To never have cleaned my dishwasher

[Pavementworrier]

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

I sometimes wonder if this is to do with many people mainly using quick options instead of the full cycles.

we scrape plates and mainly use the eco programme.
when the dw makes a funny noise fill up salt and run a hotter cycle with a descaler tablet.

Do people who wash up in a bowl not clean the bowl of any food residue or grease? Do you lift the bowl and wipe round the sink?
Do those who wash up in the sink not clean the sink?
Same thing, same reasoning really.

Inspired by this thread I gave my dishwasher a good spruce up and found some satisfying gunk collections in various nooks and crannies. I use “Buster Plughole Clean and Fresh” which has multiple doses inside. I find the Finish dishwasher cleaners a ripoff.

Hijacking a bit here but how do you use soda crystals in a dishwasher? I use them in the washing machine instead of powder/liquid anyway so they just go in the dispensing drawer. Do you just sprinkle them in the bottom of the dishwasher?

Hiya

Sprinkle is a slight underestimating.

But yes, I literally "sprinkle" aka dump loads in the bottom of the machine

I clean mine once a month, empty the filter and then go in with a steamer around the seal and all the tough parts to clean. Then wash all the inside with bleach and fairy, then pop a dishwasher cleaner in on a cycle on its own

bleach and fairy
don't you get an Ibiza Foam Party effect from washing up liquid ?

I use Ecover tablets on a hot wash (70 for the DW /90 for the WM) no other detergents but this time after the clean cycle I did the sides of the runners and the baskets then ran it through with a bowl of white vinegar in the top shelf (Martha Stewart tip IIRC)

No not at all, been doing it for over 20 years