Dishwasher Buildup Cleaning

Get tips on cleaning soap buildup on your stainless steel dishwasher door. Using a slightly abrasive cleaning agent on a damp cloth can eliminate soap buildup.

LESLIE: Jane in Florida had a brand new dishwasher go horribly awry. What happened?

JANE: Oh, that’s OK. (Tom and Leslie chuckle)

TOM: What’s going on, Jane?

JANE: What I’ve got, I’ve got a dishwasher; it’s about a year old. It had an electrical problem on the first time we turned it on. So some water came in the dishwasher; also, the soap opened up and then it wouldn’t complete the cycle. So we found it was an electrical problem in a new house.

TOM: OK.

JANE: The electrician called – we got the electrician a week later to come back. Now, inside the dishwasher, all the soap is on the stainless.

TOM: It’s good it’s on the inside because, you know, I know it’s …

LESLIE: (overlapping voices) Eventually it’ll go away.

TOM: I know it’s bothering you but eventually it’s going to scrub off. But probably baking soda.

LESLIE: Mm-hmm. I think persistence; baking soda.

TOM: Yeah.

LESLIE: You know, damp cloths that are used to apply the baking soda to sort of abrade lightly away the soap buildup on there; holding damp sponges, wet cloths onto the soapy areas to sort of help loosen it up. I think it’s going to take some elbow grease and some time.

JANE: I can try that.

TOM: Yeah, you can try that. The other thing that you could try is compound; the same stuff that you use on a car finish. You buy it from the auto parts store.

JANE: (overlapping voices) Oh, yeah, rubbing compound.

TOM: Rubbing compound, right. Because it’s got a slight abrasive in it. And you know, that might start to take the surface off.

Now, remember, if this stuff isn’t coming off, it might be that it just changed the color of the stainless and it might not be something that does come off. So, just keep that in mind as well. But I would try baking soda and, if that doesn’t work, try rubbing compound and I think that you’ll either know that you’ve found a solution or know that there is no solution and you just kind of have to live with the color. (Leslie chuckles)

JANE: (laughing) Gee. Thank you very much.

TOM: You’re very welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.