Tips on keeping your dishwasher in shape

Bosch Dishwasher - Cabinet inset front

During the holiday season, dishwasher use goes into overdrive. However, we should never neglect such an important kitchen appliance.

Here are a few tips on keeping your dishwasher performing at its best:

Rinse off tomato sauces before loading the dishes into the dishwasher. You want to pre-rinse anything with tomatoes, since tomatoes can cause permanent stains.

If you notice a green stain inside your dishwasher, the dye in your detergent is most likely the culprit. Simply switch to a different detergent — consider a dye-free detergent.

Bosch Dishwasher -- White

Cloudy spots on your glasses may be the result of hard water. You'll know that hard water is the problem if a cloth dampened with vinegar rubs away the cloudy film. To remove the cloudiness, you'll need to run your dishes back through on a normal cycle, adding white vinegar to the final rinse cycle. You'll need a liquid rinse agent to prevent the cloudy filming going forward.

Care for your detergent. Both liquid and powder automatic dishwashing detergents work well. If you opt for a powder detergent, make sure you keep your box closed and in a dry place.  If your detergent looks caked, it won't dissolve well — so it won't clean as effectively.

Don't add more detergent than what's called for on the box — even if your dishes look extra dirty. Too much detergent will leave a residue behind.

Calcium and iron buildup can cause brown stains to form. Citric acid can remove these stains. You'll need to empty the dishwasher and run a cycle with the citric acid in the detergent cup. Then run a second empty cycle with detergent.

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How to keep  your dishwasher in tip – top shape – Houzz..com