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How do you clean a dishwasher filter?

Updated August 2026

5–10 minutes · Easy DIY

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Cleaning a dishwasher filter takes 5 to 10 minutes and no tools beyond a soft brush: pull the bottom rack, twist the cylindrical filter at the base of the tub a quarter turn counterclockwise, lift it out with the flat screen under it, and scrub both under hot water. Then wipe the sump recess it sat in and clear the spray-arm holes. Gritty glasses, film on plastics, and a sour smell inside a machine that seems to run fine are almost always this one part, and monthly is the interval most households need.

What you need

Before you start: Broken glass is the real hazard in the sump. Wipe with a folded paper towel rather than a bare fingertip, and shine a light in before you reach past the filter housing. If you plan to remove the spray arm or pull anything below the sump cover, switch the dishwasher off at the breaker first, because the tub holds water and the pump sits directly under it. Never pour bleach into a machine with a stainless interior, and never combine bleach with the vinegar cycle.

Steps

  1. Slide the bottom rack out and set it aside so you can see the floor of the tub.
  2. Find the filter assembly in the tub floor, usually a 4-inch cylinder near the back or under the lower spray arm. Twist it counterclockwise a quarter turn until the arrows line up, then lift it straight out.
  3. Lift out the flat mesh screen underneath it. Most machines have both, and the flat screen is where the fine grit collects.
  4. Rinse both parts under hot running water and work the mesh with a soft brush and a drop of dish soap. Skip wire brushes and abrasive pads, which tear the mesh and let debris reach the pump.
  5. Wipe the sump recess with a paper towel and pick out what the filter missed: seeds, labels, chips of glass, a stray toothpick. Do this by sight, not by feel.
  6. Spin each spray arm by hand and hold it up to the light. Clear any blocked jet with a toothpick, and unclip the lower arm if the holes need a rinse.
  7. Seat the flat screen first, drop the cylinder back in, and turn it clockwise until it locks. An unlocked filter rattles during the cycle and lets food back into the pump.
  8. Run an empty hot cycle with 1 cup of white vinegar in an upright bowl on the top rack to strip the leftover film and odor.

Or hire it out

An appliance tech charges $120–200 for a service call that often ends with the same 6-minute filter cleaning, plus a diagnosis you already had. Worth paying only if the machine still leaves grit after the filter, spray arms, and a descale run come up clean.

Done. Now the part everyone skips: doing it again on schedule. Log it in OnOtto and the next reminder for dishwasher filter cleanings sets itself.

Log this task, get the next reminder

Frequently asked questions

Does my dishwasher even have a removable filter?

Most machines sold in the last 15 years do, because manual filters are quieter than the hard-food grinders they replaced. Look at the tub floor: a cylinder with a grip or arrow molded into it means yes. Older units with a grinder have a flat plate and no removable part, and they self-clear. Your model number plus the word filter finds the answer in under a minute if the tub is ambiguous.

How often does the filter actually need cleaning?

Monthly suits a household that runs the machine 4 to 7 times a week and scrapes plates instead of rinsing them. Two people running it twice a week can stretch to every 2 to 3 months. Anyone loading heavily soiled pans, or feeding a garbage disposal into a shared drain, should look at it every 2 weeks. The full breakdown by household is on how often to clean a dishwasher filter.

Dishes are still cloudy after cleaning the filter. Now what?

Cloudy is a different problem from gritty. A chalky film that wipes off is hard-water scale, and it calls for a descaler and rinse aid rather than a filter, covered on how often to descale a dishwasher. A permanent etch on glassware is heat plus over-dosed detergent. Also run the kitchen tap hot before starting a cycle: dishwashers want incoming water near 120 degrees, and a cold first fill wrecks the wash.

Can I put the filter in the dishwasher to clean it?

No, and not just because of the logic problem. The filter needs mechanical scrubbing on both faces of the mesh, and a wash cycle cannot reach the inner surface where the grease film sits. Hand wash it with dish soap under hot water. If the mesh is torn, crushed, or permanently gray after scrubbing, order a replacement; the part runs $20–45 and takes seconds to fit.

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