8 Ways You’re Using Your Dishwasher All Wrong

3. Skimping on scraping

You shouldn’t rinse your dishes before loading the dishwasher, but that doesn’t mean you should put them in the rack as is. ​​

“Scrape your dishes,” Cornell says. “[Your dishwasher] isn’t a garbage disposal.”​​

Scraping the chunks of food left on your plate can prevent foods from clogging the dishwasher, leading to expensive repairs.​​

4. Improper loading

Reorganizing the dishwasher is a common occurrence for 42 percent of households who think it was done “wrong” the first time, according to a survey from Cascade Platinum and Marie Claire magazine. But mistakes are still common.​​

“Improper loading can interfere with cleaning,” Notini says. ​​

Put silverware in the flatware baskets or racks; spoons and forks should be loaded with the handles facing down, while knives should have their handles facing upward to avoid injuries from the blades, Cornell says. Plates and bowls go on the bottom rack and glasses and mugs on the top rack. Your glasses should be loaded between, not over, the tines in the rack.​​

“[Putting the glasses over the tines] can cause spotting or place stress on the glass … and you can end up with broken glasses,” Notini says. ​ ​

Spatulas, serving spoons and other large utensils should be hand-washed, not laid in the top rack, according to Cornell. ​

​“Water pressure will shift those items and, if the utensils fall, they can block the spray arm … and if something’s blocking that, you’re only going to be washing a handful of dishes for the entire duration of the wash cycle,” he says.​

​5. Overloading the appliance

Don’t treat your dishwasher like a Tetris game and try to stack and balance as many dishes as possible on the racks. Overloading the dishwasher is one of the biggest mistakes people make, according to Cornell. ​

​“Whenever you overload a dishwasher, the first thing you’ll notice is that your dishes have a lot of soap scum or haze,” he explains. “It’s because [too many dishes] prevent the dishes from getting enough water flow to fully rinse them off.”​

​6. Putting detergent in the wrong place

Powder or liquid dishwasher detergent goes in the dispenser, but there has been some debate about where to place detergent pods. ​

​Cornell blames viral TikTok videos suggesting detergent pods should be tossed into the bottom of the dishwasher, not in the dispenser, for the confusion. It’s a mistake to follow that online advice. ​

​The reason: Dishwashers have separate rinse and wash cycles. When you put a detergent pod in the bottom of the dishwasher, the soap gets washed down the drain before the wash cycle starts.​​“

Now you’re washing your dishes with just stark water that is hot,” Cornell says.​

​Some detergent pods contain rinse aids that are released during the rinse cycle. A separate rinse aid can help remove spots and improve drying but it isn’t needed, he adds. ​

​7. Tossing the manual

There’s no denying that info about dishwasher parts and features and the filtration system doesn’t make for interesting reading, but skimming the manual — or at least keeping it handy — matters. ​​

It’s a good source for troubleshooting tips, recommendations for detergents and rinse agents and phone numbers to call for service or advice. Already tossed the manual? You can use the manufacturer name and model number to download the manual online, Notini says.​​

8. Ignoring the filter

Notini says most people don’t realize the dishwasher has a filter. It’s under the bottom rack of the dishwasher, and it needs to be cleaned. ​

​Check the appliance manual for recommendations on how often to clean your dishwasher filter. Then, pop it out, rinse any food debris and scrub it with a wire brush (no soap required) to remove calcification before replacing the filter. ​

​“It takes a few seconds to do, and it’s going to make your dishes cleaner,” Cornell says.​ ​

Reading the manual, rethinking how you load the dishwasher, where you put the detergent and how you manage maintenance can make your dishes look better and extend the life of your appliance.​