How to Clean Your Dishwasher Properly: An Australian Guide

Before rolling up your sleeves, it helps to know what you're saving by doing regular cleaning yourself. Most dishwasher issues that lead to a service call, like bad odours, poor drainage, and cloudy glassware, are preventable with routine cleaning.

Ark Appliance Repairs offers capped labour costs at one hour, with a 10% discount for pensioners and seniors. Alpha Appliance Repairs provides a 12-month parts warranty and a 100% guarantee on workmanship, giving you peace of mind if cleaning alone doesn't resolve the issue.

This is the single most impactful thing you can do. The filter sits at the bottom of the dishwasher tub, usually beneath the lower spray arm. On most Australian-market models from Bosch, Electrolux, Westinghouse, and Fisher & Paykel, it twists out anticlockwise.

How to remove and clean the filter

Pull out the bottom rack. Twist the cylindrical filter assembly anticlockwise and lift it out. You'll usually find two parts: a coarse mesh cylinder and a fine flat mesh screen underneath. Separate them both.

Hold the filter under warm running water and scrub with an old toothbrush. Pay attention to the fine mesh, where grease and food particles build up into a slimy film. If the filter is particularly grimy, soak it in warm water with a tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda for 15 minutes before scrubbing.

Why this matters

A clogged filter forces dirty water to recirculate over your dishes. That's the number one cause of cloudy glasses, gritty residue, and foul smells. Skip this for a month and you'll notice a musty odour every time you open the door.

This is your dishwasher's deep clean. It dissolves grease, removes mineral deposits from hard water, and kills odour-causing bacteria lurking in the spray arms and hoses.

Step-by-step vinegar cycle

Make sure the dishwasher is completely empty. Place a cup (about 250ml) of white vinegar in a dishwasher-safe container on the top rack, right side up. Run a hot wash cycle, the hottest your machine offers. On most Bosch and Miele models, that's the "Intensive" or "70°C" cycle.

Follow up with bicarbonate of soda

Once the vinegar cycle finishes, sprinkle one cup of bicarbonate of soda across the floor of the tub. Run a short hot cycle. This neutralises any remaining vinegar, lifts stains from the stainless steel interior, and leaves the machine smelling fresh.

Hard water areas

Parts of Adelaide, Perth, and regional Queensland have notably hard water. If you see white, chalky deposits on the interior walls or spray arms, run the vinegar cycle fortnightly instead of monthly. You can also use a commercial dishwasher cleaner like Finish Dishwasher Cleaner or Calgon, which are widely available at Coles and Woolworths for around $5–$8.

The spray arms have small holes that shoot water at your dishes during a cycle. Over time, food particles, calcium, and bits of label from jars block these holes, reducing water pressure and leaving dishes dirty.

Removing the spray arms

Most dishwashers have two spray arms: one below the lower rack and one under the top rack. On Fisher & Paykel and Westinghouse models, the lower arm usually clips or unscrews from a central hub. The upper arm typically unclips from a bracket. Check your manual if you're unsure, but gentle upward pressure and a quarter turn usually does it.

Clearing blocked holes

Hold each arm under running water. Use a toothpick or a straightened paperclip to poke through each spray hole individually. You'll be surprised how much gunk comes out, even from a machine that looks clean. Rinse thoroughly before refitting.

The rubber gasket around the dishwasher door is a magnet for mould, especially in humid climates like Brisbane, the Gold Coast, and Sydney's coastal suburbs. The bottom edge of the door, which the wash water doesn't reach during a cycle, is another trouble spot.

Cleaning the gasket

Dampen a microfibre cloth with warm soapy water (regular dishwashing liquid is fine). Pull back the folds of the rubber seal gently and wipe along the entire perimeter. Black spots indicate mould. For stubborn mould, use a paste of bicarbonate of soda and water, apply it with the cloth, leave it for 10 minutes, then wipe clean.

The door edges and hinges

Open the door fully and look at the top edge and the area around the hinges. Food splatter, detergent residue, and grease accumulate here because this zone sits outside the wash chamber. A quick wipe with your soapy cloth takes 2 minutes and prevents the grime from hardening into a crust that's much harder to shift later.

At the very bottom of the dishwasher tub, beneath the filter, is the drain sump. This is where water exits the machine. Even with the filter doing its job, small debris, broken glass fragments, and grease can accumulate here over time.

Inspecting the drain

After removing the filter, shine a torch into the sump area. You're looking for food scraps, bits of broken crockery, or a greasy film. Use a damp cloth or paper towel to wipe it out. If you find standing water that doesn't drain, there may be a blockage in the drain hose, which is a job better suited to a technician.

The exterior drain hose connection

Every six months, pull the dishwasher out slightly (if you can do so safely) and check the drain hose where it connects to your sink waste or garbage disposal unit. A kinked or partially blocked hose causes slow draining, which leaves dirty water sitting in the bottom of the machine between cycles. Straighten any kinks and clean the hose connection point.

Sticking to this schedule adds up to roughly 20 minutes of effort per fortnight, with a slightly longer session each quarter. That small investment prevents the kind of buildup that leads to service calls costing $150 to $350.

The detergent dispenser is easy to overlook because it closes flush with the door. Over time, tablet residue and powder clumps block the dispenser mechanism, meaning your detergent doesn't release properly mid-cycle. The result: dishes come out greasy or still dirty, and you blame the machine when the fix takes 5 minutes.

How to clean it

Open the dispenser door and wipe out any caked-on residue with a damp cloth. If it's really built up, pour a small amount of hot water into the compartment, let it sit for a few minutes, then scrub with an old toothbrush. Do the same for the rinse aid compartment. On Smeg and Asko models, the rinse aid cap can be removed entirely for easier cleaning.

While you're there, check that the dispenser door spring mechanism opens freely. Gently open and close it a few times. If it sticks, residue buildup is usually the cause, and a good clean resolves it.

Regular cleaning handles most dishwasher issues, but some problems need a qualified technician. Call a professional if you notice:

• Persistent standing water that doesn't drain even after cleaning the filter and checking the drain hose
• Error codes that reappear after a reset (consult your manual for model-specific codes)
• Leaking from the base of the machine, which could indicate a failed pump seal or cracked sump
• The machine trips your safety switch, suggesting an electrical fault that poses a safety risk
• Unusual grinding or humming noises from the pump or motor area

Finding a reliable repairer

Australia has over 224 dishwasher repair businesses, with an average rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars. Highly rated options include Fallon Solutions (4.6 stars, over 7,700 reviews), Nationwide Appliance Repairs (4.6 stars, over 2,000 reviews), and Sydney Appliance Service (4.8 stars, over 1,000 reviews). Around 73% of repairers offer same-day or emergency service, which is handy if your dishwasher is leaking onto the kitchen floor.

Expect callout fees between $60 and $199 depending on the repairer and your location. The Home Appliance Doctor offers a free estimate with repair, effectively rolling the diagnostic fee into the total cost if you proceed. Norwest Appliance Service provides a 12-month guarantee on parts and repairs for added confidence.