Degrease and Descale Your Dishwasher With the Best Dishwasher Cleaners
A dishwasher is an appliance that tends to get dirty extremely fast due to the dirty plates and dishes being washed in it, and the dirt sticks to the dishwasher in the process. Many people struggle with cleaning their dishwashers. Dishwashers tend to have greases, oil patches, as well as food stuck here and there. To clean all of this mess and build-up, an excellent dishwasher cleaner is required. There are many dishwasher cleaners available on the market, but some of them don’t do a great job cleaning dishwashers. For this purpose, we have reviewed many cleaners and created a list of our favorite dishwasher cleaners in 2023.
For the ease of our readers, we have also made a buying guide that is formulated to answer all your questions when buying a great dishwasher cleaner.
The Top Dishwasher Cleaner to Buy In 2023
Finish Dishwasher Cleaner
– Best Overall
The Finish Dishwasher Cleaner cleans the hard-to-reach places of your dishwasher. It cleans all the hidden dirt from the dishwasher and clears all the dirt from the spray arms and filter. Additionally, the cleaner contains particles that remove the grease from the places with ease.
Those hard-to-remove stains will disappear when you use this dishwasher cleaner. You don’t have to use it in a different wash cycle; you can just use it during the regular load of the wash cycle. It cleans all the hidden and built-up grease with total efficiency while providing a fresh look to your machine. It’s recommended to use this dishwasher cleaner weekly together with Finish Quantum for the best results.
- Provides high-quality shine and cleaning
- Cleans hidden grease and grime hygienically
- The package instructions are not written in English
ACTIVE Dishwasher Cleaner
– Runner Up
This ACTIVE Dishwash Cleaner features cleaning tablets that are safe for use in all dishwashers and septic systems. Besides effectively removing lime scale, hard water, stains, grease, and other dishwasher buildups, they also do away with unpleasant odors. Better still, those sensitive to strong odors will like that they leave behind a subtle, pleasant fragrance.
In order to use it, all you have to do is to place a tablet in the dishwasher’s detergent dispenser tray and start a normal cycle. Brand guidelines suggest using two tablets for the initial cycle if there is a lot of residue to remove. Still, it’s recommended that you use them
sequentially rather than all at once to keep your dishwasher from overflowing with foam. To sweeten the deal, you no longer have to worry about rushing to the store with the value pack, which lasts for a year or more.
- A value pack that lasts for a year
- Deals with bad odors effectively
- Compatible with any dishwasher or septic system
- Can only be used in empty dishwasher
Glisten Dishwasher Cleaner
– Great Scent
This dishwasher cleaner is an EPA-registered dishwasher cleaner, meaning it performs exactly as stated and doesn’t pose a health risk. This is an efficient dishwasher cleaner that removes rust and buildup that’s caused by hard water.
This cleaner also cleans the grease and food that is stuck in the dishwasher. It is an excellent choice of cleaner as it protects from E-coli, Salmonella, and other types of bacteria. The best thing about this dishwasher is that it breaks down the food residues, and in this way, they are easily removed from the dishwasher’s jets tubes and pipes.
- Disinfects the dishwasher by removing heavy-duty limescale, rust, grease, and another buildup
- Versatile product – can also clean dishwashers, sinks, kitchen surfaces
- This cleaner is heavily priced on the Internet but is cheaper in stores
Affresh Dishwasher Cleaner
– Honorable Mention
The Affresh Dishwashing Cleaner consists of cleaning tablets that clear the lime and mineral buildup created inside the dishwasher over time. It can be used with stainless steel dishwashers and dishwashers that contain plastic tubs.
Another thing to note about this product is that it’s EPA approved, so it’s safe to use. These tablets perform their task with utmost precision and clean every corner of the dishwasher so that it will look brand new. You should use this dishwasher cleaner once a month for the best results.
- Designed to help eliminate limescale and mineral build-up
- Removes the dirt and the foul smell of the dishwasher
- It may create unpleasant spots on the steel of the dishwasher
Lemi Shine Dishwasher Cleaner
– Also Consider
The Lemi Shine Dishwasher Cleaner is also EPA approved and doesn’t use any bleach, making it highly safe to use. The cleanser contains a biodegradable formula that cleans the dishwasher with complete care. It uses powerful citric acid as the main ingredient, which removes hard water and food residue stains with ease. Also, since citric acid is used as an ingredient in this cleanser, it will leave your dishwasher with a fresh lemony scent.
You should use it once a month and your dishwasher will thank you for it. This cleaner restores the original performance of the machine, making it look brand new while also extending its life.
- Citric acid kills all the bacteria and germs that may be present
- Extends the life of the dishwasher by keeping it in a new state
- Ammonia, bleach, formaldehyde, and quat-free cleaner
- The cleaner takes a few washes to clean the stubborn stains on the dishwasher
The final dishwasher cleaner on our list is a three-in-one cleanser. The three processes performed with this cleaner are descaling, degreasing, and cleaning the dishwasher. It removes all the limescale, detergent buildup, food residues, and other dirt from everywhere within the dishwasher, including the spray arm, pump, and filter.
It provides freshness to your machine with the first use. Additionally, it removes the stains of hard water with ease. You’ll only need one dishwashing tablet to clean the machine, so it’s a very efficient cleanser. It is recommended to be used once a month or after 15 dishwashing cycles.
- Cleans the hard water as well as limescale buildup
- Safe to use as it doesn’t contain any harmful materials
- The cleaner smells worse than the original bad smell of the dishwasher
Buying Guide for the Best Dishwasher Cleaners
If you’re wanting to purchase a great dishwasher cleaner but don’t know what to look for, this buying guide is perfect for you. With the many dishwasher cleaner options out there, you may not know how to distinguish the average cleaners from the great ones. There are many features of cleansers that are overlooked, which could lead you to buy a bad cleaner. This buying guide will help you with some key features and considerations to keep in mind, while also answering some questions you may have about dishwasher cleaners.
What Are Some Aspects of Dishwasher Cleaners To Consider?
The number of uses
The dishwasher cleaner should be able to last for a long time. Dishwasher cleaners are not meant to be used daily, so they should last for a great period without losing its functionality. If the cleanser is recommended to be used often, it may not be as effective as the ones that are recommended monthly.
Versatility
The versatility of the cleaner means that the cleanser should fight many signs of dirt and stains in the dishwasher. The cleaner you intend to buy should be powerful enough to treat the stains produced from hard water and kill all the bacteria present in the dishwasher at the same time.
Easy to use
The cleaner must be easy to use, meaning that it shouldn’t take much of your time but will still clean every part of your dishwasher. An instruction manual comes with various dishwasher cleaners, so all the steps that should be performed while cleaning the dishwasher are mentioned. Opt for the cleanser that comes with an instruction manual, as it will make your cleaning process easy.
Affordability
Affordability is another consideration that is worth mentioning. There are some dishwasher cleaners that are inexpensive and some that are pretty high priced. You should go for the cleaners that are priced somewhere in the middle, as they have proved to provide great results while not being heavy on the pocket.
How To Choose a Great Dishwasher Cleaner
Scent
The scent of the cleaner should be checked before buying it. Some dishwashers don’t have a pleasant smell and prove to be a liability instead of an asset. In other words, the cleaner’s scent is worse than the foul smell of the dirt present in the dishwasher. These cleaners should be avoided. Try looking for dishwasher cleaners with a fresh scent, or ones that don’t leave a scent behind at all.
Bleach-free
Bleach-free cleaners are highly popular among the masses. This is because bleach is a harmful chemical that shouldn’t be present in the dishwasher cleaner. If some cleaner has traces of bleach, then there is a high probability that the bleach could stick to the dishwasher’s tub and, in turn, stick to the utensils. When food is served in those utensils, many harmful chemicals can be ingested, resulting in severe health problems. In a nutshell, you should make sure that your dishwasher cleaner is bleach-free.
EPA approved
The dishwasher cleaner that you buy should be EPA approved. This means that the cleaner should exactly be doing what the company is advertising. Furthermore, being EPA approved also means that the product doesn’t pose any risk to your health and is safe to use.
Kills bacteria
Another thing that your dishwasher cleaner must be able to do is kill all types of bacteria inside the dishwasher. It should kill E-coli, Salmonella, and other types of bacteria as they are frequently present in dishwasher machines. This would make your dishwasher clean and you’ll be sure your utensils and dishes will be free of any germs or bacteria.
What Are Some Benefits of Dishwasher Cleaners?
Removal of residue
Dishwasher cleaners should efficiently clean all the residue that is present in the dishwasher. The spray arm, pump, and filter are the places that are very hard to clean manually. A good dishwasher cleaner even cleans these parts of the dishwasher.
Removal of odor
Bad odor is something that many people cannot stand. The dishwasher cleaner removes all kinds of foul odors from the machine. A pleasant and fresh smell is generated with the dishwasher cleaner that many owners love.
Multi-purpose
The dishwasher cleaner is multi-purpose as you can use it for various functions. It can be used to clean the sink as well as other parts of the kitchen. This is the best advantage of the dishwasher cleaner as many people buy it for dishwasher cleaning and get to clean many other places of the house with this product.
What is the Price Range of Dishwasher Cleaners?
The price range of dishwasher cleaners varies from as low as $5 to around $30. There is not much difference in price as it is a rather affordable product that isn’t hard on your budget. The expensive ones contain great cleaning active particles and don’t contain any sort of harmful chemicals.
On the other hand, the less expensive ones are also functional but may contain ammonia or bleach, which is not good for the dishwasher. You can buy a cheaper one, but you should read all the ingredients used in creating the cleaner.
Dishwasher Cleaner FAQ
A: It solely depends on a person’s personal choices and preferences. They are worth buying if you like to have a pleasant smell coming from your dishwasher. On the other hand, if you don’t like any kind of smell coming from your dishwasher, you shouldn't buy a scented cleaner.
A: Different companies have different opinions regarding the use of dishwasher cleaners. The most agreed-upon use of the dishwasher cleaner is once a month or after every fifteen cycles. You should check the situation of the residues inside your dishwasher and then decide based on the state of your dishwasher.
A: The cleaners last a very long time if they are kept safe. As they are recommended to be used once or twice a month, one package of dishwasher cleaner should ideally last for over a year.
A: There are four types of dishwasher cleaners. These are gel cleaners, tablet cleaners, powder cleaners, and liquid cleaners. All of these work perfectly fine, and you should buy one according to your liking.
