a cloth and alcohol, but this is painstaking work. How do you clean around the edges when it keeps bobbing down with the slightest pressure? Fortunately, some keyboards are dishwasher safe. Remove the screw that holds the keyboard case together. Once inside, remove water-sensitive parts (e.g., cable, circuit board, controller, and dome-switch membrane). Then place the keyboard in the dishwasher. Reassemble once dry. A word of caution – this is apt for those who aren’t faint of heart.

Salted Eggs, Anyone?

Have you ever tasted salted egg? This one is for real. It’s the Asian counterpart of Parmesan cheese with a rich umami kick. It’s usually made with duck eggs, but you can make your own with chicken eggs. Dice up some tomatoes, onions, and a salted egg. It’ll make for a change in your salad.

To make some salted eggs, mix 1 cup of salt and 4 cups of water together. Place a dozen eggs in glass jars and then fill these with the brine solution. The eggs have to be fully submerged so that they’ll absorb the flavor. Screw the lid on and leave for three weeks. After, drain the solution, and rinse the eggs. Place them on the dishwasher rack and choose a high heat wash at about 70-75 degrees Celsius. That should give you a hard-boiled salted egg!

Cookin’ Baby Some Ribs

Your partner will smother you with kisses once you bake him or her some ribs. Now, you may not be a master chef. But that isn’t necessary to cook a divine course for dinner. Do away with oven functions, and use the long dishwasher cycles. After all, you’ll need to ready the dinner plates too.

You’ll need your dry rub seasonings – garlic powder, paprika, celery salt, orange zest, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Lay those ribs in an aluminum foil or a Ziploc bag and then sprinkle with flavor. Shake for a few minutes, seal and lock it in the dishwasher. By the time those ribs are done, you’ll be smelling them from the door.

Keep Nail Clippers Clean

One of the ways we love to pamper ourselves is to get a mani/pedi. We can listen to some music and paint our nails to match our outfit for the day! But to indulge in this regularly, we have to make sure that our nail instruments are clean and kept in mint condition. No amount of buffing or trimming will help if you’ve got a fungal infection from your rusty nail clippers!

Experts suggest different cleaning methods – hot water and rubbing alcohol, bleach, and antiseptic. It really depends on the length of time you’re willing to allot after using your clippers. If you don’t want to soak these tools in any of the said chemicals, you can just place them in the cutlery rack of your dishwasher. A regular cycle at high heat should be as effective at disinfecting them.

Reuse Ziploc Bags

Who doesn’t love Ziploc bags? Environmentalists don’t, but even they can’t deny how handy these things are. You could store your make-up in them. All you need to do is hold it to the light to figure out which bag your blush-on is in. You could place your wet swimsuits in them, without having to worry about the rest of your clothes getting wet. And you could use them as a compression sack for next season’s clothes.

We hate throwing them away after a single-use. So to save some money, we wash them. You could reuse Ziplock bags for about four to five times until they’re worn out. Turn the dirty Ziploc bag inside out, rinse with running water, and then place it in the dishwasher. To keep it from melting, use a low heat setting.

Clean Your Vacuum Cleaner Filter

It doesn’t matter if you buy the best vacuum cleaner on the market. No warranty will keep it from lasting beyond eight years if you don’t clean its components. One essential item you might have overlooked is the vacuum filter! These ensure that the dirt sucked into the machine stays there and that it doesn’t flow back out into your living room.

We understand. The whole deal of using a vacuum cleaner is to keep your hands from getting dirty. So why do you have to bother with this? You don’t have to, at least if you have a washable vacuum filter. Remove the filter, sprinkle a bit of detergent over it, and then place it on the dishwasher rack. It’ll do the scrubbing and rinsing for you. Let it dry, and then reinstall.

Remove Dishwasher Gunk

Remember when you first installed your dishwasher and placed it by the side of the sink. You didn’t want to use it. It was in mint condition; it’s inside smelling of styrofoam and bubble wrap. You couldn’t wait to show it off. Now, your well-used dishwasher just smells like rotten eggs.

Sure, with the number of cycles it has been running, it should be able to clean itself. But that isn’t the case. To rid it of the odor, remove food bits in the well and on the bottom rack. Wipe away the door grime and rinse the filter. Then do a deep clean every month! Place a cup of distilled white vinegar on the top rack and run an empty cycle at the hottest temp available.

Clean Your Pet Day

No, we don’t mean for you to throw your dog into the dishwasher. But while you’re lathering up shampoo on your dog’s fur, you could let the dishwasher clean your dog’s collar for you. What’s the point of bathing your dog, if you’ll put a dirty collar back on its neck?

Just make sure not to place leather dog collars in the dishwasher. You might not be able to take him for a walk after. To clean the collar and the leash, put them on the top rack. Secure the items to keep them from falling off during the wash. A regular wash cycle will do, then allow them to air dry.

Wash Scrunchies

We wouldn’t know what to do without Scrunchies. They’re inexpensive and handy. Plus, they come in different colors to suit our OOTD. Nowadays, they’re even used to signal your relationship status. If he wears your scrunchy, that means he’s for keeps. But before handing it to him, make sure that you run it through the dishwasher.

Since it holds down the fort of your hair, when you’ve run out of hairspray, it can get messy. You have wax, sweat, and chemicals seeping in that cloth layer. That’s a healthy home for bacteria and other germs. So handwash them every now and then. If you’re too lazy, gather your scrunchies, place them in a mesh bag, and then put them in the cutlery rack of the dishwasher. A normal cycle will do them wonders.

After Soccer Practice

After running the whole length of the soccer field, the last thing you’ll want to do is clean sports equipment. Who wouldn’t want to get out of those sweat-soaked clothes, with grass sticking out of them? You might hate it, but it’s better to clean this equipment before taking a bath. Otherwise, you’ll have to handle gross, grimy gloves, elbow pads, shin-guards, and clothes after you’ve washed yourself clean.

After coming home, unload your sports equipment into the dishwasher rack. Place shin guards, shoulder pads and other protective gear on the top rack. You can place removable insoles in the bottom tray. Run-on a normal heat cycle but skip the dry cycle. Now, how about taking that shower?

Rewarding the Cleaner

After all that your dishwasher has done for you, don’t you think it’s fair to return the favor? Invest a little time in cleaning it. It’ll last longer. Choose your pick – white vinegar, baking soda or Kool-Aid. Then clear the drain. To do this, remove the lower rack, and inspect any gunk stuck to the walls and the drain. Remove any.

If you’re going to use vinegar, place a cup of it in the upper rack; if it’s baking soda that you prefer, sprinkle a cup of it across the bottom of the machine. If you’re feeling a little adventurous, sprinkle one to two sachets of Kool-Aid like you did the baking soda. It has citric acid to give a zesty shine to your dishwasher. Then run a hot-water cycle. While you’re waiting, how about making yourself a Kool-Aid Drink?

Bring Back the Blossom to Faux Flowers

They’re as pretty as real ones – so good that you would cup one to your nose until you realize its plastic feel. These faux flowers are perfect for people who manage to kill every plant they touch. Whether its over- or under-watering, they won’t have to worry about plants rotting or wilting. One disadvantage of them is that they collect a great deal of dust.

Wiping them with damp cloth won’t work. You might end up ruining those faux petals, or those delicate filaments. But you can place them in the dishwasher and run a gentle cycle. Don’t put any detergent. It might ruin silk parts. After, you can place them directly in their pot, and let air dry.

Disinfect Cabinet Knobs

When was the last time you gave these knobs a good cleaning? We’re not talking about just rubbing them with a solution. If you can unscrew them from cabinets, then you can cleanse them with water and soap. That beats using a household disinfectant.

Of course, we suggest that you do this when no one needs to get items from the cabinet. How else will they be able to open the cupboard? Place the set of cabinet knobs in the dishwasher rack and then run a cycle with a quart of white vinegar or a cup of baking soda. That’ll brighten the rusty knobs, and dislodge hardened goop.

Storage Space

Among all models, countertop dishwashers are the most common. They’re inexpensive and user-friendly. You wouldn’t have to fuss about heat-, air-, or hand-drying dishes. Designed for families, this consumes water more than drawer dishwashers or built-in units. So if you’re dining alone, you might handwash the plates you used instead of loading them on the rack.

Since it’s taking up space, load your dishwasher with plates, pots, and other kitchenware. Stack them neatly, at least until your family comes back. You can give these items a good cleaning every now and then, to keep dust from settling in, and then open up the rack to air-dry. Afterward, close the cover.

Impress Friends By Cooking Lobster

This is the ultimate masterpiece. After buying fresh lobster from the local market, remove its shell and veins. Cut it in half lengthwise then place it in a glass jar. Make sure that there’s some space to throw in unsalted butter. That jar has to be sealed tightly – check and double-check before placing it with your dirty dishes.

Let it run through a heavy-duty cycle. It’ll be subjected to 140-degree heat. If your dishwasher does the same with its normal cycle function, you can choose that. Scoop the contents with a fork, and then lay it on a plate. Keep the butter close – just in case you feel like dousing that lobster with it.

Clean Light Fixtures

It should have dawned on you by now that you can clean almost anything using your dishwasher, especially those fixtures that are ceramic ware – for example, light fixtures! You can place reflector bowls, shades, and pendant glasses on the rack. Now how about getting the screwdriver and ladder from the shed?

Just a reminder- your dishwasher should run on a low-temperature cycle. Don’t place every item you’ve disassembled on the rack. Place non-electrical light fixtures in the dishwasher while cleaning the others with a damp cloth. After all, you can’t light up a room with a soggy, busted bulb.

Clean Dish Brushes

Those pesky bristles are hard to clean. So you might give up cleaning them altogether. Don’t worry, first check to see your brushes’ handle if it’s dishwasher safe. If it is, place them by the side of your dishwasher rack, and the regular cycle wash will run it with hot water.

Just in case it isn’t dishwasher safe, mix one cup of white distilled vinegar and three to five drops of liquid soap. Place the top end of the brush inside. It’s better if it’s fully submerged, but we wouldn’t want to ruin the wooden handle, now would we? Stir so that the mixture coats the bristles evenly and leave it for an hour. Rinse the brush, and let dry.

Books, Anyone

Over the years, living spaces have been growing smaller and smaller. This begs the question, how do people manage to fit themselves in their apartments? Ingenious minds have come up with ways to maximize space. From lining rooms with mirrors to using foldable beds and tables, every square inch is used.

This habit isn’t limited to people living in flats. Even people who own homes are maximizing every square inch. Beneath beds, they place cabinets or plastic boxes to stash clothes in. Some use that space to store away books. Using the sliding dishwasher rack, they tow in and out their collections. It’s perfect for when you want to read a book aloud.

How to Ripen Avocados in Minutes

Avocados are best eaten when they are at their darkest, almost green-black hue. However, you won’t be able to harvest avocados with this shade. They don’t ripen on the tree. They only do so after they’ve been plucked. In case you can’t wait to eat rock-hard avocados, follow these hacks.

You can place them in a brown paper bag with a banana or apple. Close the bag and leave for two to three days. Alternatively, you can place them on the top rack of the dishwasher. Run-on a regular cycle for ten minutes, and you’ll have soft avocados that are ready to be eaten.

Clean Dryer Filters

We don’t know about you, but we like cleaning dryer filters. We just have to remember to do it regularly. Imagine running a finger, or a brush through the net and then removing generous amounts of dust, detergent, and lint. Just in case you find the image disturbing; you can always place the dryer filter in your dishwasher. That way, you won’t have to do the cleaning manually.

We discourage you from placing other items in this load, except dryer filters, in the dishwasher. We can’t imagine the amount of debris that the net has trapped. And we wouldn’t risk any of it lining our dinner plates. Use the hot water settings to clear away residue. Then you can reinstall the lint trap in your dryer machine!

Cleanse Veggies

You may dislike them, but they’re an important part of your diet. Vegetables have a lot of essential nutrients that could help you lose weight, aid digestion, and allow you to function better overall. But before you slice and dice, it’s crucial that you wash produce. After all, most of them have been treated with pesticides.

The key to managing any household is maximizing time. When it comes to washing vegetables, you’ll waste less time by having the dishwasher clean them for you. In just 15 minutes, you will be able to clean all your store-bought produce! It’s essential to use the cold, rinse cycle without detergent. Remember, we want to rinse them of chemicals, not coat them with it.

Cleaning Keys

You’ve fondled them. You’ve toyed with them. You’ve taken them everywhere with you, and you wouldn’t have been able to open the gate without them. They’ve fallen in the shady nooks of your car, and you store them in your pockets where sweat is likely to accumulate. Keys are an excellent place for bacteria and viruses to survive on. But do you clean them?

We’re guessing you only cleaned them when you had to open the rusty lock. It hadn’t even been cleaning in the strictest sense, since you rubbed them with oil. To remove rust, we suggest that you soak them in white vinegar for twenty minutes. Then you can place them in the cutlery rack of your dishwasher so you can disinfect them. Pat dry, and then rub with oil to keep rust from forming.

De-Stress Outside the Course

Why do people love golf? Some claim that it’s a great social game. Others have made it their hobby. People like Tiger Woods have made a career out of it. And people like us, know that it’s excellent low-intensity exercise! Especially if you carry your bags across an 18-hole course, you could burn as much as 700-800 calories.

So being golf lovers, we can agree that it’s a great recreational sport. You’re going out on a course to destress and take your mind off things. Unfortunately, you’d have to deal with some subtle nuisances – cleaning your shoes, treating sunburns, or even cleaning up golf balls. We don’t know how you’ve dealt with the first two, but you can definitely have your dishwasher clean those balls for you!

Remove Clunks of Makeup from Brushes

We spend hours perfecting our look, facing ourselves in the mirror. With a little dab and mix, we’re able to highlight our assets and conceal our imperfections. But why can’t we see the clumps of makeup on our brushes that germs will want to reside on? It’s basically going to and fro your field of vision!

Facial brushes should be cleaned weekly. Otherwise, you risk ruining them. All that residue weighs down the bristles. You won’t be able to apply a flawless highlight. That shimmer will look like a matte application, and in an unattractive way. To keep that from happening, just place your face brushes in a mesh basket on the dishwasher rack.

Grateful for Turkey Breasts

Thanksgiving is significant for Americans because it’s the only holiday where everyone breaks bread, communes together, and celebrates gratitude. It’s something we should do more often, especially nowadays. You could recreate the setting even on a regular day. Cook Turkey Breasts and have close friends dine with you and your family.

Since cooking turkey can take hours to prep, how about letting the dishwasher help you? David Burke insists on it! It’s more realistic to use boneless turkey breasts. Seal them in an airtight container with parsley, sage, thyme, garlic, pepper, and salt. Then place on the top shelf of the rack. Use a three-hour-long cycle to cook it. It may not be crispy to taste, but will sure be juicy!

Cleaning Filthy Mop Heads

Are spin mops a good buy? Darn right, they are! These mop heads have high water absorbent capacity, and you’d never have to touch them to clean them. All you have to do is put your back into it, and the circular basket will launder the fibers for you.

But despite the RPMs you’ve put your mop head through, you won’t be able to get it as white again. You can always bleach them, or you can just load them on your dishwasher rack and run on a high heat cycle. Like we said, one thing we love about spin mop heads is that you won’t have to clean them with your bare hands.

Reuse Kitchen Sponges

Don’t underestimate the microbes your sponge can sop up! They’re used to clean grime off plates. They’re almost always wet, with either water or dishwashing liquid pouring out of them. Airdrying them isn’t enough to rid them of bacteria such as Moraxella osloensis In fact, if you boil sponges, you could help that bacteria multiply in no time!

So what can you do? You’ll have to clean your sponge daily. We suggest that you soak them in half a teaspoon of bleach per quart of warm water for 5 minutes. Rinse the sponge with clean water and then place them in your dishwasher rack, along with the other kitchenware. Turn on the rinse feature at high temp! The last tip is to change sponges frequently.

Clean Car Floor Mats

We love the convenience cars bring, but cleaning them can be dreadful. You’d have to vacuum the floor, dust off the upholstery, wipe off food crumbs from cup holders and then scrub floor mats clean. It’s back-breaking work, and it takes us half a day to thoroughly clean a car.

Thankfully, you can throw those cloth seat covers in the washing machine, while loading up car floor mats in the dishwasher rack. That’s right! Just shake off hard muck on car floor mats, rinse them down with water, and then place them in your dishwasher. A regular cycle will do, and they’ll look spotless clean afterward.

Take Up Gardening

We hate it when this happens, but you should expect that it’ll occur to any item you own. All items naturally wear out over time. We hope you have maximized the feats your dishwasher afforded you. In case you hadn’t, use it as a compost pit or a garden bed. Don’t just throw it out with the trash!

Raised garden beds can cost you between $200 to $320, whereas you have one sitting idly in the way of your broken dishwasher. Dump a few kilos of soil, and add extra organic matter such as peat moss or coconut coir. Place plants that need less care near the middle, so that you won’t have to reach over. If the bed can be accessed from one side, place taller plants toward the back.

Off to a Hot Start

Are dishwashers hooked up to hot or cold water? They’re hooked to hot water lines. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to disinfect kitchenware properly. These machines don’t have a cold or warm cycle like washing machines do, but you probably hadn’t noticed because your plumber installed two valves. One is for the water line serving your sink, while the other is routed to your dishwasher.

Now that we understand how a dishwasher is hooked up, then you can try this nifty trick at home. In case you need hot water directed to your dishwasher STAT, run hot water in the sink. You’ll have hotter water splashing against kitchenware – perfect for killing microbes and germs.

Clean the Washer With a Toothbrush

With all the items you’ve placed inside your dishwasher, expect it to smell. It has done its job. The least you can do is to give it the cleaning it deserves too! Place vinegar inside a dishwasher-safe bowl. Without any other kitchenware, place this bowl inside the rack. Run a wash cycle with hot water. After one cycle, sprinkle a quarter of a cup of baking soda in the base of the dishwasher and run a second wash cycle.

Now that you have cleaned the insides of the dishwasher, turn your attention to the spray arms! Twist to remove the components. It should work for all dishwashers, but just in case it doesn’t work with yours, don’t force it. Check the manual to see how you can remove the spray arms safely. After doing so, clean the holes with a toothbrush soaked in white vinegar. Rinse with clean water and then place them back.