Your new dishwasher cannot stay fresh for long if you don’t maintain it. Even the most recent dishwasher is susceptible to rusting.
There are ways to prevent rusting, but it can still occur if you do not care for your dishwasher rack. In this article, I will discuss the different ways to keep rust from your dishwasher racks.
Though rust is constant in dishwashers, you can prevent it by regularly cleaning and drying it after use. You can also protect the outer coating by keeping sharp cutlery and dishes from your dishwasher. Finally, if there are rust spots on your rack, you can prevent them from spreading further by using white vinegar.
How To Prevent Rusting in Your Dishwasher Rack?
The presence of rust on your rack lines can irritate and frustrate you, especially when washing your dishes.
Once you get a new dishwasher, ensure to take good care of it to prevent rusting regularly.
If there is an outer coating protecting your rack line, secure any torn part with mechanical tape.
For stainless-steel dishwasher racks, use vinegar or baking soda to remove any rust spots. There are very many ways to prevent your dishwasher rack from rusting.
Here are some of the preventive measures:
#1. Regularly Check for Rust Signs
This is an essential step in maintaining your steel dish rack. You should consistently check for rust signs on your rack bars.
Once you notice rust spots earlier, they will be easy to clean before it spreads to other rack areas.
#2. Wipe Dishwasher Rack After Use
This is the easiest though essential step to prevent dishwasher rack rust. After using your dishwasher, use soft cloth material to wipe all parts of the dish rack while it is empty.
You can also use a small brush to clean trickier areas.
#3. Baking Soda Treatment
This treatment is efficient for rust spots. It prevents the rust stains from spreading to other areas of the rack. First, dissolve a tablespoon of baking soda with water to make it into a paste.
Then, use a soft brush to scrub the soda mixture on the steel dish rack.
#4. White Vinegar Treatment
Like baking soda, white vinegar is another agent that can protect steel dish racks from rust. Pour it over the rack bars and let it sit for about one hour.
Then, use a moist cloth to clean the rack. Instead of cleaning it, you could also run the dishwasher for a short time.
#5. Vinyl Coating Dish Rack
A vinyl-coated dish rack can help you identify rust spots in your dishwasher rack. If the coating is not in any part of the dish rack bars, there is a rust stain.
If a spot is missing a vinyl coating, the area will be open to water and oxygen.
These are the major components that form rust with a metal. So, once you spot a missing vinyl coating, protect the area from rust before it affects other areas.
#6. Plastic Dish Rack
With a plastic made dish rack, you would be free from rust stains. Stains on plastics are easier to clean than on steel or iron.
A plastic dish rack is a good choice if you can afford it, and you want to avoid dealing with a rusting dishwasher.
Make sure you purchase a good quality product to get the best out of your dishwasher.
#7. Plastic-Coated Dish Drying Rack
If you leave your dishes in the washer often, this is also an excellent preventive measure.
After doing the dishes with your dishwasher, you could move your washed dishes to the dish drying rack.
With its plastic coating, cleaning, and drying, your dishwasher rack will be faster and more regular, thus protecting your dish rack from rust.
The plastic dish drying rack also has a draining mat that collects water from your washed kitchen utensils and keeps them from rusting.
#8. Paint Stripped Areas
If your dish rack is missing vinyl coats or bubble forms in some spots, your dish rack might be rusting.
To prevent the rust from spreading to other areas on your dish rack, use a small brush or a nail polish brush to paint the exposed areas with liquid vinyl.
Use a file to peel off the bubbled vinyl coating. Clean the rust spot to get rid of dirt and use a vinegar solution to remove the rust stain.
Then paint the area. Leave the new vinyl coating to dry. When it is dry, install the dish rack in the dishwasher.
#9. Dry Dish Rack After Use
After using your dishwasher, you often forget to dry the dishwasher. You could leave it out and open for a while to dry off.
It would keep your stainless-steel dishwasher rack from moisture that would lead to rust.
#10. Use Mechanical Tapes in Damaged Areas
Mechanical tapes are tight-fitting, like a second skin on the rack bars. You can use it to seal exposed spots on the rack lines to keep them from moisture and rust.
#11. Keep Grates and Iron Sieves From Dishwasher
When using your dishwasher, try not to include grates and iron sieves in your rack.
Though it may be dishwasher safe, the sharp edges could cut the plastic or vinyl coat on the dish racks and cause rust to form.
Instead, it is more advisable to handwash your grates and iron sieves.
#12. Avoid Washing Knives and Sharp Objects in the Dishwasher
The edges of knives and forks are harmful to the dishwasher rack. These cutleries could scrape the coatings on your dish rack.
It is safer to handwash your cutleries to prevent rusting in your dish racks.
#13. Use Detergent to Rinse Dish Rack
If the water in your environment contains a high quantity of iron oxide, it could cause your dishwasher rack to rust.
To prevent this from happening, use detergent to wash and rinse your dishwasher rack after every use.
How to Repair Rusted Dishwasher Racks?
There are different ways to repair your rusting washer. Most dishwasher racks have vinyl or plastic coats to protect the metal racks from rust.
However, replacing dishwashers can be expensive and wasteful if rust is the only cause of damage to the dish rack.
Therefore, it is advisable to remove the rust from the dish rack before it becomes too late for repair.
Here are some ways to repair a rusting dishwasher:
#1. Rack Coating
If you spot rust stains on your dishwasher rack, you can apply rack coatings after cleaning out the rust from the area:
- Carefully remove the dish rack from the washer.
- File off the rust on the bars. Clean the rusted area with a soft cloth and alcohol to get rid of dirt.
- Ensure the rack has dried after cleaning. Then, with a small paintbrush, apply the coating. Follow the instructions on the rack coat manual for the best application.
- Allow the coating to dry for at least eight hours before using it.
- When it is dry enough, reinstall the rack in the machine.
- Run the washer on empty with detergent to wash off paint stains.
#2. Chemical Rust Removal
Chemical rust removal involves vinegar, lemon, or baking soda to remove rust stains. This chemical can easily remove rust on metal.
To apply, pour white vinegar or lemon juice on the affected areas on the rack lines and let it sit for at least an hour. Then, use a soft brush to clean off the rust.
#3. Electrolytic Rust Treatment
This method uses electric current to get rid of rust layers.
To remove the dishwasher rack rust, attach a battery charger to the opposite sides of the dishwasher rack and let the current pass through it for at least six hours.
Conclusion
Dishwashers are an essential part of most kitchens. But to ensure a smooth washing experience, you should constantly keep them in optimal condition.
Prevention is the best maintenance strategy to keep your dishwasher racks from rusting.
Ensure to clean and thoroughly dry your dishwashers regularly to protect them from rust stains.
