Dishwasher that remains clean?

[bethben]

Is there a dishwasher that remains clean?  I just cleaned my dishwasher with Comet bleach to get the gross out.  And it is gross.  It doesn't have a food disposal thing on the bottom and despite me telling my boys to get all the junk off the dishes, they never get all of it.  That's not the biggest problem though.  There is just a lot of nasty and gross slimy stuff all over the dishwasher in the cracks and this icky deposit all over the walls.  My previous home's dishwasher would get gunk in the cracks, but never on every surface.  How do I keep this from happening?  Will a stainless steel dishwasher keep the ick out?  Is it my water?  I do use Cascade advanced power since those little pods never seemed to dissolve properly.

[AK_Mom4]

The inside of my dishwasher is stainless steel.  That seems to help with not getting build up, but the thing that really makes a difference is putting a small container in the top rack filled with about 2 oz of white vinegar.  This also helps with the glasses coming out clean.

[Pawz4me]

I wonder if it's a water issue? My dishwasher never gets gunky inside. None of them ever have. But I've found the pods work MUCH better than powder, and have never had an issue with them not dissolving properly. So again--maybe a water difference issue? What about water temperature? Could it be the pods don't dissolve because the water isn't getting hot enough? I'd think that could contribute to gunk build up.

[Ellie]

I use Amway's dishwasher pods,  and the inside of my dishwasher is clean (as are the dishes, lol).

[CinV]

1 hour ago, Pawz4me said:

 What about water temperature? Could it be the pods don't dissolve because the water isn't getting hot enough? I'd think that could contribute to gunk build up.

This. Your water isn't hot enough.

[lavender's green]

The inside of our washer is stainless steel and never gets gunky. We use a gel detergent, and I think it gets pretty hot in there. We don't have hard water. I don't know which factor or combination of factors keeps it clean.

[Selkie]

We have a Bosch dishwasher that never gets gunky. Our water is hard and I use Seventh Generation detergent (liquid, not pods). Ours has a filter at the bottom that catches all the food particles, and I just rinse it off as needed.

[May]

Our dishwasher never gets gunky inside. We don’t have stainless inside. 

[KathyBC]

2 hours ago, Pawz4me said:

I wonder if it's a water issue? My dishwasher never gets gunky inside. None of them ever have. But I've found the pods work MUCH better than powder, and have never had an issue with them not dissolving properly. So again--maybe a water difference issue? What about water temperature? Could it be the pods don't dissolve because the water isn't getting hot enough? I'd think that could contribute to gunk build up.

 

1 hour ago, CinV said:

This. Your water isn't hot enough.

We have hard well water, and even with a water softener get dishwasher build up. I concluded the same thing about the water not being hot enough and began using Hi Temp Wash. It definitely helps.

[Ali in OR]

Our previous dishwasher got pink algae-looking stuff all over. It's replacement, a Bosch stainless-steel interior, stays beautifully clean.

[bethben]

1 hour ago, Ali in OR said:

Our previous dishwasher got pink algae-looking stuff all over. It's replacement, a Bosch stainless-steel interior, stays beautifully clean.

This is what I’m battling against.  It’s gross.

[KungFuPanda]

This sounds like your dishwasher doesn’t work properly. I have a cheap one with a plastic interior and have never experienced this. Maybe the heating element is broken so it’s not heating the water or drying the dishes. Or it’s not draining properly? The dishes can’t be any cleaner than the door. I’d hand wash until you get it fixed or replaced. 

[Pickle Dust]

I had the same problem with my dishwasher. This is the last thing I tried to get it to be clean. I use Finish pods and put 1/2 cup of bleach in the bottom of the dishwasher, and run it on hi-temp scour and anti-bacterial settings. The dishwasher is totally clean afterwards. I don't have to put the bleach in every load any more either.

This bleach idea is one I came up with after nothing else worked. This was a shot in the dark, basically. No research done, so proceed at your own risk. As of this writing, my family is still alive, so I don't think it is harmful.

[bethben]

34 minutes ago, Pickle Dust said:

I had the same problem with my dishwasher. This is the last thing I tried to get it to be clean. I use Finish pods and put 1/2 cup of bleach in the bottom of the dishwasher, and run it on hi-temp scour and anti-bacterial settings. The dishwasher is totally clean afterwards. I don't have to put the bleach in every load any more either.

This bleach idea is one I came up with after nothing else worked. This was a shot in the dark, basically. No research done, so proceed at your own risk. As of this writing, my family is still alive, so I don't think it is harmful.

I get that for sure—I was trying to remember what bad combinations there were also today.  I used comet with bleach and then couldn’t remember if bleach and vinegar were bad so I skipped the vinegar.  I have the cheapy builder basic dishwasher so the inside is this rubbery plastic stuff.  The dishwasher does the job ok (not great-but better than having to hand wash everything), but if I have to go in there with bleach and comet and scouring pads every month, that will be the end of cheapy dishwasher for me.

[regentrude]

It can be mineral deposit from hard water and have nothing to do with water temperature or food remains. 

Edited December 16, 2018 by regentrude

[Storygirl]

My niece says she pours some white vinegar (perhaps 1/4 cup) in the bottom of the dishwasher with every wash. Sometimes she adds some baking soda, which makes it foam up. Her dishwasher looks like new, even though it is more than six years old. I haven't tried this yet, but I intend to. My dishwasher accumulates disgusting gunk on the bottom near the door and around the gasket, and also has a whitish mineral buildup on the walls. It's gross!! She just told me her trick, and I haven't tried it yet.

[kbutton]

Citric acid crystals run through a "sanitize" or really hot cycle can help. You might have to do it several times if things are super bad currently. Lemi Shine has a brand name dishwasher (and frontloader) cleaner. It's basically citric acid. I just use citric acid that I get from a bulk food store--most grocery stores that carry canning goods have it as well.

We lost two dishwashers that were perfectly fine before we realized it was hard water doing this.