Dishwashers are almost an essential part of living in today’s fast-paced, goal-and-ambition-driven, centralized world. True enough, much like every other major invention or innovation today, its goal serves to do the job faster, more efficient and more organized than we would do it ourselves. It has definitely given us a ton of advantage but despite all its perks, it still has a downside. After all, dishwashers are just machines, and like any other machine, it can easily break down without the proper maintenance and care.

So how does one clean and maintain an appliance that usually does the cleaning and maintaining for us, or at least, our dirty and greasy plates? First off, you need to be aware of the essential dishwasher parts. There are two of them: the trap and the gaskets.

Cleaning the dishwasher trap is fairly simple, but it is a dirty job. See, when the dishwasher cleans up your plates, it sends all those icky food particles down a chute into the drain. However, some bits of food are a bit more resilient than others and so they end up in this catch basin known as the dishwasher trap. Over time, those foodstuffs accumulate in there and this may cause clogging, which could leave to other problems, like having to call, and pay a hefty price to, a plumber and perhaps even going to the local store in search of new appliance parts to replace the old and surely broken one.

Located just below the lower sprayer is the trap. Simply pull it out, just like those trap basins underneath your refrigerator, and clean them. True, they will smell rather horrible and touching the inside of the trap can feel like touching vomit, but it has to be done from time to time.

The other essential part is the gasket or seal. There are two prominent places for this, the one in the door, and the other in the soap door. After a few months, these gaskets accumulate muck and grime. So make it a habit to wipe them with a damp cloth at least once a month or two to keep the sticky, icky stuff down to a bare minimum.

Other tips to keep your dishwasher in optimal condition and avoid it getting sent for appliance repair are as follows:

• Check the gaskets for cracks. This is especially important if you notice that the immediate area around your dishwasher gets wet all the time.
•  Make sure all the wiring and connections are still in working order. Remember that the dishwasher’s machinery is well-engrained inside it and, add it with a heavy amount of water, could spell trouble if the wiring goes awry.
• Ensure the placement of the dishwasher is level. Sometimes, we do not notice it, but our floors can be uneven. This could be due to the general landscape of the area, which we don’t really have much control of. So, if your dishwasher isn’t level, water might leak out of it and damage its parts.