I’m a cleaning expert and there are five key steps for sorting your dishwasher – miss one and it’ll still stink
SPRING has sprung and plenty of us are marking the season with a serious deep clean of our homes.
Dishwashers are often top of people’s lists to tackle, as a dirty machine can mean dirty dishes.
The pros advise that you give your’s a clean once a month to keep it in tip top shape and prevent any dodgy smells and build up of bacteria.
If you’re cutlery is coming out dirty, the water’s draining slowly or it’s giving off a pungent pong – it’s time to blitz the appliance.
Cleaning expert Courtney Walsh at Homeaglow shared her top tips for cleaning dishwashers naturally with Express.co.uk.
You’ll need to gather the following before getting started; baking soda, distilled white vinegar, a soft-bristled scrubbing brush, an old toothbrush, flexible wire, washing up liquid and a sponge.
Job number one is to clean the drain filter in the machine.
In order to do this, you’ll need to remove it from the bottom of the dishwasher.
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Get rid of any food chunks and soak the filter in a mix of
Then, remove any chunks and food waste from the filter and soak it in a mix of hot water and washing up liquid.
You can also use a soft-bristled brush to shift any grime.
Rinse it and restore it to it’s rightful place before moving on to the second task.
Next take out the upper and lower spray arms and use a toothpick or scour brush to make sure it’s completely clear.
Then run hot water through them to make sure they are completely clear and pop them back in the machine.
Remove the internal racks and give the sides of the machine a good scrub as well as rinsing the racks in hot water.
Courtney said: “Next, use white vinegar and a sponge to remove stuck-on debris. Lastly, wipe down the door gasket as it can accumulate dirt.”
Once all this is done, it’s time to hand over to the machine to do some of the leg work.
Run two cycles – one with a bowl of white vinegar on the top rack and a second with a cup of baking soda on the hottest setting.
This should shift any dodgy smells.
Courtney said: “Vinegar and baking soda have multipurpose cleaning and disinfecting properties.
“They are handy in every home and help clean the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and other areas of the house.”
Once both cycles are done, leave the door open for an hour to air-dry.
Finally – give the exterior a good wipe down. For the sake of completion, after all – if a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right.