When compiling and analyzing our list of the best dishwashers, every appliance professional I spoke with pointed to the same culprit behind most repair calls and warranty claims.
While burnt motors, failing hardware and general loss of cleaning power are inevitable for any machine after enough reps, one overlooked bit of maintenance is responsible for the bulk of dishwasher issues: a dirty filter.
So how often should you actually clean that dishwasher filter? More often than most people think. Here's why your filter matters, how frequently to clean it and the best way to do it.
A dirty filter could be causing your dishwasher to underperform.
An effective dishwasher filter has three benefits: It keeps the water cleaner, protects the water pump and prevents food debris from clogging spray nozzles and drainage lines. As a result, the dishwasher requires less effort to run, and you'll eliminate wildcards that can damage your expensive kitchen appliance.
In contrast, my ancient Maytag PDC3600AWX portable dishwasher lacks any sort of filter. This means I need to be very diligent about scraping and pre-cleaning when loading to keep it running smoothly.
The filter is your dishwasher's secret weapon.
Even if you regularly run a self-clean cycle on your dishwasher with a product like Affresh, solid food debris won't disappear unless you empty the filter. Here's a quick guide to cleaning your dishwasher filter.
Keep things simple by scraping your dishes before loading and setting a monthly cleaning schedule.
In the absence of unified manufacturer guidance, I recommend checking your dishwasher filter at least once a month. If it's clean, your job is already done. If not, then it's time to clean it.
Best of all, it's as easy as putting a reminder on your phone, calendar or chore wheel to check and clean the dishwasher filter. However, you should also stay on top of any decline in performance or foul odors in your dishwasher, which might mean it's time to clean the filter ahead of schedule.
You can also simplify the scheduling (and cleaning) process by always scraping food scraps into the trash. This one habit easily turns filter cleaning into a monthly task at most — even with two daily wash cycles — rather than something to dread twice a week without any scraping.
For context, some brands provide detailed filter cleaning schedules based on how often you run your dishwasher and how much you pre-clean (scraping and rinsing) dishes before loading. Scraping is easily the deciding factor in preventing frequent filter clogs.
It's far easier to scrape your dishes than to figure out a complex schedule like this one from LG. Also, pre-washing your dishes before loading isn't an efficient use of water.
Normally, I'd defer to manufacturers on how often to clean your dishwasher filter, but the advice in the user manuals for our best dishwasher picks is inconsistent. For example, Bosch (PDF) and LG recommend checking and cleaning filters after every dishwashing cycle. In contrast, brands like Samsung (PDF), Midea (PDF), KitchenAid (PDF) and Frigidaire (PDF) give vague instructions about cleaning periodically or as needed.
Always remember to reinstall your dishwasher filter after cleaning it — you shouldn't run any cycles without it.
Even companies like Whirlpool (PDF) and Maytag (PDF), which recommend cleaning your dishwasher filter every one to three months, muddy the waters by stating that the frequency depends on your usage. I mean, technically, they're not wrong. Someone like me, who uses a dishwasher once a week, may not need to clean the filter more than once every few months, compared to busy households that run multiple loads daily.
Even with a relatively dirty dishwasher filter, you're unlikely to need more than 10 minutes to finish the cleaning process. Now you can enjoy a fresher, more effective dishwasher.
