Your Dishwasher Isn't Broken—You’re Just Ignoring This Part

If your dishes are coming out of gritty or covered in a cloudy film, don’t despair. Your dishwasher isn’t dying. It merely has a filter that’s desperate for a deep clean. 

Most modern dishwashers built post 2010 moved away from macerators-noisy internal grinders that chewed up food and sent it down the drain. With increasing demand for quieter dishwashers, manufacturers replaced grinders with mesh filters that trap food particles. While this makes your kitchen more peaceful, it also means that if you don’t clean this filter, your machine is basically washing your dishes in a mix of old food debris. 

Is Your Filter Self Cleaning or Manual?

You can tell the two apart just by listening. If you hear a grinding noise as the dishwasher is cycling, then you most likely have a self cleaning unit, in which case you don’t need to worry about cleaning the filter. If you have a whisper-quiet dishwasher, chances are you have a manual filter that requires your attention from time to time. 

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Finding the Filter

Step 1: Find the filter. 

Open the dishwasher and pull out the bottom rack. The filter is a plastic cylinder located in the bottom of the dishwasher tub. 

Step 2: Remove it.

Give the filter a quarter turn counter-clockwise twist to remove it. Steel yourself: if you’ve never cleaned the filter, be prepared for something truly stomach turning. A clogged dishwasher filter usually has thick slimy build up from food residue. You may also find white calcium deposits from detergent and even some black mold. 

Step 3: Scrub Thoroughly. 

Take the filter to the kitchen sink. Use warm soapy water and a stiff bristled brush to clean the mesh.

Step 4: Check the Sump.

Reach into the hole where the filter fits and check for fragments that may have made it past the filter, such as pieces of chicken bone or broken glass, which can damage the dishwasher’s pump. 

Step 5: Lock it In.

Insert the clean filter and give it a quarter clockwise turn. You should hear a click when it locks into place. If it isn’t locked in, it could dislodge during a dishwasher cycle, allowing debris to get into the dishwasher pump.

How Often Should You Clean the Dishwasher Filter

How often you need to clean your dishwasher filter depends on your pre-wash habits and how often you run your dishwasher.