5 Tips to Help You Get the Most Mileage Out of Your Dishwasher
It can be terribly frustrating to run your dishwasher and end up with the same grimy dishes you started with after the cycle is finished. This could happen because you failed to perform certain preloading steps or it more likely happened because you neglected to perform standard maintenance.
Here are some tips to help you get the cleanest dishes possible every time you run your dishwasher:
Scrape Your Dishes, Don’t Rinse
Truth be told, pre-rinsing is an unnecessary ritual. It wastes water and actually worsens the performance of your detergent. You should still remove the food scraps by scraping them off before loading your dishes into the dishwasher. Sometimes it’s difficult to explain to children that the dishwasher doesn’t do all the work, humans still have to scrape the food off.
Heat Up the Water
Once you’ve loaded everything into the dishwasher, turn your faucet on and let the water run until it’s hot. This will relieve pressure on the water heater and lower your energy costs. Also, hot water is more effective at killing bacteria, so you want your dishes to come out as clean and sanitized as possible and running it ahead of time ensures this.
Use Soap Sparingly
More soap does not mean cleaner dishes. Overusing soap in your dishwasher can actually damage it. You should read the instruction manual that came with your dishwasher to see what the manufacturer recommends in terms of type of detergent and how much to use for the load size you’re washing. In most cases, if you half fill the soap dispenser you’ll be fine.
Test the Water for Hardness
Most people have no idea how rough their water is on their dishes. Hard water can contribute to breakage and at the very least, cause unsightly marks. Try testing your water to determine if you need a water softener. Otherwise, if you notice hard-water spots or scum on your glasses, pour in some vinegar during the rinse cycle and that should clear up the problem.
Keep the Filter Clean
For your dishwasher to drain properly, the filter should be kept clear of debris. All the food scraps and tiny particles must drain out through the filter and often get stuck there. You can also take the filter out and wash it in the sink with hot water to get rid of the bacteria.
