Life Hack: Seven things you might not realise are easy to clean in a dishwasher
Plastic toys are some of the items you can safely clean in a dishwasher. Picture: iStock
I was chatting to a friend recently about how I wash the metal supports on my hob — the bits the pots and pans sit upon — in the dishwasher without issue and we were both taken aback: he never knew that was an option and I never knew it was not common knowledge. If your hob has enamel-coated supports you can pop those into the dishwasher but if they are cast iron you should continue to clean those by hand.
Microwaves are often the site of splashes and splatters while food is cooking. Did you know you can remove the glass turntable upon which you place your soon-to-be-reheated food and wash it in a dishwasher as you would any plate? A very useful trick for those particularly caked-in messes.
Ever opened the drawers at the bottom of your fridge and reluctantly noted it was time for a deep clean? You could wash it by hand but those plastic drawers are generally okay to place in the dishwasher. They can be awkward to wash in a sink so this takes a lot of the stress out of a routine cleaning job and saves your hands from unnecessary scrubbing.
If you have a cooker hood then you’ll likely know the struggle of cleaning the filter of the extractor fan. It hangs right over your hob so it is the first point of contact for so much grease and grime. It is a dreaded chore for many of us but a completely avoidable one too, as you can remove it and place it in your dishwasher instead.
Dusty light shades are an oft-forgotten part of our homes. Even when spotted it is put on the back burner as it seems like too tedious a task. Rather than wash and wipe manually, if your light shade is made of glass (and unpainted, not gilded, etc) then pop it onto the top rack of your dishwasher for sparkling results. Unfortunately, this is not recommended for fabric or plastic shades.
See that neglected rubber mat on your bath? That definitely needs a wash. Dirt and grime can gather on these with use — and no, the bath or shower doesn’t automatically clean them every time they are used. Luckily a typical rubber bath mat is safe to wash in a dishwasher, and it’s a great way to disinfect them too.
Parents of small children are familiar with just how grimy their kids’ plastic toys can get. Whether they play with them indoors or outdoors, they are a dirt magnet but they can be easily washed and disinfected in the dishwasher. Make sure you put them on the top rack for the cycle. This method also applies for a pet’s accessories, like plastic chew toys and bowls
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