We love the things that make our lives easier and save us time. These include common household appliances like washing machines, dishwashers and microwaves. Can you even begin to imagine how long it must have taken people to wash all of their clothes and dishes by hand? 

While we know that our microwave needs to be cleaned on a regular basis, it’s easy to assume that appliances that are created for the sole intention of cleaning something don’t need to be cleaned.

Think again.

We have learned so much from TikTok recently, like how to easily squeeze juice out of a lemon and a completely new (and delicious) way to use cereal, but now we’ve learned something a little bit gross and a lot a bit helpful.

Did you know that your dishwasher has a filter? It does, and if this is news to you, that filter definitely needs to be cleaned.

People on TikTok have discovered that if they completely remove the bottom rack from their dishwasher, they can access and remove the machine’s filter. Prepare yourself. These filters can get pretty gross. 

@inspectormurphAre you cleaning your dishwashers filter regularly? ##inspectormurph ##homeowner ##homeinspector ##realtor ##covid_19♬ original sound – inspectormurph

@amyloomisbonneyFinally convinced my husband TikTok is useful can’t let this fail!! cleaned my dishwasher. ##fyp ##clean ##oregon ##yelling ##foryoupage♬ original sound – amyloomisbonney

Thankfully, once you remove the filter, it’s pretty easy to clean.  You just need some hot, soapy water.

If you’re not sure if your dishwasher has a filter or not, you can refer to your user’s manual, or, if you threw that away a long time ago, you can look at the sticker inside your dishwasher that shows the machine’s brand and model number. Punch that into Google, and you find the user manual which will tell you if your dishwasher has a filer as well as how to clean it.

If you’re more of a visual learner, watch the video below for easy step-by-step instructions about how to clean your dishwasher’s filter.

Many people have found the video above very helpful. One person commented, “Thanks it really help. thanks to you no more smelly dishwasher… thanks.” Another comment reads, “It worked for me, very easy to clean the filter when following the steps. thank you so much.”

Did you know that most dishwashers have filters that need to be cleaned? Have you ever cleaned it? Are you brave enough to go clean it right now?