Jennifer Nixon
Marketing Consultant
Jennifer has experience in graphic design, brand development, and digital media. She is passionate about architecture, typography, and black & white film photography.
While a dishwasher isn't designed to last forever, on average they should last about 10 years. There are several factors that impact the lifespan of your dishwasher, the most important one being usage. With numerous moving parts, the more you use your dishwasher, the faster those parts will wear out. To help make the most of your dishwasher, here are a few tips & tricks to keep it running smoothly and minimize repairs.
Scrape Your Plates, No Rinsing Required
You'll want to scrape leftover food into the trash, but you don't need to rinse residue from the plate. Not only will this save you water, but your dishwasher will be more effective because the soil sensor will get a better reading.
Run Full Loads
Ultimately, your dishwasher's longevity is based on the number of cycles it runs. By running a full load, you reduce the number of uses and minimize wear on the mechanical parts. Dishwashers are designed to detect whether it has been loaded to capacity or not and make adjustments to save water, time, and energy, but each time you run the dishwasher it still uses all the same parts.
Use a Rinse Aid
Rinse aids are designed to prevent water spots and improve drying performance by allowing water to sheet off of glass and dinnerware.
Stick to Washing Dishes Only
These days there are hacks out there for nearly everything, including items you can wash in your dishwasher to save time. While the hack might be convincing to make cleaning a tricky item easier, ultimately you are introducing debris to your dishwasher it was not designed to handle.
Make sure any plastics are dishwasher safe so no parts break off or melt. Avoid glass jars with labels so you don't clog the filter when the label peels off. And remember that wood utensils and knives should always be hand-washed.
Skip the hacks and keep bras, toys, shoes, paintbrushes, tools, uncooked fish and other items out of your dishwasher.
Use Dishwasher Detergent and Cleaners Only
Avoid using bleach or degreasers to prevent damage to the pump, seals, and other parts. Make sure your detergent is fresh, discard it if it gets old or lumpy as it may not dissolve properly. Don't load the detergent until you are ready to run the dishwasher. You can also use citric acid or a dishwasher cleaner like Lemi Shine to help remove film from glass & dishes (don't use with silverware or metal items). Learn more about the white film on your dishes and how to prevent it from the GE website.
Load Your Dishwasher Correctly
Skip the articles online about the best way to load a dishwasher, most are based on one person's opinion or experience. Instead, go to the source and learn directly from GE. Click here to learn how to properly load a GE dishwasher.
Clean Your Dishwasher
Check out the owner's manual for instructions on cleaning your dishwasher, including how frequently to run the cleaning cycle. You can lookup the owner's manual for your GE Dishwasher (and other appliances) by entering the model number on the GE website. Be sure that you wipe up food visible food, clean the filter located on the inside-bottom, and wipe up food trapped between the door and gasket.
