How to clean your dishwasher with vinegar and baking soda

Dishwasher not cleaning? Here are three easy steps to help you figure out how to clean your dishwasher, dishwasher drain and dishwasher filter.

Table of Contents Show

How often should you clean your dishwasher?
How to clean your dishwasher
Can I put vinegar and baking soda in dishwasher at same time?
What is the best way to clean and deodorize a dishwasher?
Is it safe to clean dishwasher with vinegar?
How do you clean a dishwasher with baking soda?

Over time grease, soap scum and food debris build up in dishwashers, which can create a breeding ground for germs and reduce the efficiency of the appliance.Getty Images

April 28, 2015, 2:39 PM UTC / Updated April 14, 2021, 7:15 PM UTC

/ Source: TODAY

That glorious machine in your kitchen that cleans dishes does in fact need to be cleaned itself.

Over time grease, soap scum and food debris build up in dishwashers. Not only does this provide a breeding ground for germs, it also reduces the efficiency of the appliance, so it's important to maintain a clean dishwasher.

How often should you clean your dishwasher?

According to house-maintenance expert Bob Vila, you should clean your dishwasher filter and drain once a month. Cleaning dishwashers isn't difficult. Vila's three-step process is easy to do and doesn’t require any special tools. Here's how to clean the dishwasher.

How to clean your dishwasher

Even if you have a relatively new dishwasher, Vila suggests that it's a good idea to clean the dishwasher monthly to help maximize its efficiency. It just takes a few steps to get your dishwasher cleaner.

Clear the drain: Remove the bottom dish rack. Inspect the dishwasher drain, removing any gunk or food caught there. This will improve drainage, increase cleaning efficiency and prevent damage to the dishwasher.
Clean the dishwasher with vinegar: Start with an empty dishwasher. Place a cup of white vinegar in a dishwasher-safe container on the upper rack of the machine. Run the dishwasher through a hot-water cycle. This will wash away grease and grime and remove musty odors, too.
Baking soda rinse: Sprinkle one cup of baking soda across the bottom of the dishwasher. Run a short, hot water cycle. The dishwasher will be fresh-smelling and have a brightened, stain-free interior.

This article was originally published on April 28, 2015 on TODAY.

Be honest. When was the last time you cleaned your dishwasher? And I’m not talking about running a washing cycle with an empty chamber, I’m talking about a deep cleaning of filters, cartridges and crates. I’m guessing that quite a bit of time has passed since your last cleaning. Well, tiny bits of food, grease and dishwasher soap scum can cling together and form deposits in all the nooks and crannies of your dishwasher. After a time, they can not only make your dishwasher look and smell bad, but decrease its efficiency as well.

Here at Cleancult, we’re big fans of cleaning our different home appliances and keeping them working in top shape! So, for the benefit of everyone and their machines, today we bring you an easy, effective and swift way of cleaning your dishwasher using only vinegar, baking soda, and a toothbrush. So gather your cleaning supplies, because it’s time to give new life to your dishwasher.

According to cleaning experts, you should clean your dishwasher at least once a month to keep it working properly and in top condition. Follow these few easy steps and give your dishwasher the cleaning it deserves.

What you need:

1 cup of vinegar (both white or apple cider vinegar will do the trick) 1 cup of baking soda A toothbrush Dish soap

The steps:

Examine the drain - The first thing you want to do is to pull out the bottom rack of your machine and examine the drain are to make sure there are no hard chunks of material that may clog the drain, cause damage to the pump or scratch your dishes. You’ll be surprised at what you find lying there! Dishwasher repairmen commonly find bones, crab shells, bits of glass, and even small pieces of gravel!
Wash the filter - Remove the filter and wash away any excess or gunky remains you may find. Place in warm soapy water for about 10 minutes and then rinse.
Run a wash cycle with vinegar - Fill a dishwasher-safe cup with plain white vinegar or apple cider vinegar and place it on the top rack of your dishwasher. The vinegar is very effective in terms of washing away the loose, greasy grime, sanitizing, and helping to remove the musty odors from your dishwasher. Then using the hottest water setting possible, run the dishwasher through a cycle. The machine should be empty, apart from the vinegar-filled cup.
Run a wash cycle with Baking Soda - After the vinegar cycle finishes, sprinkle the cup of baking soda around the bottom of the dishwasher and run it through a short cycle, again in the hottest water setting possible. The baking soda helps in further deodorizing your dishwasher and in removing any stains.
Done! - Get rid of any hard-to-remove stains with the toothbrush, replace the filter, and you should have a squeaky-clean dishwasher.

A word of caution, though! Even though some sites recommend running an additional cycle with a cup of bleach in your dishwasher, we advice against this. Even though bleach may leave your dishwasher looking whiter than ever (if it is indeed white), it may also harm the stainless steel parts of it and eventually shorten its lifespan, therefore making it a counterproductive measure.

It doesn’t matter which kind of detergent you usually to wash your dishes, either dishwasher gel or dishwasher detergent pods, regularly cleaning your dishwasher not only helps to achieve a better and more effective cleaning, but may even extend the life of your machine. If you do so, you will also find that fewer repairs are needed and will actually help you save money!

Can I put vinegar and baking soda in dishwasher at same time?

Never mix the vinegar and baking soda in the same cleaning cycle. They'll start to foam, and you'll have quite a mess to clean up.

What is the best way to clean and deodorize a dishwasher?

Run Empty Dishwasher Cycles with Vinegar and Baking Soda For the first cycle, place a bowl filled with distilled white vinegar on the top rack of the dishwasher, and run a normal cycle. Then, pour a cup of baking soda into the bottom of the dishwasher and run a second cycle. Now your dishwasher should be odor-free!

Is it safe to clean dishwasher with vinegar?

Run your dishwasher with a cup of vinegar in the top rack! Time to go full spa mode with the vinegar. Vinegar is a natural odor neutralizer, so not only will it help to loosen all of the grit, grime, buildup and grossness inside your dishwasher, but it'll zap at lingering smells, too.

How do you clean a dishwasher with baking soda?

Baking soda is a safe and mild alkali substance that goes a long way in removing persistent residue left by food waste. Sprinkle 1 cup of baking soda along the bottom of your dishwasher and rinse on a hot-water cycle. Repeat this process when you have especially stubborn stains or smells.