How to Clean Your Dishwasher

​Start out the new year by getting your hard-working dishwasher in top shape. Cleaning it every four to six weeks will help reduce the buildup of lime scale and soap scum and eliminate food particles that can diminish the machine’s effectiveness and clog the little  water spouts that rinse your dishes.  Houzz had a great article, so I am summarizing it for you below.  
Here are the steps:
1. Check your heat. First, check your hot-water heater and set the temperature to 120° to best clean and sanitize your dishes and the inside of your dishwasher.
2. Empty the filter. Manufacturers are designing increasingly quiet dishwashers by removing the noisy macerator, a food-grinding component that operated along the same lines as a garbage disposal, and instead use a detachable cylindrical filter located on the bottom of the machine. When food is washed from dishes, the large particles are trapped inside until the filter is cleaned. If there is a funky odor coming from your dishwasher, this may be the culprit. For most dishwashers, removing the filter requires little more than turning it counterclockwise and gently pulling it out. Review the owner’s manual to locate your filter. Check the screen once a month if you tend to leave a little food on dishes. If you pre-rinse, check the screen every three months.“
3. Inspect the interior. Since you will be removing the bottom rack and silverware container to access the filter,  inspect the floor of the machine to look for a buildup of debris.
4. Avoid introducing hand soap and detergent into your machine. Wipe down the inside with a damp cloth and your dishwasher detergent. Even a small amount of soap residue left behind on a sponge can cause foaming. Suds and foaming can loosen the seals inside your machine’s filter and other components and cause leakage.
5. Prevent and remove hard water deposits. Notice white streaks inside your machine? Those are hard water deposits, aka limescale and calcium carbonate. This buildup can clog the holes in a dishwasher’s spray arms and filter components. White vinegar can help remove these deposits .
6. Use quality detergent. High-quality detergent will keep your   machine’s interior and your dishes clean. Research indicates that all-in-one products work best. These are the pods or packs you place in your dispenser. Look for different colors and a mix of liquid and powder inside the pack.
7. Watch what goes into your dishwasher. Check plates for toothpicks, bones, fruit pits, paper labels stuck on jars and sticky pricing labels. Paper and water create papier-mâché in filters and clog them. If you pull a glass dish out that’s been chipped, check immediately for broken pieces in your dishwasher. If small enough, broken glass can start breaking down and get inside the system. 
8. Use your machine’s options. Use all the cycles and options to see what works best for targeted cleaning. If you don’t run your dishwasher every day, use the short wash and rinse cycles until you’ve got a full load.
9. Load dishes well. Check your owner’s manual or website to see loading tips. Make sure you spin the spray arms before turning on a cycle. If the arms can’t rotate because they’re getting hung up on a protruding pot handle, neither your dishes nor your machine will get adequately cleaned.
10. Check the hose on new installations. Homeowners or installers may hook the machine’s drain hose to a garbage disposal without realizing there’s a knockout plug that needs to be removed first. This is a metal piece about the size of a nickel that’s easily removed with a screwdriver to allow the dishwasher to drain. If your newly installed dishwasher is backing up, this could be the problem.
11. Try these home remedies to remove odors and stains. Once you’ve cleaned the filter, place a dishwasher-safe container with one cup of white vinegar on the top rack of your empty dishwasher. Run a hot-water cycle. This should wash away grease, gunk and odors. Next, sprinkle about a cup of baking soda on the bottom of the inside of your machine. Run a short cycle. This will keep your appliance free of stains and smelling fresh.