Cleaning a dishwasher can be a very simple process if you know exactly what you are doing. Many people just do not realize the need or necessity for cleaning their dishwasher, but to be honest, it is vital to clean your dishwasher every few months in order to prevent problems in the future. A dirty dishwasher can cause a lot of damage to your dishwasher itself by building up debris, dirt, and gunk, as well as cost more money in the long run because dishes will take longer to wash and more energy and water will have to be used to wash dishes properly. A dirty dishwasher can be cleaned easily and simply in a quick amount of time.

The first step in cleaning your dishwasher is to run on the hottest setting possible when it has been completely emptied except for a cup of vinegar on the top rack. The dishwasher needs to be free of any dishes, utensils, cups, etc. in order for this first step to work properly. The next step after running your dishwasher is to check all the arms in the dishwasher to check if they are free of food debris. Many times, there is obvious food debris in the corners, on the spinning arms, and inside the holes of your dishwasher, you will just need to clean these areas to get a good start to a deep cleaning of your dishwasher. You will want to use pliers, a toothpick, or another tool that will be able to reach these tiny spaces effectively in order to get the gunk out. Follow this by wiping all the surface areas and in-between areas of your dishwasher thoroughly. This step will be fairly easy since you are able to just use a wet rag or even a toothbrush to wipe all these areas clean. Then wipe under the bottom of the dishwasher door. Depending on how dirty your dishwasher is, this process will take the time necessary in order for everything to become clean. The last step is to run the dishwasher on the hottest setting again with a cup of vinegar on the top rack and then follow this by running the dishwasher again with an adequate sprinkling of baking soda to cover the bottom of the dishwasher, usually, you will want to use about a cup for this last step. This will sparkle up your dishwasher and clean it thoroughly.