Cleaning the dishwasher inside and out. Cleaning the dishwasher How to clean the plastic tub of the dishwasher

With the advent of a dishwasher in the house, the life of the hostess becomes much easier. There is no need to stand at the sink for a long time, washing a mountain of plates and pans. However, do not forget that such equipment also needs regular cleaning. Proper care of your dishwasher will significantly extend its life and improve performance.


Causes of pollution

The main cause of dishwasher clogging is leftover food. Even if you carefully remove leftovers from plates, pots, and baking sheets, over time, food particles accumulate. Fat also gradually settles on the details, and scale inevitably appears. All of these have a significant impact on the efficiency of your dishwasher.


When should you wash?

Determining that it's time to wash the equipment is not at all difficult. Your dishwasher will tell you about this. We list the main "symptoms", with the appearance of which it is urgent to begin the cleaning process.

  • Bad smell. If the car emits a strong unpleasant odor that you have not noticed before, do not ignore it. This fact suggests that the structural elements are clogged with grease and debris. The formation of mold fungus on the elements of technology is not excluded.
  • characteristic noise. When the sound of the pump becomes too loud, you should check if the filter is dirty. The quality of washing dishes directly depends on this.


The degree of pollution of equipment depends on many factors. In particular, from:

  • degree of water hardness;
  • intensity of use of the machine;
  • the amount of greasy dishes;
  • properties of the detergents used;
  • the quality of pre-cleaning dishes.


Cleaning steps

In order to wash the equipment as efficiently as possible, it is important to divide the entire process of work into several successive parts.


We do deep cleaning

To do this, you need the simplest tools. First of all, we take any capacious container, fill it with water up to half, add two glasses acetic acid. If there is no suitable container at hand, you can use a sink for this purpose. In the resulting solution we place the removable elements of the dishwasher. This is necessary so that the parts get wet, and it is easier to wash them from accumulated contaminants.

Instead of vinegar, you can use regular citric acid, soda and even soda(provided that the drink is not too bright in color, otherwise stains may remain on the details). You can go the easy way and add a special dishwashing detergent to the water. After that, we deal with the bottom and walls of the car. You can clean them in any way convenient for you (for example, using detergent for dishwashers or stoves).


Dealing with structural elements

We remove the shelves and holders, take out their dishwashers. Further, the algorithm of actions depends entirely on the size of these details. If the shelves and holders are large enough, you need to clean them separately. Wipe them with a sponge dipped in vinegar. In a situation where the structural elements of the machine are not too large, they can be placed in a container or sink in which other parts are soaked. Particular attention should be paid to the elimination of leftover food. Arm yourself with a toothpick or a thin sharp stick and carefully eliminate them.


Getting rid of accumulated debris

The design of the dishwasher includes washing carousels. They have special holes through which water is drained. It is important that foreign debris does not interfere with the movement of the fluid. You have to carefully check the openings of the carousels for blockages. To make the cleaning process as simple as possible, but at the same time most effective, you will need a wire or a thin skewer, as well as pliers.


You can clean the holes with wire by pulling it through the far hole. It is important to bend the wire thread from one end into a kind of hook. So you can easily remove stuck debris. The other way is more complicated. It involves creating a small hole on the outside of the part. In this case, the carousel can be easily cleaned from the inside with a brush. Most importantly, then it is imperative to close the drilled hole with a stainless steel screw of a suitable diameter.


We wipe the rest of the elements

The doors are not washed while the dishwasher is running. The same applies to the space around the baskets. It is necessary to carefully process such places manually. To do this, you will need a brush with soft bristles (a toothbrush will do), a cloth or a sponge. An excellent option would be the following cleaning method: wipe the main surface with a cloth dampened with a solution of vinegar or a non-aggressive detergent. And those places that are hard to reach for a rag, clean with a small brush. So you are guaranteed to achieve perfect cleanliness.



Eliminate grease and mold

To do this, you need regular bleach. Use it very carefully, do not add too much, do not mix with other detergents. Do not use bleach if the walls and doors of the equipment are made of stainless steel. Run the dishwasher in normal mode, do a few cycles. Upon completion of this procedure, open the doors of the machine and thoroughly dry the equipment inside.


We eliminate corrosion

In most cases, the appearance of traces of corrosion is due to the fact that too hard water with a high iron content enters the water supply. Or the pipes are old and rusty. You can soften the water with the help of special solutions, but this method does not always bring the desired effect. There is a more effective method - installing filters that remove iron from the water. This procedure will minimize the appearance of rust and limescale. If spots appear, the first step is to identify the cause of their appearance. Depending on this, it is worth choosing a cleaning method.


In a situation where the integrity of structural elements has suffered due to corrosion, you need to fix this with a special sealant that is sold in any store. Or you can replace the part without waiting for it to completely fail.

We return everything to its place

Once all parts of the dishwasher have been washed and dried, it's time to put them back in their place. If the equipment was used intensively, it is also necessary to clean the bottom. To do this, it is important to disconnect the machine from the mains and remove the bottom, carefully remove all debris and wipe the surface. This completes the cleaning of the machine at home. Now the equipment will work more stable and more efficiently. Before turning on the network, make sure that all elements are dry.


To keep your machine as infrequent as possible, follow these simple rules for regular maintenance.

  • Use equipment for nothing from time to time. To do this, simply turn on the short cycle in economy mode. This will get rid of a significant amount of debris and pollution. Do not forget that it is better to use the machine constantly, avoiding long downtime (equipment breaks down faster if it is not used).
  • Sometimes add vinegar. The process begins with the start of equipment in economy mode. In this case, it is necessary to add a small amount of ordinary vinegar to the dishwasher. In the middle of the cycle, stop the machine so that the structural parts are soaked in the vinegar solution. Then start the cycle again. This method is very good at fighting pollution.


Modern expensive household appliances make life much easier for a person, for example, a dishwasher. But they, in turn, require not only careful handling, but also regular cleaning. No need to think that in the process of washing dishes, food residues and excess fat do not get inside the appliance, which negatively affect the performance of the dishwasher. Each user can clean the dishwasher at home on their own using improvised means or using professional expensive chemicals.

How to rid the car of leftover food

Owners of dishwashers probably use the appliance regularly, so the first rule is to remove food residues, if they get there, immediately. After each use, it is recommended to visually inspect all possible openings that may be clogged. First of all, it is a water sprinkler.

If, however, the remains of the products got into the sprayer, you need to remove them immediately. To do this, disconnect the device from the mains. Then, with a toothpick, tweezers or a thin hook, hook the dirt and pull it out.

Those places where water does not enter must be regularly treated with detergents. These are doors and gaskets - a lot of dirt and grease always accumulate in them. To clean them, a regular cleaning vice will do. For hard-to-reach places, you can use a brush with soft bristles. The attachment points of the doors also need to be cleaned periodically. This is also where debris accumulates and grease settles.

Filters

Filters are the most susceptible to contamination. They should be cleaned at least once a week. Before cleaning the dishwasher filter, you need to remove it. This should be done immediately after the next washing cycle - at this time it is easiest to rid the part of fat.

Different dishwashers have different filters, so you should read the instruction manual before disassembling the appliance. In the photo, the Bosch dishwasher filter is clogged with grease.

Any grease remover will do, such as baking soda or dishwashing liquid. Use a small toothbrush to gently remove the dirt. After rinsing the filter under running water, you can put the part in place.

How to clean the heating element

Hard water causes limescale to build up on the dishwasher heating element. If you do not periodically get rid of scale, the machine can quickly break down. A sign of the formed plaque is a specific musty smell inside the device. But you can carry out the cleaning procedure yourself, at home in a simple and affordable way, for which you need citric acid.

How to clean the dishwasher with citric acid from scale:

  • The entire cleaning process takes place without loading the appliance with dishes.
  • Pour a packet of citric acid (at least 100 g) into the detergent compartment.
  • Set the longest washing cycle, with the highest possible temperature.
  • Wait for the wash to finish. At this time, it is better not to leave the device, because if especially large pieces of limescale fall off, you should stop the cycle and remove it from the drain.

After cleaning the heating element with citric acid, it is necessary to clean the drain hole not only from scale, but also from grease.

Cleaning the drain hole

The drain hole is a place where food debris accumulates. How to clean it up:

  • Disconnect the appliance from the mains.
  • It is better to watch the video instruction before starting disassembly, especially if it is a modern Bosch model, the device of which may differ from older ones.
  • First you need to remove large pieces of dirt on the surface of the drain hole under the carousel.
  • Then, guided by the instruction manual, you must remove all parts. The hole from which the filter was removed must be sealed with adhesive tape so that debris does not get there during the cleaning process.
  • Wipe all parts with a damp cloth or sponge. Vinegar, soda, citric acid, cleaning powder are suitable as a detergent.
  • When the processing of parts is completed, you can put the parts in place. For the first time, you can see the photo of the process.

After such procedures, it is advisable to turn on the device for a short time to see how it will work.

Daily Care

In order to avoid questions about how to clean the dishwasher, it is necessary, as far as possible, to “clean” the inside of the appliance after each use. Simple Tips:

  1. If you use the appliance every day, and not on holidays, you can avoid the drying of grease and food residues.
  2. Before washing dishes in the dishwasher, they must be rinsed with hot running water to wash off food residues and some of the fat.
  3. Be sure to wipe the door and gaskets with a damp cloth and detergent after each use. If dirt gets into them, an unpleasant smell of rot can develop over time.
  4. Periodically clean the appliance with vinegar. To do this, pour two glasses of liquid into the bottom of the dishwasher and turn on a quick wash without dishes.
  5. To combat the smell, you can fill the bottom of the appliance with a glass of baking soda and use the machine as usual.
  6. After each use, leave the machine door open to dry inside.


Modern models of household appliances from the well-known Bosch brand are more advanced. For example, ventilation after the next cycle is carried out by built-in fans, so that the inner surface always remains dry. But the question of how to clean a Bosch dishwasher still remains relevant, because limescale also accumulates on the heating element, and the filters also need to be cleaned regularly.

The main, so to speak, "home" set of procedures consists of 7 stages, which are quite easy to do on your own. Some of them need to be repeated regularly, and some - depending on the degree of contamination of the equipment.

The filtration system, consisting of a strainer, is cleaned at least once every 7 days. Over a longer time, the filter cells will become completely clogged with grease, which will increase the unpleasant odor and leaks may occur.

To remove it, you need to pull out the lower basket and disassemble it. After that, it can be washed with ordinary tap water and detergent.

The impeller and rocker are quite dirty during the machine's work cycles, so they also need to be pulled out and washed. Holes that are cleaned with a regular toothpick are also subject to cleaning.

Important! If, after assembly, the blades of the dishwasher do not rotate well, then you need to disassemble everything again and descale the axis.

The seal on the dishwasher door also requires cleaning, but approximately once every six months. For effective cleaning, you should use a regular toothbrush and a special detergent recommended by the manufacturer.

The lower part of the dishwasher door is such an “island” in the overall system of equipment: water does not enter this part, but various wastes perfectly accumulate, so cleaning it is no less important than other parts.

It is also important to wash the baskets where the dishes fit well. To do this, you can use a medium-sized brush and a regular detergent.

Info! Ideally, you should wash all of these parts daily to avoid the appearance of heavy and dense contamination, as well as the formation of mold and corrosion.

How to deal with difficult pollution?

Contaminants such as mold, old grease and rust are not washed off with ordinary detergent or powder, so you will have to resort to more powerful means.

Bleach is the best way to remove mold marks, but be aware that it is not safe, especially for elements made of stainless steel. Therefore, in order to avoid the appearance of mold, you should regularly ventilate the machine by opening the door for a while, during which all parts will have time to dry well.

Rust is removed with a special tool. However, removing it is one thing, but preventing further corrosion is another. To do this, you need to figure out why the parts rust. The cause may be peeling paint on wash baskets or tap water from rusty pipes that contains too much iron in its composition. In the first case, it will be enough to use a sealant and restore the coating, and in the second - to put a good filter.

The enemy of all dishwashers is scale

Scale is removed using special products that need to be poured / poured into the machine and run for a short washing cycle or vice versa - the longest with the maximum water heating temperature. The selected mode will depend on the type of tool being used. In this case, of course, nothing should be in the car.

Advice! The surest way to clean the machine from scale is to prevent its formation, for this you need to regularly use salt that softens the water.

The most effective tool is the Finish cleaner - it washes all machine parts well and is safe for stainless steel. But besides it, there are other, no less effective means: cleaning fluid from HG, Amway, Topper and Somat.

In addition to professional means, there are also folk ones. One of the most popular is a mixture of vinegar and baking soda: pour 5% vinegar into a glass and pour ¼ cup of soda into it and put it on a shelf designed for mugs. Then you can start the technique in normal mode.

Another proven remedy is borax or sodium borate. With its help, you can easily and simply wash all parts of the dishwasher and get rid of the unpleasant odor. If you sometimes add borax to your detergent, you can protect the machine from stains and food debris.

And how to clean the dishwasher with citric acid and is it possible? - Yes, citric acid is indeed a very effective remedy, but in fact it can ruin gaskets, so baking soda or a special cleaning agent is preferred to it.

Drying

After all parts are cleaned, you need to finally wipe the machine chamber and leave to dry.

Cleaning the dishwasher at home: video

The dishwasher was invented in order to remove food residues, various dirt from dishes. The machine functions regularly with the help of various cleaning products, and many users do not even realize that the dishwasher itself needs to be cleaned constantly. To keep the appliance working, you need to know how to clean the dishwasher at home.

Of course, any appliance requires cleaning from the outside: after all, dust and dirt particles that are in the air of the kitchen settle on it. But this is not enough. When using the dishwasher, the elements inside the machine may become soiled over time from food residues and foam from soap: because of this, the dishwasher may cause foreign smell.

It must be remembered that, like all appliances that have regular contact with tap water, it can become covered scale and rust. Even if you add special tools regularly, they can still damage the mechanisms of the device. That is why you need regular cleaning of your dishwasher, not only outside, but also inside, using special tools.

We clean pollution

How to wash the car outside? The first step is to turn it off and check for the absence of dishes inside. Then check water inlet hole, and if contamination is found, remove it with tweezers or a toothpick. To clean the door, you need to carefully treat the entire surface, since it is here that in most cases a lot of dirt is clogged, which will subsequently begin to rot.

Cleaning should be done with a soft sponge dampened with detergent. If the dirt has already dried, then you can rub it with a toothbrush. Baskets for dishes need to be cleaned by hand, if they can be removed, you need to put them in water with a cleaning agent to remove grease for ten minutes.

At the very end, you need to process filter grate. Baskets and grills in most appliances are removed and unscrewed without much effort. If you carry out these actions regularly, it will protect the machine from bad odors. If it is necessary to remove scale and grease, a very strong cleaning agent should be used.

Attention! The selected grease remover must be labeled as suitable for cleaning household appliances and in particular dishwashers.

We fight with scale

To remove scale inside the device, it is recommended to use special detergents or folk tricks on your own. In any of these options, with successive actions, it will definitely be possible to obtain a cleaning effect.

The easiest option is to turn on an empty dishwasher, adding a descaling agent to it. But a store-bought product is not always at hand, so many housewives use vinegar and soda cleansing. After cleaning the machine with a rag, place a container of vinegar on the bottom of the appliance and run the machine on the biggest cycle. After that, remove the container and pour soda on the bottom, close the device until morning, then start the device one more time.

sodium borate

A good result can be obtained by adding borax. How to clean the dishwasher with this product? You can buy it at a pharmacy. The entire surface of the device must be treated with a large amount of sodium borate, and the agent diluted in a ratio of 5: 1 should be poured into the dishwasher compartment. Then you should turn on the machine for a standard washing cycle and wait for the program to complete.

Many housewives use bleach to remove various contaminants. To obtain the desired effect, you can clean the appliance with a detergent with the addition of a glass of bleach. In this case, turn on the device for high temperature cycle sinks.

If, after all the manipulations, contaminated areas still remain on the parts of the machine, then they can be removed with a soda bomb.

  1. To prepare, mix 2 tbsp. soda with 3 tbsp. l. 3% hydrogen peroxide and add a teaspoon of essential oil. The resulting mixture is shaped like wet sand.
  2. Should be formed from the mass balloons different sizes.
  3. After they harden, you need to place the balls on the bottom of the dishwasher.
  4. On the top compartment you need to put a bowl with two glasses vinegar, turn on the machine and enjoy the excellent result.

During the operation of the dishwasher, a strong hiss may be emitted, which should not be paid attention to.

The above methods are very effective. If the desired cleaning result could not be obtained, then your device has very serious problems associated with the operation of internal elements or blockages. In this case, you will need to contact the service center professionals for help.

In order to maintain a cleaned device at a qualitative level, to prevent its breakdown, you need to follow a few tips.

  1. Needs to be checked frequently water inlet hoses, and if necessary, clean the parts with a thin stick or match.
  2. More than 2 times a month should be dried rubber gasket located on the appliance door.
  3. You can not regularly load the device to the maximum and wash the dishes for several cycles in a row.
  4. Before placing the dishes, you should try to remove large food residues from it.
  5. You need to constantly monitor the availability salt in a special compartment: it will soften tap water and protect the machine from scale formation.
  6. You can not load products made of wood, synthetics, copper, tin, crystal and disposable tableware.
  7. To prevent the formation of scale and clean the drain, it is necessary to periodically run the machine without dishes, pouring 1 liter of table vinegar into it.

Part 3

How to take care of your dishwasher

    Wipe down the exterior walls of the dishwasher and the door seal. The dishwasher door seal gets dirty very often. Dampen a rag with distilled white vinegar and run it over the soft white plastic on the door seal. Inspect the insulation and make sure you have removed all dirt and food particles. Wipe the outside of the dishwasher with the same cloth.

    Wash your dishwasher once a month with vinegar. Monthly cleaning will keep the inside of the dishwasher fresh and prevent bacterial growth. If you notice an unpleasant odor or your dishwasher stops working even after you clean it, take it in for a checkup.

  1. Use vinegar to clean the baskets and dishwasher spray. If you want to remove accumulated grease or food particles from the basket, wipe the basket with distilled white vinegar. Remove the spray arm from the dishwasher and soak it in distilled white vinegar. This will loosen the deposits of dirt and food particles, thereby improving the performance of the dishwasher.

    • The sprinkler sprays the dishes with water and is located at the bottom of the dishwasher.
    • Be sure to read the instructions for use before removing the sprinkler.
    • Before disconnecting the spray arm, unplug the dishwasher from the mains.