How to Maintain a Home Dishwasher
A home dishwasher helps keep the kitchen clean and sanitary as it washes the dishes with extremely hot water. A dishwasher does not require much in the way of special care, but taking care of it ensures that the appliance lasts longer and that it cleans the dishes more thoroughly. Cleaning the dishwasher on a regular basis and giving it good maintenance extend your dishwasher's lifespan. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Clean the dishwasher once a month using dishwasher cleaner. A dishwasher cleaner is a liquid cleanser that is poured into the dishwasher detergent dispenser cup when the dishwasher is empty. Run the dishwasher as you would normally. Follow the instructions provided in your dishwasher's owner manual and consult the directions on the dishwasher cleaner for exactly how much liquid cleanser to add for your specific dishwasher.
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Clean the outside of the dishwasher with a small amount of dish soap applied to a soft cloth. After wiping down the exterior of the dishwasher, clear away the suds by wiping it again with a moistened cloth.
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Scrape all the food from the dinnerware before placing it in the dishwasher. Plates that are more heavily soiled should be placed in the lower racks, and the items should not touch one another.
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Inspect the interior of your dishwasher for reddish rust stains. Clean any stains you find by pouring dishwasher rust remover into the dishwasher's detergent dispenser cup and then running the machine through a rinse cycle while it is empty. Detergent rust remover is available at hardware stores and home improvement stores, and the label on the product tells you how much to pour in for your dishwasher.
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Plug your dishwasher into a grounded outlet. Avoid powering your dishwasher through an extension cord.
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Use different cycles to wash your dishes. Using the same cycles over and over result in hard water deposits in the places where the water sprays but does not clean, so vary the types of cycles you use as you clean your dishes.
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Fill the dishwasher's water softener with granular salt once a month. The granular salt is then used to soften the water, leading to a more thorough cleansing for your dinnerware. Granular salt may also be sold as dishwasher salt. Performing this maintenance chore once a month also reduces the hard water stains on the inside of the dishwasher.
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Tips & Warnings
Never use dish washing soap in a dishwasher. Only use detergent meant for a dishwasher, as normal dish washing soap will create a mess of soap bubbles and water.
References
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