subject: Give Your Dishwasher A Chance [print this page] When it comes to those of us who own dishwashers, we can be divided into two main camps; one camp consists of those users who must cram absolutely everything possible into the dishwasher until the door barely closes and the spray arm struggles to spin round and the other is those people who only have a limited number of plates, bowls, knives and forks and instead of washing these by hand, they regularly put the dishwasher on when its less than half full.
Neither camp has got it quite right but when it comes to the environment, overloading it is better than under-filling it but to give your dishwasher the best chance of performing well and lasting a good few years its important to give it a bit of attention every now and again. Theres no need to go for the full service every six months but there are some little things that if you get into the habit of doing youll be amazed at the big difference theyll make.
The first thing to do is to rinse your plates quickly before you put them in, theres no need to get everything off but make sure the bulk of the food is off. If youve roasted something and the dish has burnt on food around the edges try to get it into the dishwasher straightaway and put it on immediately, if your dishwasher is basically empty, consider soaking the dish until youre dishwasher is ready to put on. Make sure you clear out the filters every few weeks as these can get clogged with coagulated food which can not only mean an inefficient dishwasher but also a pretty smelly one.
Dont forget to top up the salt and rinse aid as well as using the correct dishwasher tablets for your needs; these are often left to run completely dry which means your dishwasher can only be half as effective. Get into the habit of checking the rinse aid and the salt each time you clear out the filters and youll be amazed at how much more sparkly your dishes are when they come out. Using the wrong detergent for the temperature youre washing at or for the water in your local area can result in poorly washed dishes, residues being left and tea and coffee stains persisting. Have a look online to see whether you live in a hard or soft water area and adjust your dishwasher detergent accordingly and then follow brand guidelines for the best programme to use.
