Tag Archives: loading the dishwasher

How to Use a Dishwasher for the First Time

Have you just bought a dishwasher or moved to a house with a dishwasher and you have never used it before? Here is a guide given by dishwasher repair professionals on how to use a dishwasher for the first time:

Load the dishwasher

Everything begins here. After all, there is no way your dishes will get clean if you don’t load them, right?

To give your appliance an easy time, scrape any extra food from the plates before placing them in the dishwasher. Evenly space the dishes with the dirty side angled down towards the water jets, taking not to overlap the dishes, as doing so will prevent the water jets from reaching the insides for thorough cleaning.

Place the right items in the top and bottom racks for pristine cleaning.

For the top rack, load items such as cups, mugs, bowls, wine glasses, and even water bottles. Position the small bowls and plates between the tines and place the plastic container and lids on the top rack to avoid warping.

As you are placing the plastic containers, note that not all plastics are dishwasher safe, so check the bottom of your plastic ware to ensure that it’s safe.

When it comes to the bottom rack, place large kitchenware such as serving platters, dinner plates, stainless steel pots, dishwasher-safe baking dishes, and other heavily soiled dishes.

Position the pots and pans along the sides of the dishwasher or towards the back and add utensils to the dishwasher’s utensil basket. When placing the items in the basket, ensure that the sharp objects such as knives face downward, to avoid injury.

Before closing the dishwasher door, ensure that nothing is blocking the wash arms.

Load the dishwasher detergent

Once the dishes are in place and in their right racks, the next thing you should do is to load the dishwasher detergent.

While detergent dispensers vary depending on the model, you should follow the same procedure regardless of the nature and placement of the dispenser in your appliance.

Begin placing the detergent in the detergent dispenser, then add rinse aid to the rinse aid dispenser up to the point where it says full.

You should then close the lid and press firmly until it clicks shut.

You should note that the detergent you use on the dishwasher significantly impacts the results you achieve, so ensure that you use the correct one. As a rule of thumb, use detergents formulated explicitly for automatic dishwashers.

There are plenty of detergents you can use. From liquids, gels, tablets, packs to powders, you will be spoilt of choice. There is no right or wrong detergent to use—you only need to find the one that works the best for your appliance and use it.

Select a wash cycle

Now you have your dishes and detergent in place, the next task is to choose a wash cycle. Most dishwashers have at least three cycles: quick, normal, and heavy.

Quick: This cycle uses a lot of water, energy, and high temperatures, giving you fast results. Use this cycle when you have lightly soiled dishes and are in a hurry.

Normal: The normal cycle is the most commonly used, and it allows you to clean everyday messes without using extra water. Use this cycle on the day-to-day loads that aren’t heavily soiled.

Heavy duty: This cycle works best for loads that include pots, pans, and other heavily soiled items. As you might be guessing, this cycle will use a lot of water and higher temperatures.

The cycle you choose depends on the size of your load and how dirty your dishes are.

Setting a cycle is easy as all you need to do is use the buttons located on the top or front of the appliance.

Start the dishwasher

After setting up everything, the next thing you should do is to start the dishwasher. Before you fire it on, appliance repair Northern VA recommends you double-check and ensure there is nothing blocking the wash arms.

For your appliance to function optimally, ensure that the water temperature is 120ºF as it enters the dishwasher. Remember that if the water is too cold, it won’t clean the dishes as well as they should. At the same time, if the water is too hot, it might make the baked-in food harder to remove from the dishes and pots.

How Do You Fit More In A Dishwasher?

Imagine this. You have a large load of dishes, and you don’t want to do it in two cycles. How do you fit more in a dishwasher? Are you asking this? You are in luck as there are plenty of tricks you can use to maximize the dishwasher space without overcrowding and breaking the dishwasher, and you have to hire an appliance repair professional to fix it.

Some of these tricks include:

Take out the forks, spoons, and knives

It’s recommended you clean the silverware from the bottom rack, and you can do it if you don’t have a lot of dishes to clean. But, if you have a large load like in our case, you don’t have this luxury, so you should free up space by removing the forks and knives from the bottom rack.

Luckily, the silverware is easy to clean. Put them in a sink full of warm, soapy water, and you are done in minutes.

Cleaning the bowls, salad spinners, pot liners, and other bulky items isn’t as easy, is it? So, you should let the bulkier, difficult to clean items take the space of the easier to clean items.

Hold the small items in a mesh bag.

Does your load have plenty of water bottle tops, lids, and other small items that won’t have a place in the dishwasher? You shouldn’t leave them out of the cycle. Throw them in a mesh laundry bag, then lay the bag on top of the items on the top rack and let the dishwasher do its work.

The bag keeps the small items from falling through the cracks and ensures that the dishwasher functions to its best.

Load glasses between the tines

This tip has been around for a long time, and it’s not only the best way to load your dishwasher, but also a great way to ensure that your dishwasher carries as many items as possible.

When loading the dishwasher, place glasses between the tines, and not on top of them.

By doing this, you will have a highly functioning dishwasher and get cleaner glasses and, at the same time, prevent the glasses from breaking.

Squeeze flat items around the dishwasher perimeter

Have you stocked the dishwasher to the brim, and it seems like it can’t take anymore? Not so fast. Is the perimeter full?

If it’s not, this is one of the best places to squeeze in flat items such as plastic cutting boards, sheet pans, and cooling racks.

When you put them here, you leave enough space for the bulkier items, and at the same time, you ensure they are in the spray arm’s line, so they are clean by the time you are removing them.

Place some top rack items in the bottom racks.

If you have been reading how to properly load your dishwasher, you know that each item has its place. Some items belong in the top rack and others in the bottom rack.

Most people begin with loading their top racks, so by the time they get to the bottom rack, they have fewer items.

If you find yourself in a situation where you have a few top rack items, and you have a few spaces in the bottom racks, you should go ahead and place them there. Some of the best items to put here are the mugs and cream bowls.

Since these items aren’t supposed to be cleaned here, give the racks a shake test before running the cycle.

Other valuable dishwasher loading tips

To get the most from the dishwasher, you need to load it properly. Some of the valuable dishwasher loading tips you should consider include:

Load the plates so that they face the center: The purpose of this is to ensure that they are in the spray arm’s line. Spray arms work from the middle out, so by placing the items such that they face the center, you ensure that they get the proper spray treatment they deserve.

Use a wire dish rack: Are you cleaning items that are too big for the mesh laundry bag and small that they won’t flip around during a cycle? Dishwasher repair Springfield recommend using a wire dish rack. Turn the rack upside down and use it to anchor your items down.

Do I Need A Dishwasher? Dishwasher Repair Experts Answer

Many homeowners term dishwashers as the most expendable kitchen appliances as the act of cleaning dishes is a mere convenience. After all, you can clean the dishes with your hands, right?

According to dishwasher repair professionals, owning a dishwasher isn’t all about convenience—it comes with plenty of other benefits. If you are asking, do I need a dishwasher? Here are some of the reasons you should get one:

Dishwashers save time

The time you spend to load the dishes in the dishwasher and hit the start button is minuscule compared to washing and rinsing every bowl, plate, knife, or fork by hand.

Since you have more time in your hands when you clean the dishes with your dishwasher, you can spend the extra time engaging in other activities such as spending time with friends and family, reading, knitting, or tackling other house chores.

Dishwashers are more hygienic.

When cleaning the dishes by hand, you use old sponges that are usually hotbeds for Salmonella and E.coli known to cause food poisoning. Washing the dishes with a dishwasher is an entire ballgame. Since the appliances use hot water, they kill all the germs, which leave your dishes clean and sterilized.

Modern appliances even have the HygienePlus function that ensures maximum hygiene by killing 99.9% of germs. They achieve this by rinsing the dishes at temperatures of up to 70 degrees Celcius.

You can’t do this when cleaning dishes by hand, can you?

Dishwashers save you money.

You might think we are mad when we say dishwashers save money, but this is the case. According to the EPA, most faucets use 2.2 gallons of water per minute.

Dishwashers, on the other hand, use 3 gallons of water per normal wash cycle. So unless you have superpowers and you can clean all the dishes in under two minutes, the dishwasher has got you beat already.

You might argue that dishwashing machines use energy, so you save on your power bill, but a recent study showed that just 10 hand-washing sessions use more energy than needed to build a dishwasher.

Dishwashers save your skin.

The constant act of hand washing your dishes leaves your hands rough and dry, or even cracked and bleeding if you have a commercial kitchen. When using the dishwasher, the work is done by the machine—not you.

This is relieving, especially if you have a large kitchen or suffer from arthritis or carpal tunnel syndrome.

When cleaning the dishes, you are at more risk of dropping your dish or knife, which not only increases the chances of breaking your precious and expensive dishes, it also increases your chances of getting hurt.

Dishwashers are stress reducers.

Many people hate doing dishes. I remember growing up and doing the dishes was the prominent bone of contention between my brother and I. We used to pile the plates up, and I know this is the case with most homeowners.

A recent study showed a direct link between the amount of clutter in the house and stress levels. As the mess piles up, the more stressed someone gets. So when you procrastinate on cleaning the dishes, and you let them pile up, you increase your stress levels.

With a dishwasher, you are less likely to put off cleaning the dishes as you only need to put the dishes in the dishwasher and press the start button.

Dishwasher tips

While dishwashers bring plenty of benefits to the table, you need to use them properly to get the most from them. Some of the tips to consider include:

Keep your dishwasher clean: A dirty dishwasher means dirty dishes, so work at keeping your dishwasher as clean as possible. Every few days, remove the screen and filter then clean your appliance.

Load the dishwasher properly: You need to load your appliance properly for it to clean the dishes properly. The cups should go in the top rack, plates, and bowls on the bottom rack, pots, pans, and baking dishes angled properly for water to reach the inside, and stagger the dishes, so they don’t nest together.

Always aim for a full load: When cleaning the dishes, always aim to run the dishwasher when you have a full load. According to appliance repair Fairfax professionals, this ensures you get the most of the water, energy, and detergent.