I spent a decade piecing together my dream kitchen in a modest Midwestern bungalow—or as close as I could get with a limited budget and a husband who was averse to renovations. I managed to replace the sink and counters, swapped our basic gas range for a fancy Italian induction model, and when our cheap Whirlpool dishwasher pooped out, I successfully campaigned to upgrade to a mid-tier Bosch with a third rack for flatware. My dishes had never been so spotless! Then I got a divorce and had to leave it all behind for rental-grade appliances.
I made do with a high-end countertop oven and a portable induction cooktop, and I even replaced the landlord special faucet with a much nicer one. But I am stuck with what is probably the worst GE dishwasher on the market, and if you told me it was installed by Trump’s pool guy, I would believe you. It’s loud, the one-hour cycle takes at least two, and, unless I keep up with a handful of small adjustments to my pre-wash routine, the dishes come out spotty and sometimes even crusty.
If your dishwasher is as disappointing as mine, you’re going to need more than expensive detergent pods to get really clean dishes. And you may already be doing some of these things, but if you want your crummy dishwasher to perform like a slightly—or perhaps significantly—better one, you should really be doing all of them.
First, clean your dishwasher
It seems counterintuitive that we should have to clean the appliances that are meant to clean things for us, but in order to maintain their performance, we absolutely do. This is especially true of vacuum cleaners, washing machines, and dishwashers—and the dishwasher should be cleaned about once a month, starting with the filter.
If you didn’t know your dishwasher has a filter, I’m sorry for what you’re about to discover when you twist and remove that little upside down basket thing under the bottom rack. Luckily, it’s pretty easy to de-gunk with an old toothbrush and soap. After you put it back, run a full-length cycle on the hottest setting with something that will break down and clear out the mineral deposits that build up on the sprayers, heating element, and sensors (a.k.a. descale your dishwasher). You can use two cups of distilled white vinegar in a dishwasher-safe bowl on the top rack, but you can buy less pungent tablets and sachets made specifically for this purpose.
