Vinegar as a rinse aid can leave glasses spotless.
Forget pricey rinse aids and spot removers: White vinegar may be what you need to keep your dishwasher clean and your dishes sparkling. From removing soap-scum buildup inside to keeping its exterior shining, vinegar has your dishwasher's routine maintenance covered. Try vinegar in homemade detergents as well, and use it to clean the dishwasher's spray arm for optimal water flow. Does this Spark an idea?
Inside the Dishwasher
A dishwasher's interior develops a filmy mix of soap residue and water-based minerals such as lime and calcium. Vinegar can break up and rinse away those deposits. Appliance maker Whirlpool recommends starting the empty dishwasher's rinse-and-hold cycle without any detergent. As the machine fills with water, open the door and add 1/2 a cup of white vinegar to the water. Let the dishwasher complete its detergent-free cycle. After the dishwasher finishes, run it once more on the quick cycle, with detergent. This cleaning process also deodorizes the dishwasher. The Michigan State University Extension program recommends that you check your dishwasher's operating manual for notes on whether you can rinse the machine's inside with vinegar.
Outside the Dishwasher
Use vinegar to clean the outside of your dishwasher. For stainless steel, the Vinegar Institute recommends applying undiluted vinegar to a damp cloth and wiping down the machine to remove streaks. Try the technique in an inconspicuous place first, and always wipe with the steel's grain. For non-steel surfaces, mix equal parts of water and white vinegar in a spray bottle and spritz the dishwasher with the solution. Wipe down with a damp cloth and dry with a towel.
Rinse Aid
Mineral deposits can show up on dishes, making glasses and dishes cloudy. Glasses can permanently cloud from soft-water etching, especially in homes with water-softening systems. To test whether your dingy glasses come from hard or soft water, Whirlpool recommends setting glasses in undiluted white vinegar for five minutes. Rinse and dry. If the film is gone, the clouding comes from hard water and is treatable with a vinegar rinse aid (if the clouding is still there, it's caused by soft-water etching and is permanent). Add vinegar to your dishwasher's rinse-agent dispenser before running the machine. It will remove hard-water spots and buildup on glasses and plates.
Homemade Dishwasher Detergent
Vinegar also works as an ingredient in homemade dishwasher detergents. Mix 4 cups of borax and 1 cup of baking soda in a plastic container and store. When it's time to run a load of dishes, fill the detergent dispenser with the borax-baking soda mix and pour 2 tablespoons of white vinegar over the top of the powder. Run the dishwasher.
Other Maintenance Tips
Dishwashers run best -- and stay their cleanest -- when they're operated at least once a week. For tougher stains, such as iron or metal, General Electric recommends running an empty cycle with citric acid crystals, sometimes sold as sour salt at drugstores or grocery stories in the canning or spice section. Citric acid is safe for dishwashers with stainless steel interiors. Also, the holes in the spray arm at the bottom of the dishwasher can clog with small pieces of food. Use a toothpick or wire to clean out the holes every six months, and scrub away mineral deposits on the spray arm with heated white vinegar and a kitchen brush.
Tags: your dishwasher, white vinegar, cycle with, damp cloth, from hard