Tips to Keep Your Dishwasher Free from Fungi and Yeast

Having sparkling clean utensils is a prerequisite to cooking and having a good meal. You can indeed get that with the help of a dishwasher. However, you need to disinfect even the best-rated dishwashers regularly in order to prevent the growth of fungi and yeast.

Dishwashers are immensely useful products. Since their invention, they have reached every household of the country owing to their benefits. They do clean utensils sparkling clear, but they must be used with caution.

Recent research has suggested that dishwashers may harbor some harmful fungi and yeast. These microorganisms are harmful to the health of your family members. They can infect and colonize your lungs and skin. The study has pointed out that the rubber seals in these devices offer refuge to some fungi and yeast.

That apart, the dishwasher liquid may also provide a conducive environment for these microorganisms to thrive. This problem is common to all devices including the best-rated dishwashers. However, you can adopt the following practices to prevent the formation of fungi and yeast:

Remove the racks and wash in hot water

To prevent the growth of microorganisms, you can remove the racks and give them a thorough wash with hot water. Fungi and yeast cannot survive high temperatures. If you wash the racks thoroughly with hot water, you can eliminate colonies of fungi and yeast, if any. You need to do this at least once a month since fungi require at least 4 weeks to grow. So, even if you have one of the best-rated dishwashers, you need to carry out this task regularly to keep fungi and yeast at bay.

Use some baking soda

You can treat your dishwasher with some baking soda to prevent the formation of fungi and yeast. Baking soda solutions are alkaline in nature. If you apply this solution on the racks of your dishwasher device, you can neutralize the acidic environment inside. Both fungi and yeast thrive in the slightly acidic environment. If you neutralize the environment and make it slightly alkaline, you can prevent the growth of fungi and yeast.

So bring out the racks one by one and wash them thoroughly in a concentrated solution of baking soda. This too you need to do at least once a month so that microorganisms don’t get a chance to anchor even in the best-rated dishwashers.

However, cleaning the racks alone will not solve the problem. You need to clean the rubber seals as well since these areas are prone to the growth of fungi and yeast. You can smear the seals and its edges with a clean cloth dipped in a concentrated solution of baking soda.

Opt for bleaching powder

Bleaching powder is a universal disinfecting agent. It is used industrially as well as domestically. Even the best-rated dishwashers can be ideal germination grounds for fungi and yeast. So bring out the racks once a month and wash them thoroughly with a solution of bleaching powder.
But if you use concentrated bleaching solution in the seals regularly, it may soften its grip. So it is better to go with baking powder for cleaning the sealing areas. However, you can use bleaching powder for any stainless steel and even some plastic areas.

Try vinegar

Vinegar is also useful in preventing the growth of fungi and yeast. For this purpose, you can mix a half cup of vinegar in two cups of warm water and make a solution. Dip a cloth in this solution and scrub the racks, seals and all the inside areas, including the crevices, with this cloth.

These above mentioned tips should be done regularly in order to prevent the microorganisms from anchoring in the best-rated dishwashers. Before using the device, you need to run it once with a normal dishwasher cleaner since this will wash away all the cleaning agents that you might have used to clean the device.