These eight easy maintenance tips will keep your dishwasher cleaning well for years to come
Following a few simple strategies in caring for your dishwasher can make your appliance last longer and spare you the hassle of frequent repairs.
By Perry Santanachote
How long should a dishwasher last? About 10 years, according to most of the 20-plus manufacturers we asked.
CR members tell us they expect the same lifespan, on average, but that doesn’t necessarily mean 10 trouble-free years. Survey data from our members’ experiences with more than 69,000 dishwashers reveals that about 23 percent of those dishwashers either broke or stopped working as well as they should have within five years of ownership.
So how can you get through a decade without calling a repair service? Many factors can affect how long your appliance will last—including how you care for your dishwasher.
Using a dishwasher may seem intuitive, but all the repair technicians and dishwasher manufacturers we reached out to agree: A thorough read-through of your machine’s instruction manual is worth the time and effort. From how best to load your dishwasher to how best to clean it, you’ll find the fundamental details you need to lessen wear and tear on your particular model while getting your dishes as clean as possible. Basics aside, work these eight expert-backed strategies into your kitchen routine, too, and chances are you’ll further optimize your dishwasher’s longevity.
1. Scrape the plate—but don’t rinse it. Most dishwashers don’t require a prerinse, but be sure to scrape off bones, toothpicks, and other solid items before loading your dishes. These hard bits can clog the drain hose, tear the filter, or damage the pump.
2. Give the filter a hand. The remaining stuck-on food has to go somewhere, and unless your dishwasher has an old-school food grinder, you’ll have to clean the filter manually. Adam Hofmann, a senior engineer at Midea’s America Research Center, says to do this every month or so, and more often if necessary. “A telltale sign it’s time is when you notice a decrease in wash performance or dishes feel gritty,” he says.
Remove the bottom rack and you should find a plastic cylinder that you can unscrew to lift out (if it’s not there, consult the dishwasher manual). Rinse the filter under running water until it’s free of debris. It’s fine to use soft sponges and warm, soapy water for stubborn food bits, but abrasive brushes or steel wool can damage the filter.
And if you find any holes, replace the filter immediately to prevent seeds or bits of bone from slipping through and into the pump. Otherwise, they can damage the pump impeller and motor seals, which are costly parts to repair.
3. Degunk the door seal. As needed, use a rag and white vinegar to clean the seal between the dishwasher door and the tub, where residue and food particles collect. Buildup can cause odors, lead to mold growth, and potentially keep the door from sealing properly.
Avoid using bleach-based wipes, harsh chemicals, scouring pads, and anything abrasive on stainless steel doors and tubs.
4. Remove hard-water residue. If you live in an area with hard water, the inside of your dishwasher is likely to develop mineral films and discoloration. According to Hofmann, these deposits look like a cloudy film on your dishes and the interior of your machine, and you may notice the rack rails and wheels resist moving. He recommends using a citric-acid-based dishwasher cleaner, such as Affresh or Finish, to remove the deposits monthly. Follow the package directions for removing hard-water film from your dishwasher.
If you live in an area with hard water, you can also use regeneration salt in the dishwasher’s water-softening system. This improves cleaning by helping to prevent spotting and clouding. The salt also helps prevent mineral buildup in the dishwasher.
5. Inspect the spray arms. Every few months, check the holes in the wash arms—spray nozzles—to make sure they’re clean and unobstructed. If you see food debris clogging a spray nozzle, gingerly try to remove it with a toothpick or pipe cleaner. “You want to be gentle and make sure not to deform the hole,” says Larry Ciufo, who runs CR’s dishwasher test lab. “It can affect the spray pattern and how well the dishwasher does its job.”
If you need to remove the spray arms to clean them, the bottom one should lift off its base with a gentle tug. Unscrew the center wash arm from the bottom of the top rack using a Phillips head screwdriver.
6. Rustproof the racks. If the plastic coating wears off, repair it as soon as possible with vinyl paint or replacement tine tips. Otherwise, the racks could corrode and allow small shards of rusty metal to enter the pump, says Chris Zeisler, technical service supervisor at RepairClinic.com. Imagine the pump is the heart of the dishwasher, and rust flakes are like plaque buildup, threatening the system with an inevitable clot and full-system shutdown.
7. Don’t overload it. Cramming too much into one load will restrict the water spray patterns and prevent proper cleaning. You’ll have to rewash your dishes, running the machine unnecessarily, which whittles away at the machine’s lifespan. “Mechanical parts wear out the more they are used,” says CR’s Ciufo. “You don’t want to run partial loads either, for the same reason.”
8. Stick to dishes in your dishwasher. You might find videos online that suggest you use a dishwasher to clean other objects, such as car parts. “That’s a bad idea,” says Ciufo. Car parts are greasy, and the dishwasher and detergent aren’t made to handle this kind of grease. It can clog the filter and ruin the pump.”
Zeisler says the biggest problem he sees is people washing candlestick holders. The wax embedded in the holders’ crevices destroys the dishwasher’s components.
3 Top-Rated Dishwashers From the Most Reliable Brands
Beyond maintenance, some brands just tend to last longer than others. These dishwashers are made by brands with the best predicted reliability scores, according to data from CR member surveys—and they performed impressively well in our lab tests, too.
Bosch Benchmark SHP9PCM5N
Bosch stood out as one of the most reliable dishwasher brands in our surveys and also earned our top mark for owner satisfaction. Every Bosch we’ve tested has been a top performer, and this Benchmark model also tops our ratings performance. A very quiet model, it’s also very good at washing, drying, and saving energy. Check out our ratings for many other high-performing Bosch models.
Thermador Star Sapphire DWHD661EFP
Like Bosch (which shares the same parent company), Thermador earns an excellent rating for predicted reliability in our member surveys. The Star Sapphire DWHD661EFP is a quiet model, and its sophisticated drying system does a fantastic job removing moisture, even from plasticware. However, it’s among the pricier models in our ratings.
Miele G7176SCVI
As a brand, Miele dishwashers garnered top scores in both reliability and owner satisfaction. The Miele G7176SCVI is pricey, but it cleans and dries dishes well, runs quietly, and stands out for its energy efficiency. It comes with all the perks you’d expect from a high-end dishwasher, including a third rack, an adjustable upper rack, adjustable tines, and a stainless steel interior. It also pops the dishwasher door open at the end of the cycle to help dishes dry better—a feature that our lab testers have found especially helpful.
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