Meet the Expert
Jade Piperis the operations manager for BetterCleans.
Want more cleaning and organizing tips?
However, if you want your dishes to come out clean, excess food must be removed.
onurdongel / Getty Images
Unfortunately, the short-term gain may not be worth the long-term consequences.
Instead, confirm you follow the guidelines for your kitchenware and hand-wash your non-dishwasher-safe items.
“This can cause them to warp or even melt, which is a nightmare!”
And it helps everyone in your household load the dishwasher correctly."
In fact, the same is true of those who handwash all of their dishes.
“Make it a habit to periodically check and clean the spray arms,” Piper says.
“Grab a toothpick or a small brush so nothing is blocking the holes.”
Ideally, you should clean the spray arms and the dishwasher filter on a monthly basis.
In the short term, you may unknowingly use dishes that are not sufficiently clean.
In the long term, you might need to replace your dishwasher sooner than you anticipated.
If you want to keep your dishwasher operating correctly for as long as possible, regular maintenance is essential.
Be sure toclean out your filterat least once a month.
Dishwashers are designed to release detergent at a specific point in the overall cycle.
However, if you use too much, you may encounter new problems as a result.
“Expect to find film on dishes, making that cloudy look we all hate.”
If you’ve ever consideredadding regular dishwashing soap to your dispenserin moments like this, don’t!
Dishwasher detergent and dish soap are designed differently.
As for knives, however, there is one clear answer: handles up always.
