How to Clean Your Dishwasher

Now that the holidays are over, my dishwasher can finally take a break.  This year, it seriously felt like every time I turned around I needed to start the dishwasher or unload it {Sidenote:  I hate unloading the dishwasher–I’ve even timed myself, it takes 3 minutes.  3 little minutes, and I still don’t want to do it.}

After being run nonstop,though, I like to give my dishwasher a good cleaning.  {Do you remember that Friends episode when Monica vacuums her vacuum cleaner with a smaller vacuum cleaner.  Ha.  Well, I like to clean the the thing that cleans our dishes.}

Ingredients:

• Distilled white vinegar
• Baking soda
• Old toothbrush, q-tips, and toothpicks
• Dishcloth
• Paper towels

Directions:

1. Take out the racks and silverware caddy.
2. Fill your kitchen sink with hot water and 2 cups of vinegar
3. Dip the dishcloth into the water/vinegar mixture and then use it to wipe down the silverware caddy and racks.
4. If you have a filter, remove it and clean it in the vinegar mixture.
5. If you fill comfortable with it, remove the arm and place it in the sink to soak.  {You might be really surprised by the gunk you find in the hole of the arm–where supposedly only clean water is coming out of.}  This is where you may need to carefully use the toothpicks to remove said gunk.
6. Reassemble the dishwasher.
7. Add 2 cups of vinegar to the bottom of the dishwasher and turn it on.
8. Stop the machine mid-wash so that the vinegar has a chance to do its magic with the added benefit of the steam from the dishwasher {about 1/2 hour}.
9. Turn the cycle back on and let it run its course.
10. Open the dishwasher and wipe it down completely with paper towels to remove any loosened build-up.  Remember the top and sides of the door.

Now, take a moment to enjoy the clean dishwasher, because believe me NO ONE else is going to notice.  Ha!

~Mavis