cleaning your dishwasher
Hey folks! Cleaning your space has lots of good effects for your mental health. While we often forget that we need to clean our appliances, too, doing so makes your place feel extra clean, takes care of bacteria/fungi that might be growing in there, and makes your cleaning cycles more efficient. So, yay!
You’ll get lots of benefits from cleaning it once a month, but if that’s just not happening, consider cleaning it once every 6 months. Cleaning the thing really only takes a few minutes: I just did it in 10.
You’ll need:
1. a rag
2. some dish soap
3. white vinegar (1 cup)
4. baking soda
5. a dishwasher safe bowl.
6. (optional) an essential oil (a few drops).
✸
To clean the thing:
1. (Start by working with an empty dishwasher. No dishes can be along for the ride!) First, check your dishwasher filter. (It’s not hard!). It’s usually located at the bottom of the machine. Lefty-loosey. Take the thing out and if it’s full of ancient food stuffs, wash it with soap and hot water in the sink. Then put it back in.
2. Wipe down the inside (mostly the bottom) with a soapy rag.
3. dust the bottom of the dishwasher with baking soda. (You don’t need that much).
4. Fill you dishwasher safe bowl with 1 cup of white vinegar. If you’d like, add a few drops (think ~5) of whatever essential oil gets you excited—I used peppermint because it smells great. Put this bowl, face up, on the upper rack of your dishwasher.
5. Run it! (on hot is best, but normal is fine too if your dishwasher doesn’t have a high heat cycle). Make sure you run it empty! Let the thing air dry. If you can, leave it open over night, but don’t trip on it when you do into the kitchen for water at midnight. You’ve done a good thing for your nest, and that’s a good thing for you (and yours).
