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4 Reasons Why Your Dishwasher Isn't Cleaning Your Dishes Properly

If you want your home to be a nice, welcoming environment, you need to keep it clean and tidy. It’s particularly important that you clean the kitchen properly because if there are germs and bacteria around, it could make you sick. If you’re lucky, you might have a dishwasher to do all of the hard work for you. However, dishwashers aren’t always as great as people think and sometimes, they find that things are going in dirty and coming out a bit less dirty, rather than coming out sparkling clean. If you’re having the same problem, you should look into some of these reasons why your dishwasher isn’t working properly.





You’re Rinsing Beforehand

You’ve probably heard that you need to rinse your plates off before you put them in the dishwasher but that’s actually a myth. Most people do it and they think that it helps keep the dishwasher clean. That was the case in the past but in modern dishwashers, it’s not necessary. In fact, it actually makes the dishwasher less effective a lot of the time. Modern dishwashers have sensors that decide how long the cycle should be and what temperature to wash at based on how many food particles are on the dishes. If you clean most of it off, it will run a short cycle and won’t clean very effectively. You do need to scrape any large bits off but there’s no need to rinse.
The Filters Are Clogged 

If you aren’t scraping those large bits of food off before you load the dishwasher, you’re likely to have a problem with clogged filters. All of that excess food left on the plates will get stuck in the filter and over time, it will build up into a horrible mess. A lot of that will start coming away during the wash cycle and get stuck on your plates again. To avoid this, you’ll need to take the filters out and clean them or consider replacing them if they’re really bad.

The Spray Arms Are Clogged 

In places where you have hard water, you can get a buildup of limescale and soap scum in the spray arms so they don’t clean effectively. The best way to avoid this is to choose the right dishwasher detergent (click here for some suggestions) that is designed for hard water. This should help to stop the buildup of limescale in the first place. If it’s already happened, you’ll have to remove the arms and try to clear the limescale out.
The Seals Are Dirty 

Nobody ever thinks to clean the seals around the edges of the doors in the dishwasher, which is why they’re usually filled with grime and old food. All of that residue is getting onto your dishes when you put them in to wash, so they don’t come out nice and clean. If you get in there with a toothbrush and scrub them out, you should notice a big difference.

A dishwasher should make life easier for you but you do still have to look after it properly if you want beautifully clean dishes.  

Would you like to comment?

  1. Good tips, I am very happy with our dishwasher. I do clean the filters quite often.

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  2. Such great tips! I always clean around the edges cuz I thought that was the only issue but I had no idea it could be cuz my dishes are actually too clean going in! Saves me time:)

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  3. What? I always rinse my dishes before!! This is crazy, thanks for sharing

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  4. I have never thought of cleaning up the seals. I thought the reason of dish not getting cleaned because I did not rinse it properly. Thanks for sharing it with us. Time to clean up the seals.

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  5. I've lived in three homes that have dishwashers and I'm embarrassed to say that I've never used one. Maybe I'm old fashioned but I always felt like they didn't do a good job. I need to start using them thought beacuse I really hate doing dishes.

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  6. Hhhhhmmmm....alright Terri! Thank you for sharing these tips.

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  7. Annemarie LeBlanc9:09 AM

    I should check my dishwasher and see if any of these could be causing a problem. Catching an issue early on will help save money!

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  8. Wow your first point is so intriguing! We always rinse our dishes off before loading them into the dishwasher. Looks like I'll be saving myself some time from now on!

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  9. We found out ours was clogged. It was pretty easy to clean it. Plus, it lasts longer and has less issues if you randomly flush it or clean it out.

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  10. It's very important to calibrate it and also check it. Also, make sure it is clean. Make sure it is well-maintained.

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  11. You just reminded me that I have dishes to wash lol. Like others here, I've never even thought about cleaning the seals. I'm fixing to do a clean overhaul and share this post with my daughter. She was complaing last night that her dishwasher wasn't performing like it should be.

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  12. Thanks for these tips. I need to examine my dish washer right away. Perhaps those filters need attention. Lavern Moore

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  13. These are all good tips. I am guilty of rinsing. I am going to stop and see how it goes. :)

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  14. We do not use a dishwasher as yet but these are some great tips. Will be useful when we do buy one in future

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  15. I am one of those who always rinses and washes my dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. These are some great tips. Thanks for sharing.

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