Martha Stewart's 7 Steps To Loading A Dishwasher

Have you ever unloaded your dishwasher only to find food and grime still stuck to your dishes? Do your glasses come out looking a bit foggy, even after a fresh wash? If so, you certainly aren't alone, and it may be the result of how you're loading your dishwasher. With a bit of help from Martha Stewart, you can easily implement these seven steps to ensure your dishes come out looking spotless. 

Mastering the art of loading your dishwasher really comes down to understanding the machine itself — and there are probably a lot of things you didn't know your dishwasher could do. The water shoots upward from the bottom of your washer, cleaning with both heat and force. With that in mind, you should orient your dishes in a way that maximizes their exposure to the high-pressure water. Highlighted in her book "Martha Stewart's Homekeeping Handbook: The Essential Guide to Caring for Everything in Your Home," there are seven essential steps in ensuring clear and clean dishes from your dishwasher every time.  

Properly loading your dishwasher can feel a bit like a puzzle, as each piece of dishware requires different conditions to optimize its clean. The water in your dishwasher is hottest straight from the jets at the bottom. More durable dishes can handle the heat and actually need it to get an effective clean. For the first step, you should place pots, plates, and utensils on the bottom rack, as they can certainly handle that heat. For step two, you should load your dishwasher with as many dishes as you can without completely overlapping, leaving room for water to properly clean your dishes.

Not only does properly arranging your dishwasher ensure a proper clean every time, but it can actually help protect the longevity of your favorite dishware. Whether you're cleaning delicate drinkware or your heirloom china, it's important to protect these dishes during a washing cycle. That's where step three comes in: Keep delicate glasses and fragile dishware on the top shelf during a cleaning, distancing them from the potentially harmful heat and powerful jets that also keep your glassware sparkling. 

But it's not just about placement when it comes to your dishwasher; orientation matters just the same. For step four, you want to direct dishes on the bottom rack toward the center, facing the powerful jets. Dishes on the top rack should be faced downward, allowing the water to spray inside of cups and bowls. 

But what happens to those handy cooking utensils that are used throughout your kitchen almost daily? Well, there's plenty of space to squeeze them in to ensure that they're ready for their next cooking debut. Step five is all about properly placing your larger tools inside your dishwasher to protect them from the heat and ensure a deep clean. Large spoons, spatulas, and tongs should never make their way into your utensil holder, as they simply take up too much space and may not get properly cleaned. Instead, each tool should be laid flat on either the top or bottom rack, giving them plenty of room for a proper cleaning. 

There is a whole list of things you should never do with your dishwasher, especially when you're loading the top rack. You may feel inclined to arrange your dishes over the tines — the small metal pieces that stick up on the upper rack. However, according to step six, you should actually be placing your dishes in between these tines, as it stops them from moving as they're being cleaned. Cups and mugs should go on the sides of these, oriented in a neat line. Bowls should be stacked down the center of the tines, overlapping slightly.

The placement of basic utensils is just as important as the rest. When it comes to loading your silverware, you want to prioritize safety above all. Martha Stewart recommends loading knives facedown toward the back of your dishwasher, ensuring you don't accidentally cut yourself when unloading it. With this in mind, step seven focuses on alternating the orientation of forks and spoons up and down, which will prevent them from nesting together.

Although they aren't part of the official seven-step program featured in Martha Stewart's book, there are plenty of other helpful do's and don'ts for loading your dishwasher. For starters, you can skip pre-washing your dishes, as most dishwashers can detect the dirt and grime on your dinnerware. However, you should trash any larger chunks of food. You should also never put cast iron, nonstick pans, or wooden cutting boards in your dishwasher. With these simple tricks, you can keep your dishware feeling fresh!