As an eco-friendly cleaning company, we are all about multipurpose household items which is why we love the everyday dishwasher. Yes, dishwasher. Not only does your dishwasher save you the physical labor of washing your dirty dishes (and is actually more eco-friendly than washing dishes by hand), but it can also help clean and sanitize other items throughout your house.
And, it can help you cook salmon (we’re not kidding–see below).
Let’s start with 10 things you can wash/sterilize in your dishwasher:
- Baseball caps – Place baseball caps on the top rack of the dishwasher and they will not get bent like they do in the washing machine. Then air dry your cap and it’s ready to wear!
- Small toys – Place action figures and other small toys into a mesh lingerie bag and place it on the top rack of the dishwasher to sanitize. However, don’t include the Barbie–her hair will come our looking like she’s been electrocuted!
- Plastic boots and shoes – Just remove the liners of rain boots and lay them horizontally in dishwasher; and hook flips flops to the tines in the top rack so they don’t fly around during the cycle. Crocs are not dishwasher safe so don’t ever include those in your washings.
- Sports equipment – Throw shin guards, knee pads and mouth guards all in for a cycle. They can all be cleaned and disinfected from the top rack.
- Random household covers – such as fan grilles, switch plates, vent covers and light fixture covers can all go in the dishwasher as long as they are not enameled, painted, plated or antique.
- Cabinet knobs – These do great if they are ceramic. Place them right in the silverware basket.
- Removable cup holders – We’re talking about the ones from your car. Take them out of your car and place them on the top rack. These can be washed right along with your dishes.
- Shower Head – Remove the shower head every three months and add it to the dishwasher for a deep cleaning to break up the hard water buildup.
- Potatoes – Yes, the kind you eat! Clean dirty potatoes right in the dishwasher. Set it on rinse only cycle with no detergent. Helps when you’re making mashed potatoes for a full house at Thanksgiving!
- Sponges – Easily clean and sanitize your germ infested sponges by throwing them right in the dishwasher for a cycle!
We suggest doing a full load of these non-kitchenware items in between your next dirty dish cycle so that your makeup brushes, baseball hats and action figures aren’t mixed in with your pots and pans. Don’t forget, in order to properly sanitize, the water temperature has to be at the hottest level possible.
Okay, now we know you’ve been waiting for the instructions on how to cook salmon in the dishwasher. It really is possible! Here’s how:
- Place your salmon fillet on 2 sheets of foil.
- Season your fillet with whatever you’d like – butter, lemon juice, spices, etc.
- Seal the foil very well and place it on the top rack wire basket. Make sure your foil is tightly sealed to keep the dishwasher from smelling fishy afterward.
- Do not add detergent. Run the hottest wash and dry cycle. When the cycle is done, remove the salmon and enjoy your dinner!
Take full advantage of your dishwasher and turn it into a multi-tasking cleaning machine.
Talk to us: What non-dish item do you put in the dishwasher?
image courtesy of flickr CC/Kevin McShane