Best dishwasher cleaner to spruce up your machine 2026

When it comes to household appliances, dishwashers can be a huge time saver when juggling busy family life. Whether you opt for a freestanding or integrated dishwasher, these smart and efficient appliances allow you to sit back and put your feet up while your dishes are restored to their former glory, leaving your plates, cups and cutlery clean, dry and ready to use with your next meal. 

What you may not realise, however, is that even the best dishwashers require regular cleaning and maintenance. Fail to look after your dishwasher and you can easily end up with a smelly appliance and plates that come out covered in baked-on food, even after a full cycle. Whether used in tablet, liquid or powder form, a dishwasher cleaner is a quick and efficient way to keep your appliance running at its best and can help to achieve a deep clean, banish odours and prevent future faults or performance issues. 

To bring you our pick of the best dishwasher cleaners, we’ve tapped into the tried-and-tested experiences of trusted Mumsnet users, seeking out recommendations on the products and brands they have used and would happily recommend to others. We then also scrutinised wider consumer reviews and cleaning expert opinions, gathering feedback on the products that really do work.

Here are the best dishwasher cleaners that help you achieve sparkling clean dishes every time.

How to clean a dishwasher 

Just like any household appliance, your dishwasher needs some regular TLC to keep it running at its best, especially if you use it multiple times a week. Keeping your dishwasher clean and hygienic can not only produce better cleaning results but can also prevent costly faults and breakdowns and allow you to enjoy the benefits for longer.

If you’re not sure where to start - fear not - we’ve collated five top tips on how to clean a dishwasher that can have your dishwasher fresh and sparking in next to no time. As well as running a regular cycle with vinegar or dishwasher cleaner, other simple and stress-free dishwasher cleaning steps include:

• Removing the bottom rack and residue

• Cleaning the filter regularly (approximately once a week)

• Wiping down both the exterior and interior 

• Cleaning the spray arms

• Don't forget to pay attention to the hidden corners of your dishwasher

For more details on each step, see our full guide on how to clean a dishwasher.

What’s the best natural dishwasher cleaner?

While you could opt for a natural dishwasher cleaner such as Ecozone, Mumsnet users also recommend using other natural ingredients such as vinegar to keep your dishwasher clean.

Simply add a cup of white vinegar to a small container and add it to the top rack of your empty dishwasher before running the appliance on a hot cycle. For removing more stubborn grime, limescale or residue, a cup of baking soda can provide an extra boost of cleaning power. 

"Have you tried sodium bicarbonate and white vinegar? Wash through on a hot wash. [...]" - FloofPaws

"Once a month I run mine on its hottest programme with a ramekin of soda crystals in the top rack and empty a bottle of white vinegar into a Pyrex jug and place that on the bottom rack. Smells and looks lovely after. On the same day I also take out filters and scrub, clean arms with an old toothbrush and wipe round seals etc. In between, whenever I have a lemon looking past its best, I cut it in half and plonk one in the cutlery rack and leave while it does its usual cycle. Again, keeps it smelling lovely and it's naturally anti-bacterial." - tellmewhenthespaceshiplandscoz

How to maintain your dishwasher

As well as keeping your dishwasher clean, there are several other steps you can take to maintain your machine health and improve its lifespan.

• Read the instructions - While no one really enjoys reading the manual, understanding the specifications of your own model can ensure you are using it correctly. From selecting the right cycle to where you should place your dishwasher tablets, learning about your dishwasher can prevent rookie mistakes or oversights that could reduce performance.

• Use high-quality detergent - Use the best dishwasher tablets and ensure you are using them as specified by the brand for sparkling results, especially for an extra greasy load.

• Run a maintenance cycle regularly - Don’t wait until you have a problem to clean your dishwasher. Carrying out a regular maintenance cycle with a dishwasher cleaner (at least once a month) is a proactive way to keep it performing at its best. Don’t forget to remove the filter and check the drain is clear, as well as wipe down door seals and spray arms for the best results.

• Use dishwasher salt - Particularly if you are in a hard water area, dishwasher salt can prevent the build-up of limescale inside your dishwasher by softening the water during the cycle. Rinse aid is also an essential part of dishwasher maintenance.

• Load it correctly - As well as scraping off significant excess food waste which can cause blockages, it’s important not to overload or overstack your dishwasher. Most modern dishwashers have height-adjustable shelving and adjustable racks to help accommodate dishes, pots and Tupperware of different shapes and sizes. Overloading your dishwasher can not only reduce the quality of the clean, it can damage the racks and cutlery trays.

• Use your dishwasher regularly - If you haven’t used your dishwasher for a while for routine cleaning, run the hottest cycle empty before loading it with dirty dishes - this can remove stagnant water and nasty smells which can be unhygienic. 

How we chose the best dishwasher cleaner

Recommendations from real parents

To bring you our definitive list of the best dishwasher cleaners you can buy today, we first sought out the trusted opinions of Mumsnet users, getting their feedback on the products and brands that they rate, recommend and use in their own dishwashers.

Expert opinions

Next up, we considered reviews and feedback from trusted industry experts. We want to be confident that the dishwasher cleaners we recommend are fit for purpose whether you live in a hard or soft water area, so we looked out for award-winning products or those that were well regarded in the marketplace.

Authentic consumer reviews

Finally, to bring you our definitive list of the best dishwasher cleaners on the market, we thoroughly investigated genuine, in-depth customer reviews on retailer sites such as Amazon, Lakeland and online supermarkets.

About the author 

Lucy Cotterill is a mum of two and a Content Writer at Mumsnet, specialising in baby, child and lifestyle product reviews and round-ups. Having written product reviews on her own blog Real Mum Reviews since 2012, Lucy loves to research and explore the pros and cons of products, scrutinising reviews and consumer feedback to help people make confident purchases.  

After buying her first ever dishwasher in 2022, Lucy knows only too well the benefits that a clean and high-performing dishwasher can bring when juggling family life. Lucy's also written a number of Mumsnet round-ups of the top home products - including the best budget dishwashers, most energy-efficient dishwashers, and best tabletop dishwashers, so she's somewhat of a Mumsnet expert when it comes to sniffing out the top appliances for families.

Originally from a HR background with a degree in Business Studies, Lucy developed a real passion for blogging and writing when her children were young, going on to write for several online publications including US parenting site Pregistry and the Evening Standard. When she’s not manically tapping the keys of her laptop, Lucy loves nothing more than to cosy up with her Kindle and enjoy the latest thriller, or compete in Nintendo Switch rallies with her daughters aged six and 10.

Why you should trust us

We work hard to provide honest and independent advice you can trust and we spend hours scouring the Mumsnet forums and online bestseller lists to find products that real parents rate.

Transparency is really important to us and that's why we're always upfront about where we find our recommendations. We write about products that we feel offer the best value to most parents – the ones that our users would recommend to their own friends and family.

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