Alyse Whitney is a Los Angeles-based food editor, recipe developer, and video host. She is a Korean American adoptee who is currently tackling making homemade kimchi for the first time, and she’s most passionate about karaoke, dips, and her dog, Miso. Currently, she is a contributing editor at Cravings by Chrissy Teigen — where she previously originated the role of managing editor — and was the senior food editor at Rachael Ray Every Day, an associate editor at Bon Appétit, and wrote and edited across entertainment, entertaining, lifestyle, plus-size fashion, and products at publications such as NYMag’s Grub Street, The Strategist, and The Cut; Glamour; Domino, Food52; Apartment Therapy; and more. You can find her on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter @alysewhitney.
The truth is, you can spend hundreds (or even thousands!) of dollars fixing and maintaining a dishwasher. So, whether your home comes with one or you’re buying one brand-new, it’s definitely an investment worth protecting.
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1. Get the hot water flowing.
Before even starting your next load, it’s a good idea to run the water faucet closest to the dishwasher (most likely your kitchen sink) until you feel hot water running out of the tap. “This ensures your unit gets hot water in the unit for proper operation,” says Eric Hollister, lead instructor for the Dyer Appliance Repair Academy in Fort Worth, Texas.
Turns out hot water is essential for the most efficient cleaning, as it liquifies fats and grease, sanitizes dishes, and activates the dishwashing detergent.
2. Clean your dishwasher filter after every use.
You read that right — every time. Hollister explains that because water is constantly drawn through the filter to remove food particles, the tiny bits need to be removed regularly. If not, the food residue decays and grows bacteria. Gross. “Most people don’t clean filters often enough,” he says. If your dishwasher smells funny, a dirty filter is the most likely culprit.
3. Wipe down dishwasher seals.
In a similar vein to the previous tip, wiping down the rubber gasket around the door of your dishwasher (especially if you see any residue) will help keep your dishwasher in good shape. A damp towel should do the trick. While you’re at it, see if there’s any grime buildup in the detergent door so you can wipe it away.
We’re sensing a trend here. The spray arm of your dishwasher can also get clogged with food and debris, so for the best results wipe it with a damp towel at least once a month. Every six months, take out the spray arm and get in there with a toothpick to clear out any blockages.
5. Sanitize with vinegar once a week.
Vinegar is a cheap way to naturally disinfect your dishwasher. All you need to do is place a bowl filled with a cup of white vinegar on the top rack. “The vinegar will dispense as the bowl fills with water in the cycle and will circulate throughout the unit,” Hollister says. “Doing so will also help remove hard water mineralization as the acid in the vinegar will dissolve the mineral residue.”
How do you keep your trusty dishwasher humming? Tell us your tips in the comments below.
GE Profile’s new dishwasher integrates smart home technology into your kitchen routine.
Read to learn how the GE Profile Smart Dishwasher can give your dishes a better clean and simplify kitchen clean-up.
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High-touch areas, like the silverware basket, are treated with Miroban technology that prevents bacteria growth. (Image via The Home Depot)
Smarter Sanitizing
Sanitizing is simple when using GE Profile’s innovative Steam + Sani setting. The steam loosens tough soils before any cycle, so you get a complete wash with no pre-rinsing or soaking, and the high-temperature rinse reduces 99.999 percent of bacteria on dishes.
Interior filters and common touchpoints inside this GE Profile dishwasher are equipped with Microban technology that prevents bacteria growth, so the interior stays cleaner 24/7.
Inside, the UltraFresh System introduces clean air to reduce moisture and help prevent the growth of odor-causing bacteria.
The dishwasher’s exterior features an advanced fingerprint-resistant stainless finish that lets you easily wipe away fingerprints and smudges to keep the outside of your dishwasher looking clean and new.
Bottle jets blast to clean hard-to-reach spots. (Image via The Home Depot)
Strong Enough for Stuck-On Messes
This smart GE Profile dishwasher has a Piranha Hard Food Disposer, so you can use your dishwasher without pre-rinsing. Its stainless steel impellers rotate at 3,600 RPM to pulverize food particles and an anti-jamming design makes sure wash arms stay unclogged.
Forty powerful cleaning jets blast the silverware basket from top to bottom, to your utensils sparkle no matter which way you load them.
Once you get this GE dishwasher, you can say bye-bye to bottle brushes. The four bottle wash jets in the upper rack blast water and detergent directly to effectively wash hard-to-reach areas.
Use your smartphone to order more detergent and refill rinse aid. (Image via The Home Depot)
Efficient Design
Enjoy next-level loading flexibility thanks to multi-position, fold-down tines in the lower rack. Adjust them into three different positions and configure your rack to accommodate any item.
This extra-large capacity dishwasher has enough space for 16 place settings and large dishware, making cleanup easy after large gatherings. Plus, an additional rack at the top of the dishwasher is the perfect place to wash spatulas, lids, kitchen gadgets and more.
Dry Boost with Fan Assists means you can ditch the dish towel. This feature gets hard-to-dry items like plastics up to three times drier than heated dry cycles using a fan that pulls moist air out, resulting in table-ready dishes.
This GE dishwasher’s Active Flood Protect gives you extra peace of mind. The water leak sensor detects when water is too high, and pumps it out until a safe level is reached.
Plus, this dishwasher has built-in WiFi, so you can monitor cycle status and automatically reorder detergent through the SmartHQ app.
With five children, Shifrah is learning a thing or two about how to keep a fairly organized and pretty clean house with a grateful heart in a way that leaves plenty of time for the people who matter most. Shifrah grew up in San Francisco, but has come to appreciate smaller town life in Tallahassee, Florida, which she now calls home. She’s been writing professionally for twenty years and she loves lifestyle photography, memory keeping, gardening, reading, and going to the beach with her husband and children.
Olivia Harvey is a freelance writer and award-winning scriptwriter from outside Boston, Massachusetts. She’s a big fan of scented candles, getting dressed up, and the 2005 film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice starring Keira Knightley. You can make sure she’s doing okay via Instagram and/or Twitter.
