If you have a dishwasher, you need this simple 3-step cleaning process that will have the inside of your dishwasher looking (and smelling) like new in no time!
Have you noticed a smell coming from your dishwasher — even after the dishes are clean? Does your kitchen sometimes smell like rotten eggs (sulfur) right after you start the dishwasher?
I’m no expert, but after talking with our neighbor who IS an expert plumber, the issue is simply that we need to clean the inside of our dishwasher (specifically the drain).
Thankfully, it’s not an overly difficult or time-consuming task, especially if you keep up on it throughout the year… in fact, I can show you how to do it in just a few minutes!
NOTE: Before we get too far into this post, I should mention that newer dishwashers (especially newer dishwashers with stainless steel interiors) seem to require extra maintenance to keep the insides clean and odor-free. If you have an older dishwasher, this might not be an issue for you (they literally don’t make things like they used to).
After almost 13 years with a stainless steel dishwasher, I have the simple cleaning process down to a science. As a result, we enjoy a mostly smell-free, clog-free dishwasher all year long!
If you’ve struggled with smells, clogs, or other dirty dishwasher issues, my tips should help!
Start with the garbage disposal:
Yes, this tutorial is about dishwashers… but I still suggest cleaning your garbage disposal (if you have one) before focusing on the dishwasher.
Most dishwasher drains are connected to the garbage disposal — so if the garbage disposal is stinky, that smell will be quite pungent every time you run your dishwasher, causing you to think it’s a problem with your dishwasher.
Plus, cleaning the garbage disposal is even faster and easier than cleaning the dishwasher — which is why I always start there first!
STEP 1. Clear your garbage disposal.
To assure your garbage disposal is clear (not clogged), fill your kitchen sink about half full with water, then remove the drain plug while running the garbage disposal AND running more cold water from the tap. This should flush out any gunk currently in your garbage disposal.
NOTE: I do this every time I wash dishes.
STEP 2. Clean your garbage disposal.
Next, remove the rubber gasket around the opening of your garbage disposal and use a long-handled brush to scrub out the inside (do NOT turn the disposal on during this time!)
This will be pretty gross if you’ve never done it before. 🤢
After the debris is scrubbed away, put the rubber gasket back in place, throw a few ice cubes and citrus rinds into the disposal, turn the cold water on, and run the disposal for 30-60 seconds.
Grab my simple recipe for DIY Garbage Disposal Cleaning Tabs
If you don’t have a garbage disposal, this DIY drain cleaner should work for you instead.
How to Clean the Inside of your Dishwasher
Once your garbage disposal and/or sink drain is clean, it’s time to clean the dishwasher… here’s the supplies you will need and the simple 3-step process.
Supplies to Clean the Inside of a Dishwasher:
- rubber gloves (optional)
- a tiny scrub brush
- paper towels or rags
- a bottle of dishwasher cleaner (this makes a HUGE difference)
- your dishwasher manual (if you can’t figure out how to remove the drain cover)
3 Steps to Clean the Inside of your Dishwasher:
STEP 1. Remove and clean the drain cover.
This is the only step that requires physical work from you… so rest assured, once you have step 1 complete, it’s smooth sailing.
However, step 1 is somewhat gross — I suggest wearing thick rubber gloves.
If you have a stainless steel dishwasher, chances are pretty good that you’ll find a removable drain cover at the bottom of the unit (we did not have this with our non-stainless dishwashers).
The drain cover is usually fairly simple to remove, your instruction manuals should offer advice on how to do this.
My dishwasher drain cover simply twists out and the instructions are right on the rim.
Once the drain is out, use a small scrub brush to scrub off all the gunk (I do this under running water).
If you have a metal screen that covers the drain area, remove and clean that too.
I also use a damp rag or paper towels to wipe around the drain area (it can be pretty nasty if you’ve never done this before).
Once everything is clean, put the pieces back in place.
STEP 2. Run an empty dishwasher on the hottest setting with dishwasher cleaner inside.
I try to avoid commercial cleaners — preferring to clean everything with vinegar or one of my other homemade cleaners.
However, after our plumber assured me our dishwasher would get SO much cleaner (and be much less stinky) if I used a product specifically formulated for the inside of a dishwasher, I decided to give it a try.
Well, friends, he was right!
I picked up a bottle of Finish dishwasher cleaner and was amazed by how sparkling clean the inside of our dishwasher was.
It looked (and smelled) brand new!
This step only requires that you follow the instructions on the back of the dishwasher cleaner — usually running an empty dishwasher on the hottest/longest setting with the full bottle of cleaning solution tipped upside down on the bottom rack.
I do this right before bed and wake up to a sparkling clean dishwasher the next morning.
In full disclosure, this cleaner has a very strong “chemical” smell (which is why I usually dislike using chemical cleaners.) I often run the empty dishwasher (on the quick cycle with no cleaners) one more time in the morning, just to flush out some of the chemically smell.
After that, it’s good to go for another few months.
Note: this post is NOT sponsored. I have tried different brands of dishwasher cleaner over the years, but I always come back to Finish since it seems to give me the best results.
STEP 3. Add a rinse aid or white vinegar to the rinse cup.
This is another tip from our plumber…
Apparently, our dishwasher drain hose is a few feet longer than it should be based on the manufacturer’s instructions. This is very common whenever a dishwasher is not located directly next to the sink.
Because the hose is a few feet longer than recommended, the pre-programmed amount of time the dishwasher has to “drain” the hose isn’t actually long enough to fully drain all the dirty water from our hose — which can cause that gross smell.
I don’t know the science behind it, but our plumber said that as long as we keep our rinse cup filled with white vinegar or another rinse aid (like Jet Dry) we wouldn’t have a smell.
And once again, he was right!
Maintenance Moving Forward:
We run our dishwasher every night after dinner (whether it’s completely full or not) so I would be very sad if my dishwasher was out of commission for even a day or two.
To keep your much-loved, much-used appliance in tip-top working do the following maintenance:
- Weekly – rinse/scrub out the drain cover(step 1 above).
- Monthly – refill the rinse cup with Jet Dry (step 3 above).
- Every 3-6 months – do a full cleaning with Finish Dishwasher cleaner.
If it’s been a while since you cleaned your dishwasher (or if you didn’t even know you could clean your dishwasher), I’d suggest giving this simple 3-step process a try.
You might be surprised how much better your dishwasher runs (and smells) as a result!
Dishwasher Quick Tips:
- Run hot water through your kitchen faucet before turning the dishwasher on — this will increase the life of the heating coils in your dishwasher since the water will already be hot.
- Use the quick cycle to speed up the cleaning process — we use the quick cycle every night and our dishes are sparkling clean 60 minutes later!
- Clean more than just dishes in your dishwasher. Here’s a huge list of things you could be cleaning in your dishwasher!
- Run the dishwasher daily — it could be a game-changer for your routine. Even if it’s not 100% full, the routine of running the dishwasher every evening and waking up to an empty dishwasher every morning is fantastic.
- Let your kids clean out the dishwasher — it’s a great job for kids and one less thing you need to do.
How to Clean the Inside of your Dishwasher
Use this simple cleaning process to get the inside of your dishwasher looking (and smelling) like new again!
Instructions
- Remove and scrub the drain cover at the bottom of your dishwasher
- Wipe any debris and grim with a damp cloth or paper towel
- Run the empty dishwasher on the hottest cycle with dishwasher cleaner inside
- Use a rinse aid to keep the drain smelling fresh
Notes
If you have a garbage disposal, you might also want to give that a little attention too as the drains for the dishwasher and disposal are often connected.
1. Fill your sink half-full of water, remove the plug, and run the disposal and tap water as it drains -- this will help to flush out any junk that could be clogging your dishwasher.
2. You can also scrub the inside of the disposal with a long-handled scrub brush, and/or use garbage disposal cleaning tabs.
Recommended Products
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This simple 3-step process to clean the inside of your dishwasher should work for the vast majority of dishwashers (even non-stainless ones) but if you’re concerned, just read the manual that came with your appliance, ask your local plumber, or check with the store you purchased your appliances from.
In just a few minutes, and with less than $5 worth of supplies, your dishwasher will look and smell brand new again!
Do you have any other tips to clean the inside of your dishwasher?
Nicole says
I really appreciate these deep cleaning posts to help me do the things I want to do but have been overwhelmed with. I trust your advice. Thanks for the printables too.
Andrea says
Yes! Just do one cleaning task at a time and they aren’t as overwhelming (at least that’s how it works for me!)
Anna Marie says
One more thing. When we renovated our ooold kitchen we raised the dishwasher up 18 inches. The dog’s bowls fit well under it. Those 18 inches are a back saver and make it so much easier to see in to load and unload. The counter is higher now as well but we put the microwave up there and it’s happy.
Andrea says
very clever! I love when you can customize part of your home to work so well for your family/lifestyle!
Anna Marie says
With the dishwasher door open I wipe out the bottom door seal area. Gunk gets caught there that the dishwasher cannot clean when it is closed and working.
Monica T Good says
My pet peeve is the arms on the dishwasher getting clogged. I’ve tried very fine brushes, pipe cleaners, etc….nothing works. Any thoughts or suggestions?
Andrea says
Hi Monica! I’ve never had this specific issue, BUT I might have an idea — use the tiny long thin cleaning sticks that come with cake decorating kits. They are to get the bits of frosting out of the various decorating tips, but I use them for SO many cleaning purposes!
Here’s an Amazon link, in case you can’t picture what I’m talking about 🙂
Christina says
Thank you for writing about this! I’m an American and I just moved to Greece. Long story, but all of my belongings have been in storage in England for the past two years. My crate with all of my things were delivered a few weeks ago. Including a very dirty dishwasher (outside) and after reading your post, I was afraid of the inside too! It wasn’t so bad, but I was amazed to find the dishwasher cleaner in the shops here- silly me. I also found washing machine cleaner too! Gave them both a good clean today! Thanks again.
Andrea says
oh wow — glad to help you restore your appliances after they’ve been in storage! Enjoy Greece — it sounds very “romantic”!
Linda B. says
Didn’t your silverware basket come with a grid that goes on the top? I use that to keep the silverware separated so it doesn’t nest together. The grid just keeps everything nice and separated and doesn’t take any more time to put the silverware in or take it out. I’m just asking because the first dishwasher I had that came with the plastic grid, I didn’t know what to do with it, so I just left it underneath my sink for years. The second dishwasher that came with the grid came with it put together so I actually knew what it was. ♀️
Karen says
Great tips! How do you remove the rubber seal on the garbage disposal to clean it? Are you talking about the flaps?
Andrea says
Thanks Karen — the rubber gasket is the black “flappy” thing in the hole of your garbage disposal. Just pull up on one of the flaps and it should come out fairly easily (if not, maybe check your manual or something!)
It will probably be really gross on the bottom if you haven’t cleaned it in a while!
Carol Lorette says
Every night when I do the dishes, I pour 1/2 cup of vinegar into the bottom of our dishwasher when I am ready to start it. I also run the hot water before starting it.
I use vinegar in my washer too. I add it to both the laundry soap and fabric softener dispensers .
Andrea says
vinegar is a wonderful thing!
Michelle says
I also pull the seal off from around the door and clean both the seal and the track. Those, too, get gunky. Thanks for the reminder today for this quick maintenance on the most important appliance in the kitchen. 😉
Andrea says
oh that’s a great idea — I didn’t realize the seal could come off (I should look into this!) I will say that the seal of our refrigerator doors come off and I clean those. Now I’m curious to know if the dishwasher seals are also removable! Thanks for the tip!
Mary Ensley says
I am starting to wonder if the drain at the very bottom on ours is clogged even though our dishwasher is only a year old. I rinse the dishes for the most part before loading but I an finding myself cleaning out the filters and covers nearly every month and they are DISGUSTING! But as gross as it is, it’s really satisfying to clean out something so revoltingly dirty every now and then.
Andrea says
yuck! Do you have any plumber friends who could check it out for you? Dishwasher drains are pretty nasty!!
Rhonda says
I like it when you renew or recycle posts you’ve done in the past. My dishwasher was in bad need of the vinegar trick. Cleaned it up real nice! Some things I don’t have a regular schedule for doing, so thanks for the quick reminder.
Andrea says
yeah, I thought it was about time I re-shared that post (with a bit of new information as well). Glad you have a squeaky clean dishwasher again 🙂
Kristen says
Do you like having your dishwasher in your island? We are planning our kitchen renovation for the spring & are thinking about doing that.
Andrea says
yes, i love it… but its right across from our dink so that makes it very convenient!
Elizabeth says
Add me to the list of people who didn’t know there was a filter to clean. I did it yesterday and there was almost nothing in it. Thanks for the reminder to clean our dishwashers. I scrubbed the icky buildup then ran a load with some vinegar and now my 25 year old DW is beautifully clean again.
Amy says
Anyone have a recommendation for a GREAT cleaning and QUIET dishwasher. Ours is gone and we will be buying one in a few months. I spent $600 on a dishwasher at our old house before we moved and I thought that should have bought us a nice one…but I wasn’t impressed. Thank you in advance!!
Alissa says
We’ve have a whirlpool for 4 years that’s super quiet. Sometimes I have to look at the light on top to see if it’s still running, it’s that quiet!! (Its stainless steel, handle on front, buttons on top)
Erin says
Kitchenaid are some of the quietest on the market and I think Bosch is a close 2nd. Google good housekeeping magazines best dishwashers. They usually test all models before putting out their recommendations.
Andrea says
We have a KitchenAid and it’s SUPER quiet! Sometimes, I need to check to make sure it’s actually running because I can’t hear it!
Virginia Leo says
Hi Andrea, Just a comment on cleaning your dishwasher. My son who owns an appliance repair company says this: Empty trapped food from the screen and put it back, then just pour a gallon of white vinegar in the bottom of your dishwasher & leave it overnight. Then in morning put one small bowl in top rack and bottom rack each about 1/2 full of white vinegar, no other dishes and run a full cycle. If you do this once a month this will eliminate most D.W. service calls and problems and extend the life of your D.W. I have been doing this for about 5 years and have had great success. Virginia
Andrea says
This is great — thanks for sharing!!
Lea Ann says
I have heard that about the vinegar also. It will ruin the seal on the dispenser. I don’t do it, I’m afraid to, so I just use Jet Dry. I am going to check out the screen on the bottom of the dishwasher now while I am waiting for water to boil for noodles. I am making your chicken, bacon, pesto pasta dish….its our favorite meal!!
twinsparent says
Sprinkle some baking powder at the bottom with the vinegar cycle for better results …:)
Andrea says
thanks for the tip — I’ll do that next time!
Lynda says
What type of dishwasher soap do you use…. Liquid, dry crystals or those pods?! I often get residue from the liquid but thought that might rinse easier with our hard water. Any suggestions?? Thanks!!!
Barb T. says
My son (an appliance repairman) once told me to never use liquid or gel detergent in a dishwasher. It gunks them up! Use powder or powder ‘blocks”.
Lynda says
Thanks Barb!!
Andrea says
Thanks for the tip Barb — I use the “blocks” so hopefully that is good!
Andrea says
Lynda, I use little pods or ‘bricks’ of detergent.
Lynda says
Thank you! I will try those!
Nikki says
WARNING!! I’ve heard about replacing the rinse aid with vinegar before and tried it! Although it works really well as an alternative it warped the cap of the rinse aid holder (I’m a renter by the way). I went back to the blog I read this from and read comments from other readers who suffered the same scenario!! I don’t know if this differs from brand to brand but I won’t ever place vinegar in the rinse aid cup ever again!
I still use vinegar, but now place it in a cup on the top rack or if I’m in a rush pour it straight into the bottom of the dishwasher.
Andrea says
Thanks for letting me know!
Amy says
Do you know if white vinegar can be used instead of a commercial rinse agent for everyday dishwasher use? I use white vinegar instead of fabric softener in my washing machine on a regular basis…thanks!
Andrea says
yes, definitely! That’s what I always use. I personally think it keeps the dishwasher cleaner for longer!
Olivia says
I am HIGHLY embarrassed to admit this, but….
I never knew there was a drain catcher thing in the bottom of my dishwasher.
I’m mortified. And slightly scared to go home and clean my dishwasher tonight.
Jen T says
Be afraid. Be very afraid. And stop on the way home to buy a pair of rubber gloves.
Denise Hosner says
And a bottle of wine. Lol
Andrea says
haha — yes, I ditto the “rubber gloves” comment from Jen 🙂
Megan says
I need to do this! Would vinegar also work to clean a stinky washing machine? Thanks for all your fabulous tips!!!
Andrea says
yes, I believe so — just google it to check on the “for sure” instructions 🙂
Jen T says
So funny that you posted this today…I was thinking that it’s been awhile since I’ve cleaned out the “crap catcher,” as my kids call it. It totally makes me want to vomit when I do it!
a woman says
I did thie when it started to smell from inside :). Then I descover there are places to clean….