WEBVTT - Is There a Best Way to Load the Dishwasher?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from how Stuff Works. Hey, brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>unlorin vogel bomb, and look, I'm not here to start

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<v Speaker 1>any fights among your family. Many people have very strong

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<v Speaker 1>ideas about how to best tetris a load of dishes

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<v Speaker 1>into a dishwasher, but I am here to give you

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<v Speaker 1>some scientific advice, because if the dishes are not coming

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<v Speaker 1>out of your dishwasher as clean as you'd like, you

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<v Speaker 1>might be tempted to blame the appliance or you're a

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<v Speaker 1>brand of detergent, but the problem might just be what

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<v Speaker 1>and how you're stacking in the machine. When you're loading in,

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<v Speaker 1>it's first important to consider what's dishwasher safe and what isn't.

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<v Speaker 1>Some of the items on the no fly list are

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<v Speaker 1>fairly obvious. A cast iron will rest and lose seasoning

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<v Speaker 1>if placed in a machine. Fine china and crystal can't

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<v Speaker 1>handle the intense heat, but you should also leave out

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<v Speaker 1>insulated travel mugs. The high heat of the machine can

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<v Speaker 1>ruin the vacuum seal and reduce the mugs ability to

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<v Speaker 1>retain heat. Aluminum pots are very prone to scratching and

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<v Speaker 1>can develop a dull finish or turn a blackish color

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<v Speaker 1>in the wash, and wouldn't spoons are cutting boards can

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<v Speaker 1>crack from the heat and humidity, allowing germs to set

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<v Speaker 1>up shop. Also, although most nonstick pans on the market

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<v Speaker 1>today are dishwasher safe, check the washing instructions first and

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<v Speaker 1>limit dishwasher time. Even if it is allowed, Frequent high

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<v Speaker 1>temperature washes can cause the coating to wear off. Secondly,

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<v Speaker 1>either rinse all of your dishes before stacking them or

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<v Speaker 1>none at all. Most modern dishwashers come with a sensor

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<v Speaker 1>that evaluates the water to determine how long the cycle

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<v Speaker 1>should be and how much water is necessary to produce

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<v Speaker 1>a thorough clean. During an initial rinse cycle, it'll measure

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<v Speaker 1>how cloudy the water is and run more or less

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<v Speaker 1>thorough wash cycles Accordingly, if only some of your dishes

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<v Speaker 1>are rinsed, it won't be able to properly evaluate how

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<v Speaker 1>to run its wash cycle. Plus, on the side of

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<v Speaker 1>not hand rinsing first at all, the dish detergent you

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<v Speaker 1>use likely has compounds in it that are specifically designed

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<v Speaker 1>to break up food particles. Basically, the companies that make

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<v Speaker 1>those detergents assume you won't pre wash. If you do,

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<v Speaker 1>those compounds may leave a powdery residue on your dishes,

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<v Speaker 1>and because of that, we'd recommend that users of modern

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<v Speaker 1>dishwashers and commercial detergents scrape off chunks or anything that

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<v Speaker 1>might clogg the machine, but not be fussed about rinsing

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<v Speaker 1>sauces or crumbs. A Third, you want to fill the

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<v Speaker 1>machine to your best advantage, load the dishes to face

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<v Speaker 1>the center of the machine. The spray arms sprays out

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<v Speaker 1>in a circular motion, so plates that aren't facing the

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<v Speaker 1>center will get a heavy cleaning on the wrong side. Also,

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<v Speaker 1>because the heating unit is located on the bottom of

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<v Speaker 1>most machines, heat sensitive plastics should go on the top

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<v Speaker 1>rack to avoid risk of melting. Forks and spoons should

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<v Speaker 1>face up to minimize the risk of nesting inside a

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<v Speaker 1>packed utensil basket, and this also keeps the basket from

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<v Speaker 1>getting in the way of the wash, making sure the

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<v Speaker 1>head of the utensils gets nice and clean. If you

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<v Speaker 1>have a ton of silverware to wash, try to spread

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<v Speaker 1>out similar pieces to avoid nesting, or alternate them head

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<v Speaker 1>down head up along the same lines. Resist the urge

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<v Speaker 1>to overload the dishwasher. In general, if one item is

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<v Speaker 1>completely blocking another, neither we'll get truly clean. Finally, you

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<v Speaker 1>should run occasional maintenance on your machine. Your dishwasher likely

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<v Speaker 1>has a filter that needs to be removed and cleaned

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<v Speaker 1>out on occasion. Most soils like saucer crumbs will slip

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<v Speaker 1>right through the filter, but any arrant chunks of food

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<v Speaker 1>will get caught and clog it up. To clean, simply

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<v Speaker 1>remove and rinse with a little bit of dish soap

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<v Speaker 1>a b shure to rinse it completely, or it will

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<v Speaker 1>cause sud saying during the next cycle. Also, limescale, especially

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<v Speaker 1>in areas with hard water and grease, can build up

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<v Speaker 1>in these spray arms and filter over time to prevent

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<v Speaker 1>any problems from escalating. It's a good idea to clean

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<v Speaker 1>your machine about once a month. There are dishwasher specific

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<v Speaker 1>cleansers on the market, or you can google to learn

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<v Speaker 1>how to run a cleansing cycle with vinegar. Today's episode

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<v Speaker 1>was written by Alia Hoyt and produced by Tyler Clang.

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<v Speaker 1>For more on this and lots of other sparkling topics,

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<v Speaker 1>visit our home planet, how stuff Works dot com.