Help with Mold

[Mindi22]

Hi everyone! I have an old dishwasher, that is currently a mold meeting and breading ground, and I'm trying to clean it and keep it clean. A new dishwasher, as nice as that would be, just isn't in our budget right now. So, I'm looking for any natural ideas to help with this task - I've had to use bleach initially because it was just so bad (I took out this tube thing that I didn't know came off, and watched chunks of mold come out of it... ewwwwww). I'll settle for the bleach this one time to get a fresh start, but I'd really like to have some cleaning products that I don't have to ventilate the kitchen for, kwim??

Thanks,
Mindi

[boatbaby]

Tea tree oil diluted with water works as well as bleach -- only it won't stink up the place as bad and won't wreck your clothes, etc etc.
All the places we used tea tree oil to clean the mold/ mildew stays away for about a year too.

[delphiniumpansy]

tea tree oil is toxic if ingested, particularly for children. I would not use it on dishes! I would close the dishwasher, haul it to the garage, and wash dishes by hand until I could save for a new one. Even a used one would be better. Give up on the mold factory and keep your family healthy. Is it really worth it to keep all this up when you could just be handwashing for now?

[2busy2clean]

Is it possible that it needs a new pump to get all of the water out??

[SleeplessMommy]

Does it still clean dishes?

Have you taken it apart (just a little bit) to check the filter? A clogged or torn filter can cause re-deposited dirt, and other grossness.

The sprayer holes can also get plugged, those get frequent cleaning here, due to lentils. :

[Naturalyst]

Originally Posted by yellowpansy

tea tree oil is toxic if ingested, particularly for children. I would not use it on dishes!

I agree - tea tree oil is not for dishes.

You'll have to run the dishwasher, empty, with at least a cup of bleach, on the hottest setting, to get rid of the mold. But, first, I'd run it empty with a half jar of Tang (which is full of citric acid) to attack any hard water scale that might be providing nooks and crannies for mold to "hide".

But, for a "fix", you'll need to consider what caused the mold build-up in the first place. The heat of your dishwasher should be killing any mold spores. The thermostat might be broken.

Be careful not to leave dirty dishes for a long time.

Once you've cleaned with the Tang and bleach, for maintenance, I'd suggest running a cycle with 1 cup each of vinegar and baking soda (once a week) until you are able to replace it.

[Mindi22]

Thanks everyone for the input. I did soak all the parts that I could in bleach, and it worked amazingly well. I'm actually quite impressed! I am really focusing on washing dishes regularly instead of having them sit there for days (when the dishwasher is really really full)....

I haven't done the tang cycle, but that's a great idea. Will it work if the tang is out of date?

Thanks,
Mindi

[Naturalyst]

Originally Posted by Mindi22

I haven't done the tang cycle, but that's a great idea. Will it work if the tang is out of date?

I don't know about the shelf-life of the citric acid in Tang. Couldn't find anything online. Certainly, it couldn't hurt to use it.