How to Clean a Dishwasher Filter

1. Switch the machine off and pull the bottom rack all the way out.
2. Clear loose debris from the sump by hand before anything else: toothpicks, glass shards, bones, pits, plastic wrap.
3. Twist the filter counterclockwise, lift it out and separate its parts.
4. Rinse and scrub the mesh under warm running water with a soft brush.
5. Rinse until the water runs clear and check that water passes straight through the mesh.
6. Refit and turn clockwise until it locks, then tug gently to confirm.

Once a month is the safe default; adjust for loads per week, scraping habit and water hardness.

The filter protects the pump from hard debris, keeps the recirculating wash water clean enough to reuse, and stops food particles from settling back on the dishes mid-cycle. Every load pushes the same water through it several times, so it collects a lot in a short time.

Food soil and grease are the everyday clog. In hard water, mineral scale binds the mesh and narrows the openings until water struggles to pass. A clogged filter shows up as gritty or speckled dishes, a cloudy film on glasses, cycles that run longer than usual, standing water in the tub, or a musty, sour smell when you open the door.

Dishwashers sold in the US over roughly the last decade mostly carry a manual, removable filter: a cylindrical fine-mesh assembly plus a flat coarse or mesh plate at the bottom of the tub, sometimes with a third large-object trap. You clean it by hand. Older machines, and some current ones, use a self-cleaning or maintenance-free design: a fixed grid or fine mesh over the base that you cannot lift out. Those have no hand-cleaning routine, and if performance drops it is a service matter rather than a do-it-yourself job.

The 10-second visual check

Pull the bottom rack and look at the tub floor under the spray arm. A plastic cylinder you can grip and twist, often marked with arrows, means a manual filter. A fixed grid or perforated plate with nothing to grip means a self-cleaning one.

Why the wording confuses people

All dishwashers filter the wash water, but not all filters are cleaned by hand, and some manuals use maintenance-free language that reads as if there is no filter at all. Even a self-cleaning design can need attention where water is hard or soil is heavy. The machines covered on this site are hand-clean, three-stage filter designs with no self-cleaning filter and no hard food disposer, and monthly is the interval to plan on.

Switch the machine off or unplug it, pull the bottom rack out, and clear loose debris from the sump by hand first. Toothpicks, glass shards, bones, olive pits and plastic wrap sitting around the filter will drop into the pump the moment it lifts. Wear gloves if you like: some of that debris is sharp.

Grip the upper or cylindrical assembly and turn it counterclockwise, a quarter turn on most designs, then lift it out. The flat lower or coarse plate then lifts and pulls forward. On some designs you have to move the spray arm aside first.

On every common design the direction is the same: counterclockwise to unlock, clockwise to lock. If it will not budge that way, stop rather than force it.

Rinse the parts under warm running water, working from the inside out so debris leaves the way it came in. If the mesh is caked, soak it about ten minutes in warm soapy water; a degreasing dish liquid helps with grease. Scrub gently with a soft brush, a bottle brush or an old toothbrush, inside, outside and along the mesh edges.

Rinse until the water runs clear, then check the flow: let water trickle slowly through the mesh. If it passes straight through, the filter is clean. If water beads on the surface or runs around the filter instead of through it, scrub more.

Routine cleaning needs warm water, mild soap, a soft brush and a towel. Nothing else is required.

A vinegar soak handles mineral scale, soap scum and cloudy film: mix equal parts white vinegar and warm water, submerge the parts for at least 30 minutes, then rinse thoroughly. Baking soda is a mild abrasive and deodorizer, useful as a paste on stubborn spots or sprinkled and scrubbed before a vinegar soak, followed by a rinse and air dry.

Vinegar is a descaler, not a degreaser. It dissolves scale; it does not cut grease or protein, which need soap. A greasy filter wants soap, not acid. Keep vinegar off the door gasket and rubber seals, where acid degrades rubber over time, and clean those with hot soapy water instead.

Never use bleach-based cleaners, wire brushes, steel wool or scouring pads, which damage the mesh or the machine. Do not put the filter in the dishwasher: it is the thing being cleaned.

Wipe the filter housing and the ring around the sump opening with a damp cloth. The gunk ring at that opening is where most of the smell lives. Refit in order: the flat or coarse plate first, then the cylinder or upper assembly.

Turn clockwise until it drops or clicks into place, or until the arrow markings line up, then tug gently. If it lifts or keeps turning freely, it is not locked. Never run a cycle with the filter out or loose: debris goes straight to the pump, and a loose filter can be struck by the spinning spray arm. If you forgot to refit it once, put it back, run an empty rinse and check the sump for debris.

• Dishes come out gritty or with food specks stuck to them.
• Glasses carry a cloudy film.
• Standing water sits in the tub after a cycle.
• A musty or sour smell greets you when the door opens.
• Cycles run longer than they used to.
• Visible food or grease sits on the filter, or water beads on the mesh instead of passing through.

• Wire brushes, steel wool and scouring pads tear the fine mesh.
• Bleach-based cleaners damage the machine.
• Vinegar on door seals and gaskets degrades the rubber over time.
• Forcing a stuck filter snaps the brittle plastic tabs; slosh warm water around the base to loosen cemented gunk and try again.
• Knocking the filter against the sink edge warps the mesh.
• Running the machine without the filter, or with it loose.
• Treating vinegar as a degreaser when the problem is grease.
• Pre-rinsing every plate: scraping is enough, and soap needs some soil to work against.

Work down the list in order. First the sump and pump cover: scoop out standing water with a sponge, remove the pump cover, clear any foreign objects and refit it until it clicks. Then the air gap, the garbage disposal knockout plug and the drain hose, and finally a service call.

A grinding noise during drain means something solid is in the sump: stop the cycle. A torn or warped mesh cannot be repaired, so the filter is replaced as a part.

The method is the same, the cadence is not: these manuals call for weekly cleaning. The filter is a three-part stack of coarse, flat main and micro filters. Turn the fine filter counterclockwise, release the tabs and lift the main filter.

The same rules apply: never run the machine without the filter, do not knock the parts against a surface, and do not force the tabs. These are hand-clean filter machines with no self-cleaning filter.