How to Use Your Dishwasher Properly – Some Awesome Dishwasher Tips

Modern dishwashers need less energy to run. Save money using a dishwasher as it also consumes about seven times less water than washing your dishes by hand. It makes your life at least a little bit happier too as there won’t be any more daily evening fight over who is washing and who's drying!

Do you pre-rinse your dishes?

Stubborn stains such as starch stains from breakfast, rice and pasta as well as proteins such as meat and eggs are not easy to remove with your normal dishwasher cycle. What you can do is scraping or wiping all food particles from dirty dishes before loading in the dishwasher. In fact, Food Hygiene Regulations also require scraping of plates before they’re washed by dishwashing machines.

You need not to rinse the dishes before loading them in the dishwasher unless they are very heavily soiled with baked or dried on food. In such case of heavily soiled cookware with baked-on grime, you can use Pre-Rinse Spray units of recognised companies which consume very less water and are very effective using only cold water. If you don’t have Pre-Rinse Spray units, avoid pre-rinsing your dishes, just scrape off any large food scraps before putting the plates in the dishwasher.    

Draining the dishwasher

Drain the dishwasher at least once daily and any time it’s left idle for more than a few hours. Drain the machine soon after a wash cycle so it’ll be still hot to drain all dirty wash water and oils etc. in the water. If at any time you see that the dishwasher overflows onto the floor, check the drain system for any blockage. Select Home Cleaning can recommend expert plumbers who’ll rectify the blocked drain of your dishwasher without overcharging.

Clean your dishwasher at least once in a month

The grease, soap scum and food debris that build up in dishwashers encourage the growth of germs and affect the efficiency of the machine. So, it’s necessary to clean a dishwasher from time to time or at least once in a month. If you have any doubts about cleaning the dishwasher, consult a reputed home cleaning company in New Zealand.

What’s the proper way to load your dishwasher?

Avoid making common dishwasher loading mistakes and get maximum sterilisation. Remember, there is a right and wrong way to load a dishwasher. Stick to the basic rules. Load the bottom rack with large soiled dishes so they get good water flow and effective cleaning. The bottom rack is also specifically designed to hold the dishes in a way that allows more number of plates to fit in and also ensure hot water easily passes through them.

Place the cups, glasses, and bowls at an angle so water can run off the bottoms and dry properly.  This way they also don’t take up too much room.Load Tupperware and all other plastic items on the top rack if your dishwasher has an exposed heating element.

How hot should be the water to get optimal cleaning?

For the dishwashers to perform their best and get you really clean dishes, you need to keep the hot water at 120 degrees F, the ideal temperature to dissolve food stains.

Dishwasher detergent

It’s advisable to use tablets, or small pre-measured gel packs called pods, which are known to clean the dishes best, without leaving behind water spots, film, or discoloration as it happens with powder detergents. New Zealand Hygiene Regulations require the use of liquid detergents and automatic injectors in dishwashers.

Note that all dishwashing machine detergents are hazardous and so they are to be stored safely out of the reach of young children.

Tips & Solutions for Common House Cleaning Mistakes

Maintaining your house in perfect shape is a mammoth task, and we all make certain mistakes because of ignorance or lack of knowledge in house cleaning practice.

Let’s look into common house cleaning mistakes and their solutions.

Dish-washing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Dishwasher loading-mistakes can damage the appliance. If you overload the dishwasher or arrange the items improperly, every dish won’t get sprayed enough and cleaned well. Place the cups, glasses and bowls upside down in the top rack that’ll allow the sprayer arms to spray water inside for better cleaning.

There is a trick to know if the dishes have been cleaned. Put the dishwasher soap in the reservoir and close it when you start loading dirty dishes. Then you can assume that if the soap holder is closed, they are dirty; if it's open, they've been washed and are clean.

Add two cups each of borax and washing soda in a plastic bottle and shake well.  Your dishwasher soap is ready- drop 2 tablespoons to the dishwasher soap compartment and see the magic. 

Now, how to replace dish-washing powder or tablets with natural, homemade product? We need only white vinegar (quarter cup), cornstarch (one tablespoon) and warm water (two cups). Collect these ingredients in a spray bottle and shake well till the cornstarch is dissolved fully to form a thin liquid that can be sprayed onto plates or glass surfaces for perfect cleaning.

Sometimes all of us make the mistake of using too much laundry detergent or fabric softeners- they’ll do more harm than good. Check and stick to the specified quantity. If your plates have spots even after using the dishwasher, try adding one and a half cup of white vinegar to the rinse compartment of the automatic dishwasher before the wash cycle. This is the best natural rinsing agent you can get and forget about spotty dishes.

General Home Cleaning Guidelines

Dust the windows with a microfiber cloth before washing them; otherwise the dust on the sills along with the cleaning liquid will be dripping into the window frame.

Always use a microfiber cloth instead of a feather duster to clean dusty areas in your home. The feather duster will spread the dust from one place to another while the cloth will absorb the dust. 

Your remotes, mobile and computer keypads, etc. contain germ colonies. Forgetting to clean them regularly will spread the germs around family members. Apply a weekly disinfectant wipe to keep germs at bay.   Same is applicable to common touch points such as taps, handles, and door knobs.

Another mistake is ignoring to clean the vacuum cleaners, and the sponges you use in the kitchen. They are the germiest places because they daily handle loads of dust mites, germs etc.  Clean the vacuum as per the company instructions. The sponge can be cleaned by heating it in the microwave for one minute. First wet the sponge before putting it in a dish you use in the microwave. 

Quick Cleaning Tips

Ink stain: Pour cold water on the ink stain on your white cloth. Mix lemon juice and a little cream of tartar and apply the paste on the fabric one hour before washing.

Grease stain on polyester: Make a paste of cornstarch and water, and apply it on the fabric affected by oil or grease stain. Allow the paste to dry before brushing away the powder and grease.

Mould problems: Add a cup of borax to the soapy water you use to wash down the walls or other areas affected by mould. You can also use a mixture of borax (half cup), vinegar (half cup) and water (one cup) in a spray bottle to clean mould affected spots- spray the liquid and use a damp sponge to clean.

If you have doubts regarding any home cleaning task, ask the Select Cleaning specialists next time when they visit your home.