Dec
Deep Cleaning the Kitchen - Dishwasher Edition
We’re really churning right along on the Order Up Organizing kitchen deep cleaning challenge. It’s time for the dishwasher!
DISHWASHER BEFORE:
Cleaning tools:
How to Clean your Dishwasher with Lemon & Baking Soda:
1. Check the drain in the floor of the dishwasher. Remove any food or other debris there. (Gloves or alternative ways to protect your fingers from the slimey goodness is recommended.)
2. Using a paste of lemon juice and baking soda (also used on the glass-top stove), scrub the interior frame of dishwasher and its door. Pay close attention to the rubber gaskets where some build-up may have collected. Rinse with a wet cloth or sponge.
2.a) Keep a certain hound dog with an interest in the lemon-scented cleaner away from the bowl.
3. Once the interior frames are clean, tackle the controls and handle on the outside. I hadn’t realized how grimy the top of the door had become. But I was pleasantly surprised at how easily it came off with a little scrubbing. Rinse with a wet cloth or sponge.
4. Wipe down the face of the appliance. Have you ever peeked at the space between the base plate and the bottom of the door? Do that. Then, quickly wipe it clean before you get too grossed out—especially if you live with a one-foot, two-inch tall hound dog.
5. Although my dishwasher didn’t have a stench, I decided to give it a vinegar bath. Start with a dishwasher-safe glass of distilled white vinegar on the top rack.
6. Run the otherwise empty dishwasher through a regular cycle—without detergent.
7. Admire your work!
DISHWASHER AFTER:
Interior frames:
Door controls:
Door top so clean it deserves two photos:
The part of the appliance you can’t see while standing up (but now it’s clean!):
Length of Time Spent on this Project (excluding the vinegar bath cycle):
10 Tobes’ Tunes (approx. 30 minutes)
My Thoughts:
- It seems a little silly to wash the dishwasher, but let’s be clear: mine needed it. (even though I didn’t necessarily notice)
- I am LOVING how clean and white the top of the door is now. I’m considering requiring anyone who loads/unloads the appliance to wear gloves. Too much?
- It’s not easy keeping the pooch with a sense of smell second only to a bloodhound away from lemon-scented cleaners at his nose-level. Wonder if there’s a way to make this work in my favor??
How about your dishwasher? Is it white? Or intended to be? Do you ever clean its basin? What about the top of the base plate?
Other projects in the Order Up Organizing kitchen deep cleaning challenge:
