How to Clean a Dishwasher Filter (And Why Your Dishes Aren't Clean)
If your dishes come out gritty, filmy, or the dishwasher smells, the filter is almost always the culprit. Most people have never cleaned it — and modern dishwashers (without a built-in food grinder) need it cleaned monthly. It's a five-minute, no-tools job.
Find and Remove the Filter
Pull out the bottom rack. The filter sits in the floor of the dishwasher, usually center or rear — a round plastic cylinder, often with a finer flat screen around it. Twist the cylinder (typically a quarter turn counterclockwise) and lift it out; then lift out the flat mesh screen underneath. If you've never done this, expect to find trapped food, grease, and grit.
Clean It
Rinse both parts under hot running water. Use a soft brush (an old toothbrush) and a little dish soap to scrub the mesh and any gunk out of the cylinder — don't use a wire brush, which can tear the fine screen. For hard-water scale or stubborn grease, soak the parts in warm water with vinegar for 10 minutes, then rinse. Make sure the fine mesh is fully clear; that screen is what keeps food off your 'clean' dishes.
Reinstall and Keep It Clean
Drop the flat screen back in, set the cylinder in place, and twist to lock — make sure it seats fully or it can rattle and let debris through. Clean the filter about once a month (more if you don't pre-rinse dishes). While you're at it, run an empty hot cycle with a dishwasher cleaner or a cup of vinegar once a month to clear grease and odor from the spray arms and lines.
Parts & Tools
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FAQ
About once a month for most modern dishwashers, which use a filter instead of a food grinder. Clean it more often if you don't rinse food off dishes first. A clogged filter is the top cause of gritty, filmy dishes and odor.
Almost always a clogged dishwasher filter recirculating debris back onto the dishes. Remove and rinse the filter and mesh screen. If it persists, also clean the spray arm holes.
In the floor of the dishwasher under the bottom rack, usually a round twist-out cylinder with a flat mesh screen around or under it. Older dishwashers with a built-in grinder may not have a removable filter.
Sources
Documents this guide was checked against. How we verify.
Always unplug an appliance and shut off its water supply before servicing. This guide is informational and not a substitute for a qualified technician.