Dishwashers make cleaning up the kitchen after a satisfying meal much easier. Instead of individually handwashing every plate, utensil, and cooking implement, you can put a good portion of those items into the dishwasher. Of course, your dishwasher is bound to get dirty from all the dirty dishes it cleans, so it’s important to know how to clean a dishwasher.
However, you might be hesitant to use a dishwasher cleaner for fear that it could damage your dishwasher or flatware, or maybe you would rather save money. Luckily, the solution to these problems is to use vinegar as a homemade dishwasher cleaning solution. Keep reading to learn how to clean a dishwasher with vinegar.
Why Clean A Dishwasher With Vinegar?
It’s easy to assume that cleaning appliances are in some way self-cleaning and shouldn’t require outside assistance for upkeep. However, that is far from true, as cleaning appliances need cleaning of their own. A washing machine, for example, may be used to clean clothes, but the fact that it cleans clothes doesn’t necessarily mean that it cleans itself in the process of a wash cycle.
That same reasoning is applicable to dishwashers. A dishwasher cycle only cleans the flatware and silverware inside it, not the dishwasher itself. As for why you should use vinegar, this substance will effectively eliminate any food buildup and strange odors in your dishwasher, which makes knowing how to clean a dishwasher with vinegar all the more necessary.
When To Clean A Dishwasher
Before getting into how to clean a dishwasher with vinegar, you need to understand when you’ll need to clean your dishwasher. In fact, there are three specific situations where it’s necessary to clean your dishwasher. First, your dishwasher should be cleaned on a monthly basis to avoid any problems that could arise from the buildup of gunk from food. However, if your dishwasher isn’t working as expected or a strange odor seems to be coming from it, start cleaning it immediately.
How To Clean A Dishwasher With Vinegar In 6 Steps
Now that you know why it’s important to clean your dishwasher with vinegar and when to do so, you are ready to learn how to clean a dishwasher with vinegar. Follow these six steps to complete this task successfully:
1. Create The Vinegar Cleaning Solution
For the first step in how to clean a dishwasher with vinegar, make sure you have white vinegar or cleaning vinegar. If you’re using white vinegar, you’ll need to put one cup of it in a dishwasher-safe mug or bowl. For cleaning vinegar, you’ll need three-fourths of a cup.
2. Empty The Dishwasher
Before putting the bowl or mug with the vinegar in your dishwasher, ensure it’s completely empty. Once your dishwasher is completely empty, you can move on to the next step.
3. Place Mug Or Bowl With The Vinegar In The Top Rack
As soon as your dishwasher is emptied, place the dishwasher-safe mug or bowl with the white vinegar or cleaning vinegar on the top rack. While you might think adding dishwasher detergent will help, that is not the case. It’s important that you remember not to add any dishwasher detergent if you are using the vinegar method to clean it.
4. Run A Dishwasher Cycle On The Hottest Setting
Now that your dishwasher is empty except for the mug or bowl with the vinegar, you’ll need to run a cycle. Experts recommend running a normal dishwasher cycle on the hottest setting for maximum cleanliness.
5. Let Your Dishwasher Air Dry
Instead of running a typical drying cycle for your dishwasher, leave it open to air dry. Remove the mug or bowl, and if any large food particles are now visible, carefully remove those from the dishwasher too.
6. Try Alternative Methods If Necessary
If you feel like the vinegar method didn’t produce the desired results, you can try using alternative methods to clean your dishwasher. What’s important is that you keep up with cleaning this essential kitchen appliance on a monthly basis, so it performs as expected.
Our Appliance Technicians Will Fix Your Dishwasher!
Hopefully, knowing how to clean a dishwasher with vinegar has made you more confident in your ability to maintain one of your most vital kitchen appliances. However, if your dishwasher is facing problems that not even vinegar can help fix, you might want to call an appliance technician to check it out. If you live in Miami, then contacting us at Appliance Repair Miami is the best way to get service from the best appliance technicians in all of Florida!