DW "Easy Peasy" Clean

Do you clean your dishwasher?
Sure, it saves time-saver in terms of kitchen chores, but it needs to be cleaned too. As grease, soap scum and food debris accumulate, efficiency is reduced and the DW can become a germ-magnet. (Yes, gross, I know ☹️) 

Here's a quick and easy 2-step method touted by home maintenance guru Bob Vila. It uses easy-to find ingredients — vinegar and baking soda and no chemicals. Sure, there are other ways: using the powdered breakfast drink Tang® (several YouTube videos show how). There's also marketed "dishwasher" cleaners. All cost more than this method.

We hate dislike spending more — and who doesn't like easy?
Take out the bottom dish rack. Check the DW drain. Remove any trapped food items. This can improve drainage, increase cleaning, and prevent damages.

Use vinegar for the wash, then add baking soda for a rinse. (NOTE: you can use any brand of these products; these are only shown for illustration.)

Vinegar Wash

Start with an empty dishwasher.

Fill a dishwasher-safe container with 1 cup of white vinegar and place it on the upper rack of the empty machine. 

Close the door. Run the dishwasher through a hot-water cycle. When it's done, you should see that the vinegar washed away grease and removed any odors.

Baking Soda Rinse

After the vinegar rinse is done, sprinkle a cupful of baking soda across the bottom of the appliance. Run it on a short hot-water cycle. When it's done, you should notice that your appliance has a brighter, stain and odor-free interior.

Vila recommends a monthly cleaning to maintain the dishwasher. This is a two-for one cleaning day. I use vinegar to clean the auto coffeemaker every month; usually on the same day as cleaning the DW — easy peasy.

FYI: The oft-used expression "easy peasy lemon squeezy" is said to come from a 1950s advertising slogan for Lemon Sqezy®, a “washing-up liquid." This British detergent was sold in a squeeze bottle. In earlier marketing campaigns, two other ad slogans were used: "Washing-Up? It's easy with Sqezy" and "Quick as a wink away from the sink." The phrasing everyone knows started after a lemon version was marketed. Sqezy® formerly marketed by British manufacturer Starbrands Limited is no longer made.