Holiday Tips for Your Dishwasher
Ahh…the holidays. What a great time of the year to eat, drink, and be merry. There are so many holidays to choose from this time of the year to celebrate–and so much good food. We can hardly wait to try all of our new foods, as well as some traditional favorites. Before you dive into your turkey, you need to pause for a minute. Do you remember those days when you had to wash all of the dishes after Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s or Hanukkah by hand? The horror!
If you want to make sure that your dishwasher is holiday ready, what should you do? We have some tips for you to ensure your dishwasher is happily humming during the hectic holidays.
We Know You Hate To Hear This, But…
Don’t put filthy plates in your dishwasher. When you put plates that are completely dirty in your dishwasher, you could clog up your drain lines, spray arms or pump assembly. This means that bacteria could begin to grow in your dishwasher, and no one wants that. This also means that your dishwasher may not clean effectively either, which means you may have to run multiple loads. We recommend that you scrape your plates before you place them in the dishwasher.
Overloaded
You also can’t overload your dishwasher, even though you want to during the holidays. We know you want to fill your dishwasher with as many platters and plates as possible, but it isn’t smart in the long run. If you overload your dishwasher, you could wear out your dishwasher more quickly. It may also leak water all over your floor, which could lead to damage to your flooring. To avoid this problem, be sure and either hand wash heavy plates and platters separately. You could also check and make sure that you wash heavy platters with lighter items.
If It’s Not Dishwasher Safe, Don’t Wash It in There!
Believe it or not, many of us don’t read the manufacturer’s guide for what is dishwasher safe, and what is not. To help you out, we have a handy list of items that usually can’t be washed in the dishwasher. Unless it specifically states on the item, don’t wash it in your dishwasher. Don’t wash anything wooden in your dishwasher. Also, cast-iron pans have no business in your dishwasher either–neither do copper or pewter. Hand wash your really good knives, your crystal, any hand-blown glass, and plates with gold or silver trim. Hollow handled items do not belong in your dishwasher either. Those travel mugs you love? Hand wash them.
If you follow these simple guidelines, you should be able to keep your dishwasher humming through the holidays. If you do have a problem with your dishwasher, why not give us a call? We can have your dishwasher up and humming just in time for the holidays!