Page 2 | To never have cleaned my dishwasher

Pavementworrier · 2026-01-09T21:22:43+00:00

Is it true you're supposed to do it monthly???

BooBooDoodle · 11/01/2026 19:04

I clean out and clean my washing machine with a cleaner and every 2 weeks I remove the filters and wipe out the dishwasher before putting it on an intensive cycle with a cleaner in it. Gets built up with gunk. Rarely we use it on the hottest water setting so it’s good practice to run an intensive cycle with a cleaning agent.

hoxtonbabe · 11/01/2026 19:01

Justontherightsideofnormal · 11/01/2026 18:32

@Pavementworrier
I'm literally crying at your responses. So I think I live in a fairly clean home….. I have a water softener so it cuts down on cleaning by at least 75%. I hoover when carpets show sock fluff (all the fucking time as our carpets are off white and socks black) I sweep hard floors regularly as every bloody person in this house shed dirt like an earth worm. I have a dishwasher so it cuts don’t have to wash dishes …….. but what I do do which will be absolutely frowned soon is when the filter bits need cleaned (and the shower filters) I take them all out and …… put them on the top rack of the dishwasher 🫣
all come out so clean 😂

hmmm. I give that a try when I’m next clean my dishwasher. It actually sounds like a good idea, lol

Although given how high tech appliances are these days it may not work unless all the components in the dishwasher are locked in etc 🙄

Setters2020 · 11/01/2026 19:00

Clean my filter once a month after I’ve put the oven shelves through for a clean, i then I manually clean the filter and then do a cycle with a dishwasher cleaning tablet together with my two dish drainer racks, my sink drain covers, my sink brushes, my empty food caddy and the microwave tray.

hoxtonbabe · 11/01/2026 18:58

I’ve cleaned my dishwasher filters and let it run with Finish dishwasher cleaner as long as I can remember, probably quarterly though or sooner if I can see the stuff isn’t as clean as weeks prior. I think I’ve only cleaned my current washing machine 3 times in the 8 off years I’ve had it 🤭

Speckly · 11/01/2026 18:49

dementedpixie · 09/01/2026 21:33

I do clean out the filter and mesh bit from time to time. Usually when it stops cleaning so well. It can get a bit grim

Or when it’s full of peas and sweetcorn 🤣

Houseofteenbots · 11/01/2026 18:44

Yes you are! And you're supposed to clean washing machines monthly aswell . I recommend wpro this one product can be used on both

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 11/01/2026 18:37

AshesUnderUricon · 11/01/2026 18:31

And no, it's not OK to scrub it with the lavatory brush.

Show quote history

Or to put your lavatory brush in the dishwasher
I didn't even know this was a thing till I read it on MN

For clarity , I do have toilet brushes but those silicone ones and when they need a clean I put them in the loo overnight with the cleaning table .
And have my adult son grumble "Mother I went to the loo in the night and it was dark , that could've been nasty. How would you explain that in A&E?"

Justontherightsideofnormal · 11/01/2026 18:32

@Pavementworrier
I'm literally crying at your responses. So I think I live in a fairly clean home….. I have a water softener so it cuts down on cleaning by at least 75%. I hoover when carpets show sock fluff (all the fucking time as our carpets are off white and socks black) I sweep hard floors regularly as every bloody person in this house shed dirt like an earth worm. I have a dishwasher so it cuts don’t have to wash dishes …….. but what I do do which will be absolutely frowned soon is when the filter bits need cleaned (and the shower filters) I take them all out and …… put them on the top rack of the dishwasher 🫣
all come out so clean 😂

AshesUnderUricon · 11/01/2026 18:31

Flamingowigglesworm · 09/01/2026 21:32

You absolutely do 🤣 the filter at the bottom gets full of grime and goo and needs a good scrub regularly. Otherwise your dishes are getting cleaned with dirty bacteria filled water

And no, it's not OK to scrub it with the lavatory brush.

MissusSimonNeil · 11/01/2026 18:11

I'd recommend going around the rubber seals with a cloth occasionally because a lot of gunk accumulates around there that will end up providing an ecosystem for bacteria, but other than that, and cleaning out the filter that's pretty much it for me. Though I will occasionally splurge on one of those bottles of dishwasher cleaner if I'm feeling flush 😂

Cheese55 · 11/01/2026 18:07

Don't use salt but use rinse aid

Extraenergyneeded · 11/01/2026 17:55

How about the shower drain?
Don’t forget that!!!!

MiloMinderbinder · 11/01/2026 17:51

First of the month: clean dish washer, washing machine, put the cooker hood filters in the dishwasher. Look after ALL your machines - in your house and outside (blender, vacuum, car, lawnmower etc etc).

BB49 · 11/01/2026 17:45

DH has done this very occasionally. But we never use rinse aid or salt crystals - is that bad?

Original poster

Pavementworrier · 11/01/2026 17:45

Bjorkdidit · 11/01/2026 14:15

I have the answer to this. You need a second filter. Available from eBay or online spares suppliers for about £10 if that.

When you do the cleaning programme using Aldi or Lidl dishwasher cleaner, rather than that overpriced Finish nonsense, take out the dirty filter and install your new clean filter.

Then run the cleaning cycle with the yucked up filter in the dishwasher so it's cleaned without having to put in any effort yourself.

Edited

This is total genius

OP posts:

Cheese55 · 11/01/2026 17:43

user38 · 11/01/2026 17:39

If a filter is clean after a few years of use then it isn't filtering at all

What does this mean ( panicking!) When I say clean, I mean it was not clogged up with anything not sparkling!

Original poster

Pavementworrier · 11/01/2026 17:41

user38 · 11/01/2026 17:39

If a filter is clean after a few years of use then it isn't filtering at all

Oh well!

OP posts:

Original poster

Pavementworrier · 11/01/2026 17:41

Zippidydoodah · 11/01/2026 10:19

Do you wash your dishes before you put them in the dishwasher?! 😜

I had a family member who did this, by the way! She said the dishwasher was just to “sanitise” the dishes. 🤣 rest her batshit soul ❤️

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Given that I never clean my dishwasher do you think it's likely I prewash my dishes? 🤣

To be fair I do rinse off anything that looks heavy

OP posts:

user38 · 11/01/2026 17:39

If a filter is clean after a few years of use then it isn't filtering at all

StuffingMyNuts · 11/01/2026 16:45

I’m surprised that people are saying their filter is clean. When you take it out are you then disconnecting the metal rack from the filter attached to it as it tends to be the part of the filter that touches the metal rack at the top that needs built up food to be cleaned from it.

Cheese55 · 11/01/2026 16:40

So I found my filter and took it out and it was clean. Live in a hard water area and machine isn't 10 years as I thought but 8 years old. Doing a clean thing now 😇 which I've realised I can get 2 for same price on amazon compared with s'market price.

Bjorkdidit · 11/01/2026 16:36

Well no because it gets blasted into tiny bits, which is how a dishwasher works, and rinsed away during the cleaning cycle.

Lunchcatastrophe · 11/01/2026 16:09

Bjorkdidit · 11/01/2026 14:15

I have the answer to this. You need a second filter. Available from eBay or online spares suppliers for about £10 if that.

When you do the cleaning programme using Aldi or Lidl dishwasher cleaner, rather than that overpriced Finish nonsense, take out the dirty filter and install your new clean filter.

Then run the cleaning cycle with the yucked up filter in the dishwasher so it's cleaned without having to put in any effort yourself.

Edited

But surely if you do this you aren’t actually removing the grot from the dishwasher at all? You’re just sloshing it around the inside of the dishwasher and then when the water drains away it’s all left in the filter you’ve just put in?

JackJarvisEsq · 11/01/2026 15:58

Mine (and my washing machine) tell me when to do it otherwise I absolutely would forget

Louisetopaz21 · 11/01/2026 15:52

ImmortalJillyCooper · 09/01/2026 21:31

You buy a special cleaning thing, shove it in, then do an empty load on high heat. Same as what you are supposed to do with your washing machine. I do both of these regularly. About every 10 years

Every ten years? I am lucky if my appliances last this long