Getting the most from your dishwasher

Many of us have a dishwasher in our kitchen – but do we use them effectively? Here are our top dishwasher tips for getting the best from yours.

What do those buttons do?

Lots of dishwashers have fancy features that we never use! But they are worth investigating as they could save you money and time. Here’s a few you might have:

• Eco – this setting uses less energy and water so it’s good for the environment and your pocket. Which estimate that using an eco program could save £300 over a year!
• Pre-wash – this program rinses your dishes, so it’s useful if you don’t want to run a full wash every day.
• Timer – set your dishwasher to finish as you get home from work, or to run overnight.
• Delicate – A gentle wash for fine crockery or glasses.
• Adjustable racks – If you can’t fit your new plates in the dishwasher, don’t panic! Check to see if you can adjust the height of the top rack to make more space.

Load it up!

The key to clean dishes is to make sure the water can get to all the surfaces. This sounds obvious, but if you overload your dishwasher, you might find some items aren’t cleaned.

• Make sure dirty surfaces face inwards, towards the water jets.
• Avoid placing big items (baking trays or platters) close to the centre, where they will block jets from reaching everything else. Put them at the sides.
• Some items such as plastic cups or delicate glasses should only be placed on the top rack, where the wash is gentler and the temperature lower.

Not just for dishes

Your dishwasher can clean lots of items around the home as long as they are dishwasher-safe! Try these:

• Plastic toys – place them on the top rack and put small items in the cutlery basket.
• Make-up brushes – always benefit from a good clean to get rid of excess product and bacteria.
• Keys – these harbour a surprising level of germs!
• Dishcloths and sponges – pop them in the top rack to freshen them up.
• Flip-flops! We’ve heard you can clean these really well in the top rack though you might prefer to do this separately from your dishes.

Remember it’s always a great idea to check the user guide for your dishwasher. Many are available online too.

Do you have any dishwasher tips? We would love to hear them!