The 6 Biggest Mistakes You’re Making With Your Dishwasher

When it comes to convenience, dishwashers can’t be beat, but it’s all for naught if you’re not using it right. Use these tips to get the most out of your machine and say goodbye to stuck-on messes for good.

1. Overloading.
If you try to pile in too many dishes, you’ll end up having to do twice the work. If dishes are blocked and water can’t reach them, then they won’t get clean.

2. Arranging dishes incorrectly.
You’ll want to be strategic when loading the dishwasher. Put the most heavily soiled items in the center of the bottom rack facing the spray arm. And make sure nothing big is blocking the detergent dispenser; it could impact how it opens and keep dishwasher detergent from being dispensed properly.

3. Tossing your detergent pack into the machine. 

Single dose detergent packs should be placed in the dispenser. Tossing one into the bottom of the dishwasher will cause it to dissolve too quickly during the prewash, leaving no detergent for the main wash portion of the cycle.

4. Putting glasses over the tines on the top rack.
If glasses aren’t braced between the tines, they could break as the tines put pressure on them. They’re also more likely to end up spotted where the tines touch the glass.

5. Mixing silver and stainless steel in the flatware basket. 

If these two dissimilar metals touch, they can react with each other, which can result in pitting.

6. Throwing wood, china, or anything hand-painted in the dishwasher.
This is a mistake you’ll only make once, but if it’s a piece you care about, hopefully our tip can save you from having to learn the hard way!