Melissa Pateras, a cleaning expert and TikTok sensation, believes there is a right and wrong way to load a dishwasher.
Speaking to CTV's Your Morning on Thursday, Pateras showcased the real way people should be loading their dishwashers and shared helpful tips on how to get the most out of a wash cycle.
"I get a lot of questions about dishwashers and a lot of complaints from people saying that their dishes aren't coming clean, and the majority of the reason for that is the way that it's loaded," she said.
Some people feel they need to rinse dishes before loading, but Pateras says that is not true.
"You just want to remove the large debris and big pieces of food because your dishwasher detergent is formulated to cling to those food particles, if it doesn't have any food particles to cling to, it will do that to your dishes, and over time it will etch them, you will have residue leftover and your dishes really won't be that clean," Pateras said.
Each compartment in the dishwasher is made for different items, she continued. She said many people put cups on the top rack in the middle, which won't allow them to get clean.
"These small little things that stick up the dishwasher were designed to take your cups and your mugs all along the side and they sit at an angle - the purpose for that is so that the water will run off of them," she said.
To hear more tips and see Pateras demonstrate how to best load a dishwasher click the video at the top of this article.
