2015 · cleaning · diy · domestic engineering

Domestic Engineering #4 How to deep clean your Dish Washer {Finish Give Away!}

JustBindy
This post in sponsored by Finish. I only choose to work with brands I know and I am familiar with and personally use. Finish is a well known and reputable company, I regularly use their products, when they approached me to do a sponsored post with a giveaway for my readers I was on board. I like doing posts that highlight good products that I use and also give back to my readers! All opinions in this post are my own.

I love Spring time, it really makes me motivated to deep clean everything I own. I am slowly working my way through my Spring Cleaning check list. 
Today I deep cleaned the dishwasher and yes, just like your washing machine this appliance does need to be cleaned regularly to make sure it works well and also lasts.
For the sake of this post I let mine get a little dirty… So no judging!
This is a “natural way” to clean your dishwasher. 

Firstly gather your supplies;

  • White vinegar
  • Bicarb soda 
  • Borax (optional) 
  • A stiff scrubbing brush or old toothbrush
  • An old rag/cleaning cloth
  • Measuring cup


That’s it – everything you need to give your dishwasher a good clean is probably sitting in your cupboards as you read this!

So lets do this!
  1. Open dishwasher and pull the bottom rack out to reveal the dishwasher trap. 
     

  2. Remove the trap and open it up. 

  3. Rinse the trap under hot water and try to remove any large pieces of food or rubbish.
  4. Sprinkle bicarb soda on the trap and then pour vinegar over it, it should fizz.
  5. Scrub with brush gently, until clean. 

  6. Rinse again with hot water. All clean! 

  7. Repeat process if you have any other parts of your dishwasher that are dirty and removable (cutlery basket etc) 
  8. Replace dishwasher trap and any other pieces you removed. 

  9. Wet cleaning cloth with vinegar and wipe down the dishwasher. Remembering the seals, door frame, racks, blades etc. 
     

  10. Remove any other debris & gunk from the bottom of your dishwasher, if you find any.
  11. Remember to clean parts you normally overlook, when you half open/half close your dishwasher check the bottom ledge of the door, I found mine was very dirty. I vacuumed it and then wiped clean. 

  12. Once you are happy all the parts are as clean as you can make them add 1-2 cups of white vinegar to the bottom of your dishwasher and run a full cycle. White vinegar will flush out any built up grime & help your dishwasher smell fresh! 

  13. Wipe down the outside of your machine and the top of the dishwasher while the cycle runs.
  14. After the vinegar wash has completed if you want to give the machine an extra clean, you can do a bicarb soda wash, where you sprinkle 1 cup of bicarb soda (or borax) on the bottom of your dishwasher and once again run a full cycle. This cycle will polish your machine. Baking/bicarb soda is a wonderful cleaning product. It can eliminate odours, remove built up grease and help whiten stains. 

  15. Repeat. Clean your dishwasher monthly. Alternating each month between a vinegar & bicarb soda cycle will keep your dishwasher running like new! 
    Dishwasher trap, before and after.
    Dishwasher, all sparkly clean!

Now if those steps are too much effort for you, Finish has a wonderful dishwasher cleaner that can be used monthly to freshen up your dishwasher. It cleans your whole machine in 1 cycle. Easy! 
On the topic of Finish this is also the brand we use & I recommend for dishwasher tablets and also rinse aid. It is important to use a quality product in your machine and I find Finish to be very reliable and I never have to rewash dishes after using this product.

Thanks to Finish I have another competition, this time 1 of you can win a Finish gift pack! All you have to do is fill out the entry form below and you are in the draw to WIN!

Rules to enter give away & a few terms and conditions;
  1. You must be an Australian or New Zealand resident. 
  2. You must be a follower of this blog, either subscribe via Google, bloglovin or by email!
  3. You can gain bonus entries by following ModernWifeLife31 on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
  4. 3 bonus entries are counted if you tweet about this competition.  
  5.  Another way to earn a bonus entry is to leave a comment below telling me your favourite Finish product or any tips on how you clean your dishwasher! 
  6.  Competition begins on Wednesday 16th September 2015 and ends Wednesday 23rd September 2015.
  7.  Winner will be announced on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter on the 23/09/2015.
  8. The winner has 48 hours to contact me with their postal address. If there is no contact within that time frame I will redraw another winner.
  9. The prize will be sent to the winner by a representative for Finish.
  10. I have no control over the postage of the item, but I have full faith that your prize will arrive in a timely manner once I pass your postal details on to the company.
  11. Prize is final and cannot be changed or exchanged for money.

Published by JustBindy

17 thoughts on “Domestic Engineering #4 How to deep clean your Dish Washer {Finish Give Away!}”

  4. Run an empty dishwasher with vinegar add a cup of white vinegar into the bottom of an empty dishwasher and run a normal wash,It cleans out old food bits and keeps your dishwasher smelling fresh also add half a lemon to the wash will help with greasy build up citric acid is a great cleaner

    Like

    Reply

  7. Oh man… *looks around awkwardly* I have never cleaned my dishwasher.

    I am so grossed out by my own housekeeping right now…. ewww!!

    I live in the US so I can't enter your giveaway but I have a giveaway-friend link-up tomorrow if you want to come join the blog party! 😀

    Found you via Thriving Thursdays.

    Like

    Reply

  11. I use my dishwasher infrequently, so have never cleaned it! This is a great post to demystify the cleaning process, and I'll certainly be referring back to it when I do decide to look at my dishwasher more closely.

    Like

    Reply

  12. I already use the exact same method as you do to clean my dishwasher, good old bicarb and vinegar. I strangely really enjoy cleaning my dishwasher, it just makes me feel so much better about how well it will then clean.

    Sarah Fleming

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment