You use your dishwasher to clean your dishes so it must be clean inside, right? Not really! Over time, dishwashers accumulate grime and develop the smell of mold or mildew and this is the last place you want strange, smelly odors to occur.

Before you clean your dishes, take some time to clean your dishwasher. When possible, remove the dishwasher racks, this will make it faster and easier to clean the inside. Using warm soapy water, scrub the interior walls, door gasket and seals. Remove the filter from the bottom of the dishwasher and soak in hot sudsy water while you scrub the interior sections with a bottle brush for those hard to reach areas. Be sure to wipe down the dishwasher racks before returning them to the dishwasher as build-up of grime can accumulate there too.

Now that your dishwasher is clean, let’s eliminate those funky smells. Place 1 cup of distilled white vinegar in the top rack of an empty dishwasher and run a full cycle. The acids in the vinegar will help break down any residues that remain inside. Lastly, sprinkle a cup of baking soda over the bottom of the dishwasher and run on the hottest but shortest cycle available to neutralize odors. Repeat as needed.