A Step-By-Step Guide On How To Load A Dishwasher

This post is all about how to load a dishwasher. Knowing these dishwashing tips can help you get more dishes into your dishwasher and have them looking cleaner than ever.

I think we can all agree that the invention of the dishwasher is one of the best things that has ever happened. It saves you time and takes away one of the most dreaded chores in the world.

We've done our research on the best ways to load a dishwasher, the best dishwasher products, and those random dishwasher hacks you would have never known before but will change the game for you.

Just knowing the best places to put things can help your dishes look new longer, get as many dishes in your dishwasher as possible, AND clean them insanely well so you don't run it and STILL have dirty dishes coming out of it. We're here to tell you the best of the best as far as dishwashing skills and tips go.

This post is all about how to load a dishwasher properly so that it's easy + fast and your dishes get as clean as possible.

How To Load A Dishwasher:

The Best Dishwasher Products:

The dishwashing products you use can be a huge deal to making sure your dishes get as clean as possible. There's really just two things you need for your dishwasher:

• Dishwasher Detergent
• Rinse Aid

There is all types of detergent on the market that you can buy from pods, to liquid, to powder. I personally use Cascade Dishwasher Pods that I get in a big pack from Costco. However, I recently had a dishwasher professional come to my apartment and he said that powder detergent is the best. He also said it's a fraction of the price which is always a plus.

You're also going to need Rinse Aid. This was something I had no idea even existed until I was living in an apartment. You can get rinse aid like anywhere (Amazon, Target, your grocery store) but it prevents those water marks that you get on dishes after you clean them. I used to get those water stains all the time and I would be so annoyed because it made the dishes look dirty even though I KNEW they were clean.

Here's the exact products we use over here at BSL:

How To Load A Dishwasher:

Let's start with how to load the top rack of the dishwasher. 

These are the best things to put on the top rack:

• Cups
• Mugs
• Glasses
• Small Bowls
• Dishwasher Safe Plastics
• Long Utensils

You want to make sure the dishwasher safe plastics is on the top rack because you want it to be as far away from the heat source as possible.

I personally load my top rack so it looks like this:

I have the bowls, facing down, going down the center of the top rack. On the sides, I place all mugs and random small bowls. Between the bowls and cups, I place random long utensils like pizza slicers and spatulas.

Let's move on to how you load the bottom of the dishwasher. The bottom of your dishwasher is for the big stuff like plates, big bowls, cutting boards, and pots/pans (but be careful with pots and pans and read your specific brands recommendations because you can wear some out if they're not meant to go in dishwasher.

On the back left, I like to put my plates. I line them all up in a row and usually try to have the bigger ones in back and the smaller ones at front. I then will place the other things based on what I have. For example, I have this casserole dish so I am going to put this here. Then I have this bowl, so I'll put this here. It's not rocket science, so just do whatever fits for you.

The bottom of the dishwasher looks something like this:

Lastly, we have utensils. I used to HATE this when I was growing up and my mom made me do this, but it really does clean utensils better if you have the top of it sticking up.

For unloading, start at the bottom of the dishwasher and work your way up because we don't want the top rack that retains some water to spill all over your dry dishes. 

Dishwasher Hacks:

Through our research, we found two dishwasher hacks that blew our minds. You're going to wonder how you have never known about these before.

Dishwasher Hack #1: 

It will actually use less water to NOT rinse your dishes out before putting them in. I mean, you want to get the big stuff out of the bowl but for all the little gunk that is stuck on your plate, just throw it in and the dishwasher will do its job.

Dishwasher Hack #2:

Check the bottom of your dishwasher to see if it has this little compartment (pictured below). Most dishwashers do and you should be cleaning it. I never knew this existed so I was shocked when I saw it and how nasty it was.

All you do, is take it out and spray it out. If you've never done this, there definitely will be things sticking to the sides of it. It is GROSS! Once it's rinsed out, you can just place it back in.

This post showed you how to load a dishwasher. I know it's not the most exciting thing in the world but its good little tips like this that can make your life a whole lot easier. 

This post was all about how to load a dishwasher.