SOME people on TikTok are just realizing there’s a hidden part in your dishwasher.
If you don’t clean it, it could lead to dirty dishes.
TikTok user Bean (@beannina4) learned this lesson the hard way.
In a slideshow post via TikTok, which garnered more than 2.5 million views, she tried to figure out why her glasses were coming out dirty.
She checked the filter at the bottom of the dishwasher and was “literally gagging” after she found it covered in grime.
“Apparently, you’re supposed to clean this filter every week/month,” she wrote.
People in the comments section agreed: They had no idea you’re supposed to clean the dishwasher itself or its filter.
“I’ve never cleaned that filter before.. ever.. didn’t even know if it’s existence,” one person wrote.
“I need a list with all of the odds and ends I’m supposed to clean because I didn’t even know this existed,” a second person said.
“The fact that I grew up with a dishwasher and my parents never told me you have to clean one,” a third shared.
To fix the problem, Bean soaked the filter in soapy hot water and scrubbed it with a brush.
To clean the inside of the dishwasher, she used distilled white vinegar and a “generous amount” of baking soda.
She also placed some vinegar in a little dish inside the dishwasher.
Bean ran a cycle without dishes and discovered more debris in the bottom of her vinegar dish.
Once the filter was clean, she resembled the dishwasher. “Much better,” she wrote.
Bean used the opportunity to tell other people to clean their appliances, too.
“This was so gross, but I’m so glad I found it and was able to get it all clean,” she wrote.
“My dishwasher is running a million times better and smells so much cleaner,” Bean added.
According to Architectural Digest, the proper way to clean a dishwasher is in two steps.
They said to place a cup of distilled white vinegar in the washer, and then run it for one cycle.
Once that’s done, they said to sprinkle baking soda into the washer and do a quick cycle.
After that, they claimed your dishwasher should smell fresh and sparkle.
