How To Winterize And Clean Your Dishwasher?

When it comes to winterization, people only think of winterizing the structure of the home, and other things such as the dishwasher, (or other appliances) often get neglected.

In a vacant house, winterizing the washer is as essential as winterizing your home. If any water is left inside the dish washer, the pipes and tubes will freeze and can end up bursting. It does not take longer than a few hours to winterize your house.

With just a few steps, we can easily winterize the dishwasher and prepare it for winter. Let’s start with cleaning the dish washer.

Things you need to clean your dishwasher

Items which we will require are:

• Warm water
• White vinegar
• Baking soda
• Toothpick
• Toothbrush
• Microfiber cloth
• And lastly, rubber gloves

How to clean the dishwasher?

• After removing the filter, utensil holder and rack from the dishwasher, soak them in the mixture of warm water and vinegar for at least 30 minutes.
• If any small partials of food are clogged inside, try to remove them with the help of a toothpick or a toothbrush.
• Then rinse the dishwasher with a mixture of warm water and vinegar.
• To be safer, rinse it again with baking soda. It will help remove any stains from the dishwasher.
• Clean the outer part of the dishwasher using a microfiber cloth. Dampen the material in a mixture of water, dish soap and white vinegar.
• Never use bleach to clean the dishwasher. It can damage the stainless steel interior of the dishwasher. And never mix bleach and vinegar. Vinegar alone can be used, but not with bleach.

How often does it need to be cleaned?

We have mentioned the process of cleaning the dishwasher before winterizing it, but it is not something we need to do just during the winter. Dish washers should be thoroughly cleaned once in a while to work smoothly.

• Remove the leftover food on a daily basis.
• Clean the doors and edges with a damp cloth with a little warm water, dish soap and white vinegar every week to remove the grease.
• Take out the filters and clean that area every week.

Winterize your dishwasher by following these steps.

• To winterize the dishwasher, the first step will be to prepare the it for the winterization process. For that, we need to clean the dish washer. Take out all the utensils and clean the dishwasher using the steps mentioned above.
• No liquid or powder should be inside.
• Remove the racks and keep them aside.
• Take out any small particles of food left inside the sump pit.
• Turn off the water supply and disconnect the inlet hose from the dishwasher and the water supply.
• Remove and clean the filters if there is any waste left.
• Please look at the water drain line and straighten them properly to prevent clogging.
• Once you have drained the water supply line, run it for a short cycle to allow any remaining water in the unit to be expelled. This will prevent any water from freezing inside the dishwasher and causing damage to the unit.
• To prevent any unsuspecting person from using the dish washer that is now in a winterized/fluid-free state, either lock it or post a sign noting that is has been “winterized” (is not connected to water/is dry, etc.)
• When you are ready to leave, make sure you disconnect the power cord.

It is important to note that if you are not familiar with the process of winterizing a dishwasher, it may be best to consult a professional plumber or appliance repair technician to ensure that the process is completed safely and correctly.

How to unfreeze a dishwasher?

First, try to avoid reaching that extent by following the steps above to winterize your dishwasher before it’s too late. If it is frozen, there are significantly fewer chances that it can survive, but if it is still alive, you can try “dry washing it”. (Running it without connecting the water.) The hot air will heat inside and melt the ice to some extent so we can thaw it.

You can also try applying heat manually. Remove the bottom panel and put some heat under the dish washer. You can use a hairdryer or a heat gun.

How successful this process will be will depend on the condition. If the pipes are too frozen, there are fewer chances of success, and you might end up replacing the pump motor, or more.

Conclusion

Winterizing a dish washer is very important. It prevents the dishwasher from freezing. If the dishwasher freezes, it has a high chance of damaging the appliance as the ice expands. So this winter, do not forget to winterize along with the rest of your vacant house.

It would be best if you winterized the dish washer only when you are going on a vacation. If you are in the house during winter, then there is no need to winterize. It will not freeze as long as you have a heater in your home. And daily use of the heater decreases the chances of freezing the pipes. Read More>>