Beyond dishes: Unleashing the full potential of your dishwasher

Hand washing utensils, such as mugs, plates, and pots, can be quite taxing, especially in larger households. Owning a dishwasher not only helps alleviate this laborious task but also massively reduces the need for it. Interestingly, aside from dishes, a dishwasher comes in handy when cleaning several other items.

Your dishwasher can also be used for the care of certain wardrobe items like peaked caps. Since a dishwasher doesn't have a spin feature, the stiff peak won't deform. Just place the caps on the top shelf and proceed with your usual washing program. By the same logic, you can also clean plastic toys. The warm water stream can reach even difficult areas, effectively cleaning toys with intricate details.

That's not all. Your dishwasher can be utilized to clean makeup brushes as well. Just arrange them in the cutlery compartment, and they'll come out looking good as new. It efficiently cleans chandelier shades too. However, ensure they're dusted before washing.

During canning season, sterilize jars for jams, pickles, etc., in your dishwasher. Simply wash them at 140 degrees, upside down. The high temperature creates a vacuum in the jars, ensuring they're thoroughly disinfected. Remember not to use detergent; water alone will suffice.

You're now familiar with some surprising uses of your dishwasher. Let's return to its everyday function. It's good to refresh our knowledge of fundamental usage rules for this appliance. Following these guidelines ensures the longevity of your dishwasher.

Before loading dishes into the dishwasher, remove food leftovers. Loose crumbs, pieces of meat, or dried food particles risk clogging up the mechanism, leading to a potential breakdown. To optimize your dishwasher's performance, here are a few practical tips:

• Cutlery is often dirtiest so start loading your dishwasher with them. Dishwashers usually have designated baskets or separated drawers for cutlery. To avoid accidental injuries, ensure knives have their blades facing downwards. To prevent spoons and forks from touching, use profiled dividers.
• Next, arrange the smaller items like bowls, mugs, glasses, and cups. They should all be placed in the top rack. Ensure that glasses or mugs are positioned upside down so water can reach all corners.
• The bottom rack of the dishwasher is intended for plates, and heavy-duty items like pots and pans. Smallest plates should be placed in the middle to allow water to circulate freely.