Just in case you didn’t know, your dishwasher can do so much more than just wash your dishes. Of course, some items must never be thrown into this appliance. These include wooden things, electrical materials, and certainly not your cat or other pets.
So, what are the extra household items you can load into your washer for a quick scrub and sanitizing? Read on till the end to discover them. We bet that some of them have never crossed your mind.
Flip Flops And Rain Boots
Searching for a way to get your favorite flip-flops and rain boots to look new? We present your dishwasher to you! This appliance will fix them up beautifully.
What’s more, this washer can perform cleaning magic on almost any kind of summer shoes. So, if you also have shower shoes, jelly shoes, or Crocs that need a quick clean, feel free to toss them into your dishwasher.
Children’s Toys And Other Baby Items
Kids are known to throw their toys almost everywhere when they play with them. That’s why they’re usually filled with dirt, debris, and all kinds of germs. Thankfully, a dishwasher is an easy way to keep them clean.
Fit your children’s plastic toys, legos, and other baby items like pacifiers, rattles, and teething rings in a utensil basket and place it in the washer. You’ll be impressed at the spotless result you’ll get afterward.
Microwave Turntable
We can all relate to the inevitable spills that come with using the microwave. For most people, the first response is to use a microfiber cloth dipped in vinegar to clean the microwave. But did you know that your dishwasher can take care of scrubbing the microwave turntable?
You can totally use the washer to get your microwave to look sparkling clean. Additionally, other removable parts of other appliances, like the knobs, can be rid of their mess by carefully popping them into the top rack of the dishwasher.
Pet Accessories
Your pet accessories like rubber toys, food and water bowls, leashes, and synthetic collars can go through a dishwasher cycle whenever they get dirty.
The accessories list is not an exhaustive one. Pretty much anything that is plastic, and is not leather can also join the dishwashing party.
Gardening Tools, Yes You Read That Right!
What better way to remove dirt and grime from your garden tools than by giving them a hot bath in the dishwasher? However, be careful not to give a dishwasher bathe to wooden items so they don’t crack or split.
Other hand tools are also not left out. You can throw items like screwdrivers into the washer to get them looking new again.
Glass Light Fixtures Covers
It’s not unlikely that if you steal a glance at your light fixture covers, you’ll discover that it could use some cleaning. With your dishwasher, you don’t have to worry about the stressful process of making the fixture look new again.
Simply organize them into the washer alongside your other glassware, and you wait for the appliance to do what it does best.
Hair Brushes And Accessories
Yes, your hair accessories are not left out of your dishwasher’s helping hand. You can trust the washer to effectively remove leftover gel or hairspray from your combs, headbands, hair brushes, and plastic clips.
You can arrange all the accessories you want to clean in a mesh to make it easy to give them a good washing blast. Separate the brushes with wooden parts out so they don’t crack from the dishwasher’s heat.
Terracotta Pots
Your terracotta pots need to be cleaned to eliminate debris, germs, pests, and diseases, especially between plantings. With a dishwasher, you can clean your pots carefully to prepare them for a new plant.
It’s advisable to keep the pot at the top of the rack to keep it safe. Once it has been cleaned, you can expect that the heat from the dishwasher will get rid of algae growth and unwanted mineral deposits.
Kitchen Sponge
We can imagine that you find it rather interesting that something meant to wash other items is being cleaned in a dishwasher. Very true, but there are reasons why your sponge might need a good scrub. It might be that it smells funky, or it got stained by tomato sauce.
Irrespective of the reason, you can run your sponge through the steamy washer to make it fresh again. You can even use the “heated dry” setting to clean up to 99.9% of germs
Your Precious Vase
We don’t expect you to be surprised that your vases can be scrubbed in a dishwasher because it’s ceramic like the other dishes you normally clean in the washer.
As long as it is not handpainted, you can wash your vase alongside the other dishes. However, it’s best practice to keep it on the rack on top so it doesn’t chip.
Refrigerator Drawers
Touching them is almost unavoidable whenever you open the refrigerator to grab a snack or something you’ve stored. You can unscrew these drawers and place them on the top rack of the dishwasher to wash.
But before you do, you need to confirm that the drawers are not painted. If they are, you might want to skip using the dishwasher because their paint can come off.
Throw Pillows
Once you’ve removed the pillowcases from your throw pillows, they are ready to be thrown into the dishwasher. This might be a better option than using a washing machine that can leave the pillows, well, not looking themselves.
For best results, you need to preheat the stains on the pillow and use borax instead of regular detergent to avoid excessive foaming.
Vent Grilles And Fan Covers
Clogged vent grilles and dusty fan covers are some of the reasons you might not be getting optimal airflow in your home. Luckily, there is an easy way to regularly keep them clean.
Separate the metal and non-electrical parts of your fan and toss them into the dishwasher. We assure you that you’ll love the bright and shiny result.
Vacuum Attachments
As much as our vacuum cleaners help to keep the house clean, it is probably one of the dirtiest appliances in our homes. It’s good to know that you can deep-clean your vacuum attachments using a dishwasher.
Sometimes, the solution to a low suction power in your vacuum is a thorough dishwasher work on the attachments. Talking about killing two birds with a stone, you can also throw your dirty dustpan into the mix to remove any sticky or gooey substance.
Baseball Caps
All you need to get your baseball cap looking new is to place it on the top rack of your dishwasher and let it work its magic. You can also deep clean other sporting equipment like shoulder pads, shin guards, and mouth guards.
So many things can be cleaned in the dishwasher as long as they can withstand the temperature. If you’re not sure an item is dishwasher-friendly, you can check the manufacturer’s details to clarify your concerns. Or do a simple search online.
