How to Maintain Your Dishwasher for Long-Lasting Performance

Dishwashers are probably the most neglected appliance in the modern kitchen. People assume that because they handle soap and water, they somehow clean themselves. They don't. A dishwasher that never gets any maintenance will clog, smell, lose cleaning power, and eventually break down in ways that are entirely preventable. Here's the realistic maintenance routine I recommend to every customer, and it takes about 15 minutes a month.

Monthly: Clean the Filter

Every modern dishwasher has a filter at the bottom of the tub, directly under the lower spray arm. It catches food particles and prevents them from recirculating onto your dishes. When it gets clogged, the machine starts leaving grit on everything and eventually the drain pump can't keep up.

To clean it:

• Pull out the lower rack
• Locate the filter assembly — usually a cylindrical mesh screen you can twist counterclockwise to remove
• Take it to the sink and rinse it under hot running water
• Scrub with an old toothbrush and a drop of dish soap to get any stuck-on grease
• Check the flat screen under the cylindrical filter and clean that too
• Reinstall by twisting clockwise until it locks

Do this once a month. If you rarely rinse dishes before loading, do it every two weeks.

Monthly: Run an Empty Clean Cycle

Grease, soap scum, and mineral deposits build up inside the dishwasher the same way they build up inside a washing machine. Running a cleaning cycle dissolves this buildup before it can cause problems.

Place a dishwasher cleaner (Affresh, Finish, or similar tablet) in the bottom of the empty dishwasher and run the hottest, longest cycle the machine has. Don't use vinegar for this — vinegar can damage rubber seals and gaskets over time.

Monthly: Wipe the Door and Gasket

Pull the door open and look at the gasket around the tub opening. You'll often see food debris, mold, or slime stuck in there, especially on the bottom curve where water collects. Wipe it clean with a warm soapy cloth. Pay attention to the inside of the door itself — it doesn't get sprayed during the wash cycle and can accumulate grime.

Every Few Months: Check the Spray Arms

Unscrew the lower and upper spray arms and look at the holes. Hard water in Arlington has moderate mineral content and the tiny spray holes can get partially blocked by scale or food debris. A toothpick or a piece of thin wire will clear them.

If you've been running the dishwasher for years without ever doing this, you'll be amazed how much better it cleans after a proper spray arm cleaning.

Monthly: Look at the Bottom of the Tub

After removing the filter, shine a flashlight into the sump area. You might find broken glass fragments, toothpicks, small bones, bits of labels from cans — all kinds of stuff that washed down and got lodged where the drain pump lives. Fish it out carefully with pliers or tweezers. Foreign objects are one of the leading causes of drain pump failure, and that's a $200+ repair.

Every Six Months: Inspect the Float and Door Latch

There's a plastic float in the bottom of the tub that rises with the water level and tells the machine when to stop filling. Press it up and down to make sure it moves freely. A stuck float can either overfill the dishwasher or refuse to start the fill cycle at all.

Check the door latch by closing the door and making sure it latches firmly and doesn't have excessive play. A weak latch can cause the door to bounce open mid-cycle.

Weekly: Use the Right Detergent and Rinse Aid

This isn't strictly maintenance but it affects longevity. Use a high-quality detergent (Finish Quantum, Cascade Platinum, or an equivalent) and keep the rinse aid dispenser full. Rinse aid isn't optional on modern dishwashers — it makes the final rinse sheet off the dishes and dry more effectively, which also keeps water spots and mineral buildup from forming inside the tub.

Don't overload the detergent. More isn't better. The recommended dose on the packaging is calibrated to the water hardness in most U.S. markets.

Once a Year: Check the Water Supply and Drain Hose

Pull the dishwasher out from under the counter (or look underneath the kick plate) and check:

• The water supply line for kinks, leaks, or corrosion
• The drain hose for kinks, sags (which trap food), or signs of leaking at the connections
• The connection to the garbage disposal or drain standpipe

If your drain hose doesn't have a "high loop" — meaning it rises up to the underside of the counter before going down to the drain — add one. It prevents dirty sink water from siphoning back into the dishwasher.

What Goes Wrong Without Maintenance

Skipping these steps for years, here's what I see in the field:

• Clogged filters leading to drain pump failure — $200+ repair
• Spray arms so crusted with mineral scale that dishes come out dirty even on heavy cycles
• Sump bellows full of decomposing food causing the worst smells you can imagine
• Float switches stuck by debris causing overfills and floor leaks
• Door gaskets so moldy they lose their seal

None of this needs to happen. Fifteen minutes a month saves hundreds of dollars over the life of the machine.

When to Call a Technician

If your dishwasher is showing error codes, leaking water onto the floor, not draining after you've cleaned the filter, or making grinding noises, those are symptoms of mechanical problems that maintenance won't fix. Appliance Fix VA services every major brand of dishwasher in Arlington and most of Northern Virginia. Call (838) 201-3789 to schedule a service visit.