How best to stack your dishwasher

The golden rules

Water needs to be able to reach your dishes to clean, so here’s how you can help it:

• put heavily soiled items in the bottom basket
• place items so they face towards the centre of the dishwasher
• don’t stack items on top of one another
• make sure spray arms can move freely.

Here's how to stack your dishwasher:

Top basket

1. Glassware, mugs and large cooking utensils

This is a good place for your drinking glasses and mugs. Most top baskets have dividers to keep items from knocking about in a wash to prevent chipping and cracking. Larger cooking utensils, such as spatulas and tongs, can also be laid flat in the bottom of this basket.

2. Plastic containers

Generally, the top basket doesn’t get as hot as the bottom, so plastic is less likely to warp. Make sure your plastic containers are facing down so that they don’t have water pooling in them after the wash.

3. Tall items (such as wine glasses)

Most dishwashers let you drop this basket down so you can fit taller items, such as wine glasses.

Top tip: To help your dishes dry, leave the dishwasher open for a few minutes after washing to let water evaporate.

Tines

4. Don’t nest plates

Use the tines (the prongs) to keep plates separate. This prevents damage and lets water in for cleaning (but it isn’t the end of the world if your dishes lightly touch).

5. Flexibility

Many dishwashers have folding tines in the lower basket so you can fit in oddly shaped or large dishes, such as pots and pans.

Bottom basket

6. Plates

Place your plates in the bottom rack (unless they’re delicate or prone to chipping). Stack from the middle outwards as it helps avoid over-stacking.

7. Heavily soiled items

To ensure really dirty items – such as crockery, pots, and chopping boards – get the best clean, place them towards the centre back of the bottom basket. This tends to be the warmer part of the dishwasher with a more intense clean.

Top tip: Empty the bottom drawer first so you don’t spill any water from the top basket on to dry dishes below.

Cutlery

8. Cutlery tray

Some dishwashers come with a cutlery tray (a shallow drawer above the top basket with dividers to prevent cutlery nesting). You can also place larger cooking utensils such as tongs, spatulas here. If you’re comfortable washing your kitchen knives in the dishwasher – as some knives can be damaged this way – they’re best placed in the cutlery tray so that they’re separated from other utensils and don’t become dull.

9. Cutlery basket

There is one simple rule to follow with cutlery – the pointy end goes down. To prevent accidental stabbing, place the pointy end down and handle up, including forks. Spoons can be placed either way and mixing direction helps stop them nesting.

Don’t pre-rinse

You don’t need to pre-rinse dishes before placing them in the dishwasher, but do scrape off food scraps. Dishwashers often have a rinse cycle as part of their wash, so if you pre-rinse you’re just wasting water. If you think your dishes aren’t clean enough without rinsing, then next time you wash, use a more intense wash cycle or try a different detergent.

What not to put in your dishwasher

Leave these items aside for hand washing:

• Silverware
• Non-dishwasher safe items
• Crystal and fine glassware
• Wooden cooking utensils and chopping boards
• Utensils with wood or bone handles
• Cast-iron cookware
• Copper pots and pans
• Brass

Wash cycle top tips

Every dishwasher has different wash cycles/programmes. When we test dishwashers, we test on the default or “normal” cycle, which is what the machine uses when first turned on. Here are our top tips for wash cycles.

• If you have a full, heavily soiled load, then the intense or “deep clean” wash or a pots/pan cycle are a good option, but beware this may use higher temperatures, so leave your plastic items for the next load so they don’t warp.
• If you want to save water and power, check if your machine has an autosensing mode. This cycle is often a better choice than eco modes, as it only uses as much water and energy as necessary for a good clean. But be wary of eco modes, these can save water and energy but often at the expense of time and temperature.
• If you don’t turn your dishwasher on every day and want to avoid smells, check if your model has a rinse cycle you can use between washes.