Dishwashers are a staple appliance in every Australia household. Whether you are a household of 1 or a household of 10, chances are this is one appliance you simply could not live without. I mean, who really wants or has the time to hand wash dishes after every meal?
We take a look at what causes horrible dishwasher smells. I will also share our top tips for getting and keeping your dishwasher smelling like roses, always.
Dishwashers carry such a heavy burden in terms of cleaning for our families and the primary reason why smells are coming from your dishwasher is food build. Unrinsed plates stacked into the unit, even with only small amounts of food particles remaining, can accumulate in the unit overtime, with the most common areas of build up being the filters, seals, and cervices of the machine, as well as the blades.
Once these particles build up, the smell increases. With the longer the particles remain in the machine. The worse the smell becomes. Overtime not only will horrible smells start flowing through your kitchen, but your dishes and any other utensils and objects you put into the dishwasher. Having the smell transmitted to them, which will occur through the drying cycle, where your cutlery and crockery remain stagnant. This can lead to rewashing, and general wastage or both water and electricity.
“. This can lead to rewashing, and general wastage or both water and electricity.“
Dishwashers come in both stainless steel and plastic construction, with awful smelling dishwasher odours occurring in both types of machines. Plastic machines are, however, generally the type experiencing more frequent odour issues.
The reason for this, is due to plastic being a porous material, which absorbs smells more predominantly than stainless steel units. Plastic dishwashers in terms of absorbing smells, are similar to human skin, which absorbs odours, dirt and mildew, creating greater offensive odour emissions.
At Personal Maids, the best odour reducing cleaning solution we can recommend for your dishwasher, to reduce and remove smells, is vinegar and baking soda.
Firstly, remove the filter from the dishwasher, which is located at the bottom of the machine. This should easily come away from the machine by unscrewing the waste filter. During this process, you can also remove the filter tray. Wash all items in warm soapy water, with the best results achieved by letting the products soak in the warm soapy solution for 10-15 minutes. It is really important that you do not use a rough scrubbing brush, during this part of the cleaning process. Whilst temping, in order to remove built up dirt and grime, it can cause damage to the pieces, which is not ideal.
The second part of the process is deodorising, Take the vinegar and baking soda, pouring the vinegar liberally through the dishwasher. Run your dishwasher through a deep cleaning or long cycle, which will enable the vinegar to break up any remaining build up and deodorise the machine.
Should your dishwasher still omit offensive smells after this process, place baking soda in the dishwasher and leave overnight. The next morning run the same deep cleaning cycle, and all your smells should be eliminated, with your dishwasher back in action and ready for use.
There is only one way to ensure that the horrible smells do not return to your dishwasher, and that is through regular maintenance and prevention. Undertaking an easy daily routine, such as rinsing plates before stacking in the dishwasher, and cleaning out your filters regularly, can ensure that food never build up in your unit, and the smells with therefore never return.
If you are having odour issues with your dishwasher and require some expert advice. Give our team at Personal Maids a call, and we can provide a comprehensive clean of your dishwasher as part of our home cleaning service, ensuring that your household never experienced offensive dishwasher smells again. Call us today for a free home cleaning quote.
