How dirty can my plates be before I stack them in the dishwasher?

There are two ways of looking at this problem – and your dishwasher type can help you decide.

When it comes to cleaning dirty plates, many people still continue to use elbow grease and dishwashing liquid. But you might be one of those who has always used a dishwasher to clean your plates.

When you were a child, your mother may have explained that it was always better to scrape off extra food from your plates before loading them up in the dishwasher. She may have reasoned that the food would clog the dishwasher and not let it work properly. This was sage advice – but there is another school of thought that says dumping the plate as is, from the moment you pick it up from the table, straight into the dishwasher is fine.

So which way is right? And does either way have an effect on how your dishwasher functions?

Look at your dishwasher type

Any person will tell you that it the more common sense approach is for to scrape your plates and cooking utensils as clean of food particles as possible, before proceeding to clean them. This is particularly true of large food particles. Think about it – when you do the dishes by hand in your kitchen sink, don’t you dislodge the debris in the plates and pots first? If you don’t, the sink drain will clog in no time! Similarly, large food particles will end up clogging the pump assembly and drain.

However, if you are too rushed for time and feel that scraping off excess food particles is not important, your dishwasher model type can indicate the way out – the user manual can tell you if the plates need a pre-rinse or if the dishwasher is equipped to process food waste.

Rinsing is better, and using the right cleaners

However, the more food and sticky grease you can remove from the plates, pots and spoons, the higher the chances that the dishwasher will perform to peak efficiency. The appliance might not even need too many repairs in the future.

Food debris and grease left behind in the dishwasher can stick back onto the plates and cutlery that the appliance is supposed to clean. This makes the cleaned dishes and spoons look dingy and unclean, so you might need to rinse them under tap water or wipe with a clean cloth. When you notice your washed pots and pans looking less than clean, it is time to clean the dishwasher thoroughly.

You can also use powerful dishwasher cleaning tablets that offer pre-soaking action to remove tough food residues and oily stains. The dishwasher cleaning tablets may be used as instructed to remove stains caused by coffee/tea, sticky food residues from cheese and oats, and also reduce the possibility of spots and film appearing on the washed dishes and spoons.