1 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:07,160 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff from how Stuff Works. Hey, brain Stuff, 2 00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:10,120 Speaker 1: unlorin vogel bomb, and look, I'm not here to start 3 00:00:10,160 --> 00:00:13,600 Speaker 1: any fights among your family. Many people have very strong 4 00:00:13,680 --> 00:00:16,160 Speaker 1: ideas about how to best tetris a load of dishes 5 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:19,119 Speaker 1: into a dishwasher, but I am here to give you 6 00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:22,319 Speaker 1: some scientific advice, because if the dishes are not coming 7 00:00:22,320 --> 00:00:24,599 Speaker 1: out of your dishwasher as clean as you'd like, you 8 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:26,599 Speaker 1: might be tempted to blame the appliance or you're a 9 00:00:26,600 --> 00:00:29,440 Speaker 1: brand of detergent, but the problem might just be what 10 00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:33,440 Speaker 1: and how you're stacking in the machine. When you're loading in, 11 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:36,840 Speaker 1: it's first important to consider what's dishwasher safe and what isn't. 12 00:00:37,320 --> 00:00:39,120 Speaker 1: Some of the items on the no fly list are 13 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:42,120 Speaker 1: fairly obvious. A cast iron will rest and lose seasoning 14 00:00:42,120 --> 00:00:44,800 Speaker 1: if placed in a machine. Fine china and crystal can't 15 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:47,680 Speaker 1: handle the intense heat, but you should also leave out 16 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:50,400 Speaker 1: insulated travel mugs. The high heat of the machine can 17 00:00:50,479 --> 00:00:52,760 Speaker 1: ruin the vacuum seal and reduce the mugs ability to 18 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:56,280 Speaker 1: retain heat. Aluminum pots are very prone to scratching and 19 00:00:56,280 --> 00:00:58,440 Speaker 1: can develop a dull finish or turn a blackish color 20 00:00:58,440 --> 00:01:01,200 Speaker 1: in the wash, and wouldn't spoons are cutting boards can 21 00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:03,959 Speaker 1: crack from the heat and humidity, allowing germs to set 22 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:07,600 Speaker 1: up shop. Also, although most nonstick pans on the market 23 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:11,320 Speaker 1: today are dishwasher safe, check the washing instructions first and 24 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:14,840 Speaker 1: limit dishwasher time. Even if it is allowed, Frequent high 25 00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:19,200 Speaker 1: temperature washes can cause the coating to wear off. Secondly, 26 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:21,840 Speaker 1: either rinse all of your dishes before stacking them or 27 00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:25,360 Speaker 1: none at all. Most modern dishwashers come with a sensor 28 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:28,120 Speaker 1: that evaluates the water to determine how long the cycle 29 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:30,880 Speaker 1: should be and how much water is necessary to produce 30 00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:34,679 Speaker 1: a thorough clean. During an initial rinse cycle, it'll measure 31 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:37,360 Speaker 1: how cloudy the water is and run more or less 32 00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:40,520 Speaker 1: thorough wash cycles Accordingly, if only some of your dishes 33 00:01:40,520 --> 00:01:43,080 Speaker 1: are rinsed, it won't be able to properly evaluate how 34 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:46,480 Speaker 1: to run its wash cycle. Plus, on the side of 35 00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:49,760 Speaker 1: not hand rinsing first at all, the dish detergent you 36 00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:52,760 Speaker 1: use likely has compounds in it that are specifically designed 37 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:56,080 Speaker 1: to break up food particles. Basically, the companies that make 38 00:01:56,080 --> 00:01:59,480 Speaker 1: those detergents assume you won't pre wash. If you do, 39 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:02,640 Speaker 1: those compounds may leave a powdery residue on your dishes, 40 00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:05,760 Speaker 1: and because of that, we'd recommend that users of modern 41 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:09,639 Speaker 1: dishwashers and commercial detergents scrape off chunks or anything that 42 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:12,400 Speaker 1: might clogg the machine, but not be fussed about rinsing 43 00:02:12,480 --> 00:02:16,200 Speaker 1: sauces or crumbs. A Third, you want to fill the 44 00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:19,360 Speaker 1: machine to your best advantage, load the dishes to face 45 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:22,480 Speaker 1: the center of the machine. The spray arms sprays out 46 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:25,280 Speaker 1: in a circular motion, so plates that aren't facing the 47 00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:28,600 Speaker 1: center will get a heavy cleaning on the wrong side. Also, 48 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:31,200 Speaker 1: because the heating unit is located on the bottom of 49 00:02:31,240 --> 00:02:34,200 Speaker 1: most machines, heat sensitive plastics should go on the top 50 00:02:34,320 --> 00:02:38,080 Speaker 1: rack to avoid risk of melting. Forks and spoons should 51 00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:40,640 Speaker 1: face up to minimize the risk of nesting inside a 52 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:43,799 Speaker 1: packed utensil basket, and this also keeps the basket from 53 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:45,800 Speaker 1: getting in the way of the wash, making sure the 54 00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:49,000 Speaker 1: head of the utensils gets nice and clean. If you 55 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:51,080 Speaker 1: have a ton of silverware to wash, try to spread 56 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:54,240 Speaker 1: out similar pieces to avoid nesting, or alternate them head 57 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:57,480 Speaker 1: down head up along the same lines. Resist the urge 58 00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:00,679 Speaker 1: to overload the dishwasher. In general, if one item is 59 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:04,880 Speaker 1: completely blocking another, neither we'll get truly clean. Finally, you 60 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:08,600 Speaker 1: should run occasional maintenance on your machine. Your dishwasher likely 61 00:03:08,639 --> 00:03:10,720 Speaker 1: has a filter that needs to be removed and cleaned 62 00:03:10,720 --> 00:03:14,200 Speaker 1: out on occasion. Most soils like saucer crumbs will slip 63 00:03:14,280 --> 00:03:16,760 Speaker 1: right through the filter, but any arrant chunks of food 64 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:19,760 Speaker 1: will get caught and clog it up. To clean, simply 65 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:21,840 Speaker 1: remove and rinse with a little bit of dish soap 66 00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:23,840 Speaker 1: a b shure to rinse it completely, or it will 67 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:27,800 Speaker 1: cause sud saying during the next cycle. Also, limescale, especially 68 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:30,440 Speaker 1: in areas with hard water and grease, can build up 69 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:33,520 Speaker 1: in these spray arms and filter over time to prevent 70 00:03:33,560 --> 00:03:36,000 Speaker 1: any problems from escalating. It's a good idea to clean 71 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:39,000 Speaker 1: your machine about once a month. There are dishwasher specific 72 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:41,360 Speaker 1: cleansers on the market, or you can google to learn 73 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:49,000 Speaker 1: how to run a cleansing cycle with vinegar. Today's episode 74 00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:51,480 Speaker 1: was written by Alia Hoyt and produced by Tyler Clang. 75 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:54,120 Speaker 1: For more on this and lots of other sparkling topics, 76 00:03:54,240 --> 00:04:07,800 Speaker 1: visit our home planet, how stuff Works dot com.