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.
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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?
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I too use vinegar for occasional sanitizing and spot removal, but I put it in the rinse aid dispenser. Mostly, though, I like to run lemon juice concentrate through here. I do this every time, it smells good, my dishes don’t spot and my dishwasher is clean :)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I put my grandkids small toys in the dishwasher to sanitize them, particularly after there’s been an illness going around. Things like Legos can go in my delicates bag and then I toss it on the top rack of the dishwasher.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My favorite dishwasher use is sterilizing canning jars. Just run them on the hottest cycle and the heated dry feature keeps them hot until you are ready to fill them. No more boiling!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have a short heat and dry cycle on my dishwasher. This is hat I use for my canning jars. It takes several days to fill my dishwasher, so I don’t use it regularly, but try to use it at least once a week.
I can’t wait to make up some of the dishwasher detergent.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I did not mind hand washing dishes (I lived alone and rarely cooked) as it helps my arthritis. I used the dishwasher to store things I rarely used, such as platters, stew pots, etc. Now that I am a caregiver to my 95 yr old Dad, I wish I had one to wash dishes from the 3 meals I make everyday.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The best tip I got was from the repairman. Always heat your faucet water to its hottest BEFORE turning on your dishwasher. I used to use the delay feature all the time but got lots of spots and standing water in the bottom. Once I started to use hot water to start my dishwasher loads no more problems. It is because of the phosphates they have taken out that the dishes don’t look as clean anymore.
I use Jet Dry and super hot water now 140 degrees. Dishes are super clean again.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I used to use jet dry also but now I use vinegar. It works just a well and it is cheaper.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I use mine as a handy drying rack when I hand wash a few glasses or dishes. Much better than taking up room on the counter with a separate drying rack.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.This was really enlightening – thanks! By the way, enjoyed seeing you with Carol Tuttle in the video for Dressing Your Truth! Finally, I have a question for you: I am trying to find a way to make my own water softener for my laundry. The water here is incredibly hard, I can’t put in a real water softener, and the bottles of Calgon are small and expensive! If you have any ideas, I hope you’ll post them.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Sarah, salt will soften water. Have you thought of using dryer balls or even vinegar instead of fabric softener! Sometimes you can dampen a cloth with a fabric softener and put in the dryer with wet clothes to help with static or wrinkles.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.1/4 cup epsom salt added when the washer is filling softens our hard well water sufficiently.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Add about 1/2 cup of borax to each load with the detergent – it works wonders! :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I use the dishwasher to sanitize my sponges and dish brush. Also for cleaning brushes. I just put them on the top shelf every time I run it. No more stinky or gross looking sponges. They seem to last longer because all that bacteria is not eating away at them.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I put dish sponges in the microwave for 2 minutes. It completely sanitizes them.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I do this too. Even put my dish cloths in. I drape them over the tines and they come out real nice and smell good again.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Lemon essential oil in a bowl of water will sanitize sponges and dish cloths. Just sit them in the sink overnight.
I never use jet dry in my dishwasher. I fill up the jet dry reservoir with white vinegar. I never have spots.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Additional tip for step # 3 , when teaching toddler-young children to pour their own drinks. Open door, place cup on door (perfect height for them) Any mess they make there is caught and left ther. Helps them learn and helps you with no mess.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Such a great idea!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I always throw in my stovetop knobs, stove vent fan filters, drip pan from under the water dispenser, sink drain strainer & coated wire liner.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.If the utensil basket gets crowded I take an empty can, punch holes in the bottom with an ice pick (from the inside out) & put on the bottom rack to hold more.
I make homemade bread and I put my bread in the dishwasher on the top rack to help it raise quickly. It’s like a proof box during the drying cycle, steam and heat.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I use bamboo dish cloths for items that I can’t put in the dishwasher and for wiping the counter and any spills etc. I put these on the top shelf when running the dishwasher. It deodorises and sterilises them and they last longer.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I also put grand children’s toothbrushes in the dishwasher in between visits.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I use white vinegar in the specified area of the dishwasher instead of the Jet Dry Liquid. My dishes are spot free and I save so much money.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My dishwasher always smells great.
I load my forks tines down as I stabbed myself unloading with the pointy sharp tips up. I also do not put like sized spoons facing the same direction in the same holder as they nest and don’t get washed
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Colleen
Recently I got some citric acid, like you would use to make jelly, and I put a coffee scoop of the citric acid in the second or pre wash area next to the detergent. I suppose you could just throw it in the bottom if you don’t have the second area. My dishes come out amazing! And I live in Southern California where we have very hard water. I read why it works, but I forgot as I am so excited over my dishes, silverware etc. I now add it to the laundry or anyplace dealing with hard water. I make poo bombs with it also. Yep, I buy it in the big size at Amazon. Sorry, no stinky vinegar for me. Also my dishwasher really shines on the inside too!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.What is poo bombs?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Just a great secret…..run your kitchen faucet until the water is hot. Then start your dishwasher. Your dishwasher cleans dishes in hot water instead of cold!!
Please post your poo bomb recipe :)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Please post your poo bomb recipe! :)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.What’s a poo bomb?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Very timely post – I just cleaned our dishwasher today! It didn’t take nearly as long as I imagined it would, and now I don’t know how I allowed us to use dishes that came out of it before – it had gotten kind of gross!! Hoping for more sparkling dishes now.
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