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Modern dishwashers typically have a filter that requires regular cleaning, but how often should it be cleaned? I spoke to experts who laid it all out.
John Carlsen has more than a decade of experience testing and reviewing home tech products, with a major focus on smart home security. He earned his BS in journalism from Utah Valley University. In addition to his CNET contributions, John has written for Android Police, TWICE, Home Theater Review, SafeWise, ASecureLife and Top Ten Reviews.
Expertise Smart Home | Home Security | Home Tech | Internet Security | Product Testing
Your dishwasher’s filter is a key contributor to the machine’s cleaning effectiveness — and the reason why pre-rinsing your dishes before loading the dishwasher is largely a thing of the past. (Still, you should absolutely scrape larger food scraps into the trash.) The dishwasher filter’s job is simple: keep stray scraps of food from circulating through the system during the cleaning process.
In fact, every expert I surveyed while creating our list of the best dishwashers said one of the biggest contributors to dishwasher repairs and warranty claims is when a user doesn’t clean the filter. Let’s explore why your filter matters, how often you should clean it and the best way to clean it.
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Why your dishwasher filter matters
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.
How often should you clean your dishwasher filter?
Keep things simple by scraping your dishes before loading and setting a monthly cleaning schedule.
aire images/Getty ImagesIn 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 decreased 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.
John Carlsen/CNETNormally, 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 across the board. 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.
Even companies like Whirlpool (PDF) and Maytag (PDF), which recommend cleaning your dishwasher filter every one to three months, muddy the waters by saying it depends on your usage. I mean, technically, they’re not wrong. Someone like me, who uses a dishwasher once a week, might not need to clean a filter more than once every few months compared to busy households running multiple loads daily.
How to clean your dishwasher filter
Always remember to reinstall your dishwasher filter after cleaning it — you shouldn’t run any dishwashing cycles without it.
Miguel Tamayo Diaz/Getty ImagesEven if you regularly run a self-clean dishwasher cycle 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.
- Pull out the lower rack so you can access the filter assembly at the bottom of your dishwasher. You may also need to move the wash arm slightly to access the filter.
- Rotate the filter to unlock it before removing it. Keep in mind that your filter might have two parts: an inner cylindrical filter and a flat outer screen. You should clean both of these.
- Rinse the filter with clean water in your kitchen sink. If food debris and hard water remain, you may need to scrub with a soft brush (abrasive scrubbing can damage the filter mesh) and soapy water.
- Some brands suggest drying the filter assembly before putting it back in your dishwasher. However, you should be fine to reinstall it before it’s dry because the lingering moisture is unlikely to cause issues for a product that constantly deals with water and dishwashing chemicals.
- Don’t forget to turn the filter to lock everything back in place.
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.
