A dishwasher is a privilege, and if you’re lucky enough to have one, you should be washing everything you can with it. Most people don’t realize what their dishwasher is capable of.
Many of your personal items can be cleaned with your dishwasher. Use your dishwasher for more than just your dishes to spend more of your free time doing the things you love.
Sneakers And Any Non-Leather Shoes
Many people buy a rack for their laundry washer to clean their shoes when they could skip the expense and use the dishwasher. While you should never wash your shoes with your glasses and plates, you can absolutely pick a day to wash all your shoes together in your dishwasher.
The biggest thing to remember is to turn off the “heated dry” option, as it will melt the adhesive binding your shoes together. Before you brainlessly place your shoes in the dishwasher, ensure there aren’t any parts of your footwear that will snag or damage.
Shoes should be placed on the bottom rack of you dishwasher. Use the open part of your shoe to mount the shoe on the rungs of the rack. When done right, the sole of the shoe should be facing the top of the dishwasher, allowing the jets to spray into the shoe.
Dish soap will sufficiently clean your shoes without damaging them. As your shoes will have to air-dry, it would be best to pick a hot, dry day to wash your shoes so you can let them sit outside and evaporate.
If you have flip flops or sandals that could stand a washing, place these on the top rack of your dishwasher.
All Your Keys But Not Your Car Fob
Keys carry tons of germs! Whether you keep them in your pocket, purse, or on your belt, they have a tendency to get set down on dirty desks, tables, and even the ground. If you aren’t cleaning your keys regularly, they are covered in bacteria.
Fortunately, your dishwasher can clean your keys easy-breezy. Place your keys in the silverware holder, put in some dish soap, and let the dishwasher do the rest!
Dog Toys
Dogs love to parade around with their toys in their mouth. How many times have you grabbed a toy out of their mouth just to have your hand full of slobber? Keep their toys away from your clothes and throw them in the dishwasher. While most of your dog’s belongings can be cleaned in your dishwasher, any toys or collars made of leather should never be put in your dishwasher.
Contrary to everything else in this article, dish soap should not be used to clean your dog’s toys. The chemicals in dish soap and detergent can be toxic to your dog, and since toys are always in their mouth you don’t want to poison your pet!
Alternatively, you can use a little bit of vinegar to a wash your pet’s toys harmlessly.
Makeup Application Brushes
Even though you use them on your face, your makeup will make your brushes dirty. If you aren’t washing your brushes regularly, you can end up with increased acne as you are essentially spreading dirt around your face.
Habitual cleaning will keep your brushes performing at their peak and increase their lifespan. You can rack your brushes up in your dishwasher’s silverware holder.
A normal wash cycle will clean them adequately. As the brushes most likely have a plastic handle, be sure to turn the “heated dry” option off so you don’t do more harm than good.
Be sure to dry your brushes as soon as the wash cycle is finished.
Hand and Garden Tools
The small hand tools you use in your garden get dirty quick. Don’t waste your time cleaning these tools by hand, let your dishwasher handle it.
As the grips are commonly made of plastic, the “heated dry” will have to turned off again. To keep your tools from rusting, dry them as soon as the wash cycle is complete.
Your Child’s Toys
Children are normally pretty tough on their toys, whether they throw, pound, or drag them around. Especially if you have a newborn infant teething, they may be putting their toys in their mouth like your dog.
This is an easy way for sickness to enter the body. Keep your child healthy and use a disinfectant wipe on their toys periodically.
Every couple weeks or so, you should clean your child’s toys in your dishwasher. Toys with many little parts, such as Legos, can be put in a mesh bag so they end up all over your dishwasher, potentially damaging it. Like all the other items mentioned, be sure the “heated dry” is off so you don’t have to tell your kid you accidentally melted their toys.
