For you to avoid having to undertake regular dishwasher repair you need to use the dishwasher properly. To help you out, here are some of the tips that you should follow when using your appliance:
Load all the dishes at once
You must have heard that you should load once piece of plate at a time. This is wrong. The best way of going about it is loading all of the plates at once. When you do this, you make better use of the space in the dishwasher.
The best way of loading the dishes is starting with the largest ones and fill in the space with the smaller pieces.
Before you load the plates, rinse them and get rid of the excess food that might be on them. You should note that even the best machines have a problem getting rid of stuck-on-gunk.
For your plates to be clean and also to give the machine an easy time, get rid of most of the food from the plates before you put them in the machine.
While it’s recommended that you fill all of the plates at once, you should avoid overfilling with too many dishes. This is because the dishwasher can’t clean in the spaces between plates that are too close.
Overstuffed dishwashers also tend to cause damage as the glasses bang together. The best way out is to space the dishes out.
Sort the flatware
Do you sort your flatware before you put it in the dishwasher? Most of the people don’t. Which is wrong. The best way of going about it is keeping the spoons with the spoons and the forks with the forks. By doing this you have an easy time unloading the clean pieces into the drawer.
When you are putting the spoons in the dishwasher, you should be cautious of how you put them. While perfectly nested spoons are beautiful to look at, the water and detergents can’t clean between them.
For you to clean them you should alternate between heads up and heads down.
Don’t wash things that aren’t dishwasher safe
If you want something clean, you care enough for it that you don’t want to damage it. If something isn’t dishwasher safe, you shouldn’t put it there. Some of the things that you shouldn’t put in the dishwasher include:
Wood: BY putting your wooden spoons, chopsticks, or cutting board in the dishwasher you will make them swell and crack. To protect them, ensure that they doesn’t see the inside of the dishwasher.
Knives: Detergents tend to damage fine knives causing nicks and scratches that dull the blades. In some cases, leaving the sharp knives rattling around in the dishwasher is likely to scratch the dishwasher itself.
Pots and pans: Pots and pans are usually enameled and the rule of thumb is that enameled or coated materials shouldn’t find their way into the dishwasher. For you to maintain your bake ware, wash it by hand. You should also clean your cast iron pans with your hands to protect them from losing their precious seasoning.
Delicate glass and crystal: Just like any other hand-blown material, fine glass is super sensitive to heat. Instead of putting them in the dishwasher, you should hand wash them. If you still want to clean them using the dishwasher, use a non-heat cycle.
Put the wares in the right rack
Did you know where you put the wares has a great impact on the results you get? Some of the dishes will be cleaner when you put them at the top rack while others will need rigorous cleaning thus you need to put them in the bottom rack.
The best way of going about it is placing cups, bowls, glasses, and big utensils on the top rack and the pots, plates, and pans on the bottom. This way you not only ensure that the dishes are properly clean, you also protect them from getting damaged.
Run the dishwasher when full
Different dishwashers have different capacities. As a homeowner, you should aim at always running the dishwasher when full. According to appliance repair Alexandria professionals, when you run the dishwasher when partially filled, you will be wasting water and risking breaking the dishes as they bump around.
Do you want to conserve the water and keep your dishes in good condition? Only run the dishwasher when full.
