How To Clean A Frigidaire Dishwasher And The Filter
You bought your Frigidaire dishwasher a while back and now you are wondering how to clean it because it might have an odor to it, the drain is clogged or the filter needs cleaning and you cannot find it. Frigidaire dishwashers are as strong as its mainstream competitors like Samsung and Whirlpool dishwashers.
If your Frigidaire dishwasher is smelling, do not worry, this is normal for every dishwasher. The water alone that washes the dishes over time will leave an odor and hard water stains and marks like in your washing machine.
Sometimes if your dishwasher isn’t cleaned regularly, the water will have build-up, which leaves limescale on the walls and in the wash arms. On the other hand, the food itself will leave odors and get trapped in the dishwasher filter and drain.
This article will teach you and show you how to clean your Frigidaire dishwasher filter and drain along with general cleaning of your dishwasher, so let us begin to clean your dishwasher.
Cleaning Your Frigidaire Dishwasher
Here are the things that you will need to clean your dishwasher and the filter.
- Small scrub brush
- Toothbrush
- Microfiber cloth
- Homemade cleaning solution
- Dishwashing liquid/ Dawn dish soap
- Gloves
- Baking soda
- White Vinegar
1. Remove The Dishwasher Racks
The first thing you need to do is remove everything from the dishwasher. Not even a plate or spoon should be in the dishwasher because you will be removing the filter, the filter screen, and other things, so foreign objects will be in the dishwasher all over the place.
Removing the racks from your Frigidaire dishwasher is quite easy to do. You pull them straight forward and lift the front part towards you upwards slightly to get the wheels out of the sliding mechanism. Place the dishwasher racks one side or in the kitchen sink to clean them, because they will have grease on them.
2. Remove The Filter To Clean And Check Drain
A lot of people wonder how to remove their dishwasher filter without causing any damage. This is a simple and easy task to do and only involves twisting clockwise to get the filter out in a Frigidaire dishwasher.
First, remove the spray arm in the bottom of the dishwasher by pulling it out. The next step you will need to take is twisting the center clockwise where you just pull out the spray arm until it loosens and comes out. Now you will have the filter and the filter mesh to get out. Place your hand in the middle and pull the filter out along with the mesh because they are joined together.
You will see a lot of food and other things in the filter that was trapped. Go over to the kitchen sink and wash it out with a sponge. You can now clean out where the filter was and remove anything that was there. Place back the filter in the dishwasher when you finish cleaning it. Make sure to use a strong glove that won’t break because you will encounter a lot of greases.
How To Remove Frigidaire Dishwasher Filter Video
This video shows you how I remove the filter from my frigidaire dishwasher to clean it.
3. Clean The Spray Arms To Remove Clogs
As I mentioned before, debris in the water will clog the holes in the spray arms and prevent them from pushing out enough water pressure to wash the pots and pans properly.
One of the easiest ways to clean the small holes in the dishwasher arms is by using a soft toothbrush with some mineral breakdown cleaning solution that you can buy on Amazon or Walmart that can be used for more than one task in the house to break down minerals in the water.
4. Clean The Interior And Side Walls
This part of the cleaning process will require you to scrub down the sidewalls of your Frigidaire dishwasher to remove the watermarks you see and the limescale on the walls. You can choose to make your own homemade cleaning solution that includes mixing 1 cup of vinegar in a spray bottle, 1 tablespoon dawn dish soap, and a few drops of bleach, then adding water to the mixture.
Spray down the sides of the dishwasher with the mixture you just made and scrub it down from top to bottom with a sponge. You can sprinkle some baking soda on the sponge to help scrub the walls of the dishwasher and remove odors.
You could also add some lemon juice to the mixture to help break down the mineral build-up and remove odors at the same time, but I find that it works best when I add the lemon juice to the soap dispensary. By doing that, I know it will go everywhere in the dishwasher and do its job. Do not forget to wipe down the dishwasher door and the hinges because they will have to rush along with grease build-up as well.
5. Use Self Cleaning Settings On Your Frigidaire Dishwasher
A lot of people do not know that their dishwasher has a self-cleaning process that you can activate with the push of a Botton. The image above shows the Botton configuration on your Frigidaire dishwasher with the self-cleaning option. This self-cleaning option only cleans the walls by steaming the inside of the dishwasher. Because you have to scrub the walls of the dishwasher with a sponge or scrub brush, the steam will help to clean it, even more, when you do a self-clean.
To use the self-cleaning settings on your dishwasher, all you need to do is close the dishwasher and press the Botton. The dishwasher will do the rest of the job for you. Because this is a deep cleaning method to clean a Frigidaire dishwasher properly after a lot of use. You will be giving the dishwasher a normal wash cycle on the hottest setting when the self-cleaning cycle is done.
Cleaning Your Frigidaire Dishwasher With Lemon Juice And Dawn Dish Soap
- Add 1 tablespoon dawn dish soap to the dishwasher soap dispensary.
- Pour some lemon juice into the soap dispensary until it is full.
- Give the dishwasher a regular wash cycle on the hottest setting possible and leave it until it is finished.
6. Wipe Interior Down To Remove Anything That Remains.
Now that the dishwasher wash cycle is finished. You can open the dishwasher and wipe down the inside with a microfibre cloth to remove anything that might be there. This will clean the walls and remove all that white that you might be seeing and this will give you a good idea of how well you have done the job by looking if you forgot to scrub somewhere properly.
Now your dishwasher will be at its best performance for thanksgiving and the big Christmas dinner that is coming up soon. Your pots and pans will feel much cleaner and smell 10x better than before.
Best Cleaning Products To Clean Your Dishwasher With
Your Frigidaire dishwasher will not need such a big deep cleaning each time you use it. Sometimes you will just need to remove odor, remove rust and hardware stains. The list below will show you the best cleaning products to use for each scenario.
Remove Odors From Dishwasher Using Baking soda:
Water and food will leave odors in your dishwasher over time no matter what you do. That is just one of the downfalls of having a dishwasher with constant water in it. To remove odors from your dishwasher, you can sprinkle baking soda in it the next time you start a cycle.
Remove Rust From Your Dishwasher With Oxi Clean:
Oxi clean is a great cleaning product that will break down rust when it comes in contact with it. You can use it to clean the door hinges of the dishwasher and anywhere that you might see rust building on metals.
Remove Hard-water Stains With Lemon Juice:
Lemon juice is great when it comes to breaking down hardware stains. The acid in the lemon juice will slowly break down the hardware stains on the sidewalls of the dishwasher along with any minerals it gets in contact with.
General Cleaning With White Distilled Vinegar:
Use white vinegar along with some bleach to give your dishwasher a general cleaning whenever you feel like cleaning it a little. Do not use bleach to clean your Frigidaire dishwasher while dishes are inside.
Frequently Ask Questions About Your Frigidaire Dishwasher
Does my dishwasher have self-cleaning settings?
Yes! The majority of the top brand dishwashers have a self-cleaning option that will clean the inside slightly for you. This will not clean the filter or the drain hose or totally remove odors.
Why won’t my Frigidaire dishwasher drain Properly?
If you do not clean your dishwasher every few months, food and grease will clog the dishwasher filter and prevent the water from draining properly. Food will eventually start to get into the drain hose and clog that as well. Call a plumber if you realize your dishwasher drain hose is blocked.
How often should I clean my dishwasher?
If you use your dishwasher every single day, you will need to deep clean it every 2 months to prevent clogs from happening. You can clean your dishwasher every 6 months if you use it twice or once for the week at big dinners.
This is a list of some of the items I use in my house to clean, which are affordable as well. They all make cleaning much easier for me and even faster. I recommend you use these. List of affiliate links below.
To Use Less Liquid Soap
Clean Your Floors Faster
Clean The Walls In Your House Easier
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To Clean And Polish Furniture, Grout Joint, Toilet, Car
Also a page of Everything Household Products that will come in handy when cleaning