 | Little bits of food still stuck to your plates? Film on your glasses? Water spots? Say no more. We tried everything, and here is our tried and true method to sparkling dishes right out of the dishwasher. BECAUSE WHO WANTS TO CLEAN THEM AGAIN AFTER YOU'VE GONE TO THE WORK TO LOAD IT AND RUN IT??? Seriously. I am a pretty level-headed person, but running a load of dishes and having them come out dirty is a serious pet peeve of mine. |
I have lived without a dishwasher long enough to know what a privilege it is to have one, and I looooove it. I have a huge appreciation for the work and time it saves me, so I will take these steps to use it correctly and save myself the frustration of dirty dishes, repeat loads, or worse, a call for repairs.
Cup of Lemon Juice/White Vinegar On the Top Rack
The ingredients are no surprise. As is trendy these days, I am in love with the power and availability and affordability of vinegar...and finding the right way to use it in your dishwasher is an incredible thing. But the method surprised me.
The cup of lemon juice and vinegar (I do 2 parts vinegar to 1 part lemon juice) belongs on the TOP RACK of your dishwasher, sitting as if ready to be sipped out of. Like this:
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Apparently the dishwasher gods are appeased by an offering of a vinegar/lemon sacrifice in each load, because this step makes a huge difference. Run your dishwasher as usual (but first, finish this article...we have more steps for you) with that in the top rack, and your dishes will be singing when they are done!
[Whatever you do, do not use vinegar or a vinegar mixture in the rinse aid slot. This slot usually carries the rinse aid through tubes of plastic, and vinegar can break down these plastic parts in your dishwasher over time, leaving you with a much bigger problem than water spots on your wine glasses. Leave the rinse aid slot for real rinse aid (we settled on Seventh Generation rinse aid after shopping around a bit).]
Not only will the combo of vinegar and lemon juice help break up any residue and water spots on your dishes, but it's non-toxic, and it will have the double benefit of keeping your entire dishwasher clean and smelling fresh :).
Run Your Sink Water Hot Before You Start Your Dishwasher
I had been using my dishwasher for YEARS AND YEARS before finding out that nearly all commercial dishwasher detergents are meant to be used with hot water...but most of us start our dishwashers without heating up the water first. So that soap is being "activated" by cold water...which really takes the punch out of it's power. This makes an enormous difference in your soap working effectively at removing food and particles from your dishes. But hey, isn't heating up your water every time super wasteful?! All that perfectly good water, down the sink. Well, it could be wasteful, if you don't have a system in place for whenever you have to run the tap to get hot water....and this our beautiful system, if you need some inspiration:
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Not only do I love the look of these jars filled with water in these sweet baskets next to the sink, but I love that we don't waste a single drop of water whenever we have to get hot water out of the tap. All I do is put an empty jar under the tap until it runs hot, and store them in our wire baskets next to the sink until we need them. We have a ton of plants in our house to help purify the air, so this water is always helpful in refilling the watering can. You can also use it next time you need to soak a pot or hand wash some dishes.
Clean Your Filters!
If you don't do this yet, look up your dishwasher online, find the simple instructions on cleaning your filter, and dig it out and clean it every 10 or so washes. There really isn't anything more to say about this. It's always fast, gross, and relatively easy (I just have to use the sprayer on it). Get it done, and your dishwasher (and your dishes!) will thank you.
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(See, super gross. There's this mushy, tuna-like, thick film on there, blocking drainage flow. And guess what. We don't eat tuna. SO WHAT IS IT. Ughhhhh.)
Mmmmm...so clean....
Check the Air Gap Every Once in Awhile
Yeah, that's this little guy here, on the left. You can usually pull the chrome top off, unscrew a plastic top, and you'll see a tube sticking up. This is where the dishwasher drains the water from your dishwasher...it comes up through the tube and then runs back down the outside of the tube to drain.
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Sometimes, something big gets past the filter and stuck here (we've pulled out noodles, tomato pieces, the rubber nipple from a bottle), and then your dirty water isn't draining from the bottom of your dishwasher...and it will spend the rest of your load splattering that dirty water all over your dishes. Not cleaning them. DIRTYING THEM. Super. So if it seems like your dishes come out looking oddly dirtier, or with fine food particles, this might be your problem. I'll include a link to GE's video on cleaning the air gap for more precise instructions.
well,That's about it, Folks.
Let me know if these tips work for you or if you have suggestions to share with me!
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