The dishwasher and washing machine are a couple contraptions I never really thought I needed to clean before I became the keeper of our home.  I mean c'mon; aren't they supposed to clean themselves while they clean our clothes and dishes?

It turns out that there are a lot of ways these overly used machines can get gunky.  Grease, soap scum, pieces of food, etc. can coat the inside walls and corners.  This can make them look dingy and smell stinky.  It can also decrease their efficiency, so cleaning them about once every other month is a good idea, and may even release your inner cleaning super woman!

I will be doing a post in the future on how to clean your washing machine, but today I'm going to tell you how I clean my dishwasher.


You will need:
-two coffee cups
-enough white vinegar to fill both of the cups
-an empty, icky dishwasher
-Citrus Bliss essential oil or essential oil of choice
-baking soda
-Domo is optional, but he is a good cheerleader.

1.)  Empty your dishwasher completely, then take out the bottom rack and make sure there is nothing gross lingering down on the bottom.  You'd be surprised about what you can find!

2.)  Place one cup on the bottom rack and one on the top, then fill them with white vinegar.

3.)  Drop four or five drops of essential oil into each cup.

4.)  Turn the dishwasher on its hottest cycle, then let it run the entire time.

5.)  Next, you can sprinkle one cup of baking soda on the bottom of the dishwasher floor, and run it on its hottest cycle again.

The vinegar helps to get in there and loosen grease and gunk, while it sanitizes and removes musty odors.

Citrus Bliss smells like Heaven, and can make your whole house (and dishwasher) smell glorious!  Why not clean with boring vinegar and baking soda, and have some delicious smells going on in there, too?  It really helps to add extra fighting power to eliminate odors in the dishwasher!

The baking soda does a lot of work, too!  It freshens the smell, and really brightens the dishwasher by removing the build-up that the vinegar didn't get.  The two work hand-in-hand.


Do you see those cute, little toes on the rug up there?  Oh, how I love my little guy!  My two-year old was "helping" to clean mama's dishwasher.

Citrus Bliss includes:
Bergamot, Clementine, Grapefruit, Lemon, Mandarin, Tangerine, Vanilla, Wild Orange