8 Handy Tips to Make Dishwasher Duty a Breeze

Is there anything that vinegar can't clear? One of the easiest to use dishwasher hacks to try is to add a little bit of white vinegar to your rinse cycle. This cleans your vinegar and reduces the amount of odor your machine has. This is a cheaper, environmentally friendly alternative to dishwasher rinse agent: fill the compartment with plain white vinegar, which works just as well to keep spots from forming and costs mere pennies per load.

It’s easy for small kitchen utensils such as cake testers or trussing needles to fall through the slots in the dishwasher silverware bin. To keep utensils where they belong, follow this tip.
1. Stuff a small nylon pot scrubber into the bottom of the cutlery container.
2. Secure small items by sticking them into the pot scrubber. The scrubber will prevent anything from falling through.

Chopsticks are useful utensils, but they can be frustrating to wash in the dishwasher because they slide right through the holes in the silverware bin. Here’s one way to keep the chopsticks from straying: With a paring knife, cut a small “x” for each chopstick in the plastic lid from a yogurt or sour cream container. Slide each chopstick into an “x” and place the lid in the top rack of the dishwasher. The plastic will keep the chopsticks secure during the wash cycle.

To keep plastic storage containers from turning over and filling with water during the wash cycle, place them on the upper rack of the dishwasher and set a wire rack on top. The rack keeps the containers in place while soapy water flows through.

While most dishwashers do a fine job of cleaning wineglasses, few have rack space engineered to prevent jostling (and breaking) during the cycle. Here’s how to lock wineglasses into place.
1. Place the wineglass, bowl side down, on the upper rack. Loop a rubber band around one spoke and pull the opposite end over the stem of the glass.
2. Loop the rubber band around a spoke on the other side of the rack and bring it up around the stem again. Repeat, if necessary, until the wineglass is secure.

Tired of guessing whether or not the dishwasher has been run? Erase all doubt by writing an X on a light-colored clothespin or bag clip with a nontoxic dry-erase marker and attaching it to one of the dishwasher racks prior to running the appliance. The cycle washes away the mark—a quick visual indicator of a clean load.

Unloading the dishwasher is a dreaded chore. However, a little extra care while loading the silverware makes unloading go faster. Separate the silverware as you go; all forks together, knives together, and so on. At unloading time, simply grab each bunch of silverware and transfer to the appropriate drawer.

Aside from your standard cookware and silverware, you can (and should!) clean certain household items that are particularly susceptible to germs in your dishwasher: plastic kids toys and baseball caps can go in the top rack; and metal cabinet handles and plastic combs can go in the silverware caddy. Just make sure to run a separate, gentle load for these items—you don't want them mixing with your dirty dishes—and for something like kids toys, check the label to ensure they’re dishwasher safe.