Beyond their ability to clean our dishes, there are a lot of cool things about our dishwashers that many people aren’t aware of. So I thought I’d put together my best dishwasher tips and share them with you today, along with some useful dishwasher information I’ve discovered on the web.
Nothing will make you appreciate your dishwasher more than living without one. Having a dishwasher not only makes life easier but can also encourage you to cook at home more when you don’t have to factor in an additional hour of scrubbing dishes after any given meal. And that’s just the beginning of how helpful this appliance can be!
Related: 11 Things You Should Never Put in Your Dishwasher
10 Things You Should Know About Your Dishwasher
1. It Saves Water
Most dishwasher cycles actually save water compared to hand-washing. The water savings are even more dramatic with newer, more efficient dishwasher models.
Related: 9 Good Reasons Why You Should Actually Read Your User Manuals
2. Use White Vinegar to Prevent Water Spots
My little secret for sparkling dishes? White vinegar! In every single load of dishes I do, I place a small dish in the center of the top rack and fill it with white vinegar (1/2 to 1 cup of vinegar per load.)
Nothing else I’ve tried has gotten rid of hard water spots and stains more effectively. Adding vinegar is also useful for eliminating weird smells and clearing cloudy glasses.
3. It Can Clean Your Messes for You
Use your dishwasher to catch messes. Over your open dishwasher door, spray cooking spray onto pans to avoid a slippery, potentially dangerous hazard on your kitchen floor, or measure out powdered ingredients without worrying about any overflow or spillage.
4. It Can Clean More Than Dishes
Your dishwasher can clean more than just dishes! On the top rack of your dishwasher, you can wash: silk flowers, baseball caps, small toys, flip flops, light fixture covers, vacuum attachments, hairbrushes, gardening tools, and more! Read more about what you can put in your dishwasher (besides dishes) here.
5. You Can Cook with It
Did you know you can actually cook salmon in your dishwasher? Douse a salmon filet in your favorite marinade, then wrap it up tightly and securely in tin foil. Place it on the top rack of your dishwasher, and run for a whole cycle (including drying.) The salmon will come out steamy, moist, and delicious!
6. Sort Your Utensils to Save Time
Taking a few seconds to load your utensils into the dishwasher by type will make it easier and quicker to unload them.
7. There’s a Right Way to Load Your Dishwasher
Check out the user manual that came with your dishwasher. A lot of them contain a diagram of how best to load your particular dishwasher. (Besides just being good information to know, it may help settle any ongoing arguments about the best method for loading the dishwasher!)
You can also download my FREE dishwasher do’s and don’ts printable by clicking here.
8. You Can Quickly Fix Worn Tines
If the tops of your dishwasher tines are rusty or exposed, there’s an inexpensive fix. Dishwasher tine caps like these ones are dishwasher safe, and will instantly give your dishwasher a visual facelift.
More Ideas You'll Love
9. You Can Make Your Own Detergent
It’s easier than it sounds to make your own dishwasher detergent! It’s quick to do and could potentially save you a lot of money over time. You can also make them as dishwasher detergent tablets. (Believe it or not, you can actually use dish soap in your dishwasher – but only if you do it correctly!)
10. You Should Clean It Regularly
Your dishwasher needs cleaning too! Clean it regularly to keep it working properly. Get all the details from my post about how to clean your dishwasher.
Do you have a favorite thing about your dishwasher?
NEW! Can you guess the 5-letter word related to today’s post?
More Ideas You'll Love
I put my sponge on the top rack and it comes out clean.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My husband has been running the hose for his CPAP machine through the dishwasher on the sanitize cycle with excellent results.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Please can anyone help me ? I have just bought an integrated slimline Hotpoint dishwasher and programme 3 stops after about half and hour and the dishes are cold and wet. Has anyone any experience of this, I am finding it hard to understand the manual.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hi Jan! I would try typing in the model name to YouTube – you might be able to find a video that explains and shows how the different functions work :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I think putting flip flops into a dishwasher is disgusting! Shoes, which flip flops are, are in contact with all sorts of germs, viruses, etc. and not you’re going to put them in your dishwasher next to your dishes? ! Purely disgusting!!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Luckily, the dishwasher cleans and sanitizes with every load. But some tips just aren’t for everyone! :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’ve never put flip-flops in thee, simply because I can’t wear them (they make my feet HURT), but I gather up all of the other stuff Jillee mentions, including the pet dishes, and do one load of only those icky things. As she said, the dishwasher sanitizes things, so you don’t need to worry about germs. Frankly, I’d worry more about hair brushes than flip-flops.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’ve blanched corn in the dishwasher prior to putting it up in the freezer! Also, I put beans, peas, etc. those that need to be shelled in a pillow case and thrown them in the clothes dryer for a couple of minutes. The shells pop right open! Try greens in the washer…clean and dirt free ready to cook and eat!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I don’t think I would want to put hair brushes, flip flops or cook salmon in my dishwasher. Think I will keep it for dishes.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’ve been using vinegar in my spot remover dispenser for years in my dishwasher and guess what? they don’t smell bad when they come out. You can also use it as a fabric softener in your washer.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I wash all my ceiling air conditioning vents, my stove top exhaust fan filter and stove top racks in the washer. I also spray my oven racks with oven cleaner then put them through the washer. Makes it so easy! Love my washer
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I still don’t understand number 3. I have re-read it several times and still can’t get it.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.LOL, I had trouble with that one also! All she is saying is, when you need to spray a pan with non-stick spray, open your dishwasher and spray it there. The over spray goes on the the door of the dishwasher and not on your floor or your counter top.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Normally, when I spray cooking spray onto a baking sheet, I get slippery spray on the kitchen floor – which is a fall just waiting to happen! If you spray your baking sheet over the dishwasher, then the dishwasher catches the mess instead of your floor. :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Before turning on your loaded dishwasher, let your kitchen faucet run until it is hot. Then turn on the dishwasher. The dishwasher will then fill with hot water instead of cold! Your dishes will be so much cleaner!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hi I have been using white vinegar in my dishwasher for some time.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Rather than using a container I fill the rinceaid compartment I adjusted it to what I need and it lasts about a month the compartment is plastic so no harm done.
I was the kids toys in the dishwasher. Place the small ones in one of those mesh laundry bags. They come out clean and sanitized !
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I use the dishwasher to clean the Lint screen from my dryer. Works great!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Great idea!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hi Jillee, I love all these ideas! The only thing I can think of besides dishes that I put in my dishwasher is my dish drainer. I need to think more outside the box!
Thanks for the tips. I’m definitely going to try the vinegar in a dish next time I run it. Off to pin this one to my cleaning tips board.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I love your tip for spraying cooking spray on baking sheets above the open washer! I like to usey dish washer for ball caps.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I was advised by the salesman where I purchased my new dishwasher that you should ONLY use 2 teaspoons of dishwashing detergent per wash.
ALSO use only dry detergent in your clothes washer to save on all the parts and extend the life of your machine.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have washed my kids hockey football and Lacrosse helmets for years in the top rack of my dishwasher! It sanitizes them and gets rid of some of the smell in their bags!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Awesome!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I use vinegar in my dishwasher but instead of in a bowl I just put it in the dispenser where you would normally put your rinse agent. Works great…
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Lunch boxes on the top shelve. They come out like new!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thank you for so many good tips. I usually look forward to reading your posts.
I often add vinegar close to the end of the rinse cycle, but that means I have to be around to do it. If I put it in a bowl, does it need to be full? How exactly does this work?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.This is exactly my question as well. I have heard for a long time about putting vinegar in the DW. I use vinegar for cleaning all the time and love it. I am just not sure how putting a bowl of vinegar on the top rack is going to work. It’s not getting sprayed out like rinse aid would. We live in a hard water area. We built our home about 1 1/2 years ago and have all new appliances. I was using Cascade rinse aid, but it leaves an awful film all over my dishes and feels tacky to the touch. I hate it! I stopped filling my rinse aid compartment just recently because of this. But, I just bought brand new drinking glasses and they can not go through the dishwasher with the Cascade. They came out completely cloudy, so for weeks I have been hand washing them. It bugs me that they always have to be washed because I couldn’t find a solution to allow them to go through the dishwasher without getting cloudy again. It’s a pet peeve.
So, Ms. Jillee, enlighten those of us on how this works. I think you might just very well save many of us countless hours in hand washing if this little vinegar gem works easily & efficiently on hard water areas.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Try the vinegar! I don’t have a super specific answer for you; the vinegar just gets splashed around and works its magic. :-) It’s cheap enough to try once or twice, and I have seen huge differences on my glassware!!
It should be a small bowl – almost full. It just gets splashed around and diluted during the wash, eventually reaching all of your dishes!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I regularly put my toothbrush in top of dishwasher to keep it clean! Thanks for all these other tips.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I miss my dishwasher so much. When we sold our house to move way out of state the realtor even though it was clearly on our agreement that the dishwasher wasn’t staying with the house she had told the buyer it did. Since we were moving due to husband’s health and winter was coming we let it go, but I have missed it so much, never could afford to replace it so have been doing dishes by hand for 10 years now. If I had one now I’d treat it like a prize with value beyond all as I’m sure your daughter did.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.We had to leave our dishwasher when we sold our house, too. Believe it or not, I found a used one at the local Goodwill store for $50. It was a 1/2 price Saturday so we only paid $25 for it! It worked fine although someone had broken a glass in it. Hubby cleaned out the broken glass and it’s still going, over a year later.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.We bought our latest on Craig’s list for ninety dollars. That was over three years ago and it’s still going strong.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.When you wash an odd, dirty, item, like flip flop sandals in , can you do regular dishes, etc. Next time, or must you run an empty load between? I hate to think of eating off dishes from that next load.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.By the end of the cycle, your sandals and your dishwasher will be clean and sanitized! No need to run an extra cycle. :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I agree with the tip in the comments about not matching your cutlery. It definitely promotes nesting of spoons especially. I don’t see the time savings in sorting them before rather than after anyway. And make sure if you have a newer dishwasher that you read the manual. Mine says to never use vinegar. Might void the warranty if you do.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Newer dishwashers have a slotted flip-top cover on the cutlery basket. Put the handles of your spoons or forks and the blades of your knives in the slots and no more nesting. It makes unloading lightning fast, too.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.These are all great! The one about doing messy things over or in the dishwasher is just plain brilliant.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Until now, the biggest and most helpful thing I ever learned about dishwashers happened while I had a job helping an appliance company brainstorm new products. It was that you SHOULD leave a bit of food on your dishes when loading them into the dishwasher- don’t rinse them! The new detergents are so aggressive that you need to leave something for them to “eat”, or else they will begin to etch (“eat”) your dishes themselves.
There’s a woman at our church who actually uses soap on the dishes before she drops them into the mashing. I’ve suggested she not do that, but it goes in one ear and out the other. Sometimes I think there ought to be a support group for people who do that.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.