How to Clean a Dishwasher

Written & researched by Derek Holt Home & Appliances Editor

Updated June 2026

The short answer: to clean a dishwasher, first remove and rinse the filter at the bottom by hand, then run an empty machine on a hot cycle with one cup of white vinegar in a bowl on the top rack, and finish by sprinkling baking soda across the bottom and running a short hot cycle. Wipe the door gasket and edges as you go. Do this monthly and you will stop the two problems people notice — bad smells and cloudy, filmy dishes — before they start.

A dishwasher cleans your dishes but does not clean itself; food, grease, and mineral scale build up in the filter, spray arms, and seals over time. Below is the full monthly routine plus fixes for odor and hard-water film. We do not test the cleaning products we mention; picks come from aggregated owner reviews and expert consensus, explained in how we rank.

Start with the filter — the step everyone skips

The filter is the single most important part to clean and the one most people never touch. It sits in the bottom of the tub, usually beneath the lower spray arm, and traps the food particles rinsed off your dishes. When it clogs, that trapped food rots — which is the number one cause of a smelly dishwasher — and dirty water gets recirculated onto your dishes.

1. Pull out the bottom rack to expose the tub floor.
2. Twist the filter counterclockwise and lift it out. Most modern filters are a two-part cylinder-and-flat-screen design that comes out by hand.
3. Rinse under warm running water and gently scrub the mesh with a soft brush and a drop of dish soap. Do not use a wire brush, which damages the mesh.
4. Clear the sump — the recess the filter sat in — of any food or glass with a paper towel.
5. Twist the filter back in until it locks. A loose filter lets debris bypass it.

Check the filter monthly. This one habit prevents most dishwasher complaints.

Clear the spray arms

The spray arms have small jets that can clog with mineral scale and food, weakening the spray so dishes come out dirty. Lift or unscrew the spray arms per your model — most lower arms lift straight off, and upper arms unclip or unthread. Hold each up to the light and clear any blocked holes with a toothpick or a straightened paper clip, then rinse and refit. If the arms do not spin freely when you flick them, something is jamming them.

Run the vinegar cycle

With the filter clean, the vinegar cycle handles the grease, soap scum, and mineral film coating the interior and hoses.

1. Empty the dishwasher completely.
2. Fill a dishwasher-safe cup or bowl with about one cup of white vinegar and set it upright on the top rack. Do not pour vinegar into the bottom, where it drains away before it can work.
3. Run a hot or normal cycle with no detergent and no other dishes. The vinegar circulates and dissolves buildup and odor.

The vinegar cycle is the workhorse of dishwasher cleaning, and it doubles as a descaler for hard-water homes.

Finish with baking soda

A baking soda cycle deodorizes and gives a mild abrasive polish to the tub floor.

1. Sprinkle about one cup of baking soda across the bottom of the empty dishwasher.
2. Run a short hot cycle. This freshens the interior and lifts any remaining film.

Run the vinegar and baking soda as two separate cycles, not together — combined, they neutralize each other and fizz away to nothing.

Wipe the door, gasket, and edges by hand

The spray never reaches the door edges, the gasket seal, or the detergent dispenser, so grime, grease, and mold collect there and cause odor. Wipe these by hand:

• The rubber gasket around the door — pull it gently open and wipe with a damp cloth and a little vinegar or dish soap; mold loves this seal.
• The door edges and inner lip, where food splatter dries out of reach of the water.
• The detergent dispenser, which cakes with old detergent.
• The exterior and controls, and for a stainless front see how to clean stainless steel appliances.

An old toothbrush and a general spray cleaner make quick work of the crevices — our best all-purpose cleaner roundup covers safe options.

Fix hard-water film and cloudy dishes

If your glasses come out with a cloudy white film, that is almost always hard-water mineral deposits, not a dirty machine. The USGS estimates about 85 percent of U.S. homes have hard water, and dishwashers concentrate it. The vinegar cycle removes existing film, and to prevent it, use a rinse aid, which sheets water off dishes before it can dry into spots, and consider dishwasher salt if your model has a softener reservoir. The full explanation is in why your dishwasher leaves a white film on glasses, and the descaling method in how to descale a dishwasher. The same water problem shows up in the shower — see how to remove hard water stains.

Clear a slow or standing-water drain

If water pools in the bottom of the tub after a cycle, the drain path is partly blocked, and standing water is a major source of odor. Work through it in order: first clean the filter and sump, since trapped food is the most common cause. Next, check the drain hose under the sink for kinks, and clean the air gap on the countertop or the high loop where the hose connects, which can clog with grease. Many dishwashers share a drain with the garbage disposal, so run the disposal and confirm the drain line is clear; a new disposal that still has its knockout plug in place will block the dishwasher entirely. Pouring a mix of baking soda followed by vinegar down the standing water, letting it fizz, then running a rinse can loosen a light grease clog. If water still stands after all this, the pump or drain valve may be failing and needs a technician.

Loading and detergent habits that keep it clean

How you use the dishwasher decides how often you have to clean it.

• Scrape, do not pre-rinse to spotless. Modern detergents need some food residue to work against, but large scraps clog the filter. Scrape plates into the trash and load them.
• Do not overload. Crowded racks block the spray arms, so dishes come out dirty and food redeposits inside the machine.
• Store detergent dry and use the right amount. Damp or clumped powder cleans poorly and cakes the dispenser; whether pods are hard on the machine is covered in are laundry pods bad for your washer.
• Run it regularly. A dishwasher left unused for days lets food sit and dry inside and dries out the seals. Running it every couple of days keeps it fresh.
• Use hot water. Run the kitchen faucet until hot before starting a cycle so the dishwasher fills with hot water from the start, which cleans and rinses far better.

The monthly maintenance schedule

Scraping plates before loading and running the machine regularly rather than letting food sit both cut down how much cleaning it needs. Fold this into your weekly cleaning schedule, and for the washing machine version of the same routine see how to clean a washing machine. Everything else is at the cleaning and laundry hub.