The One Part of Your Kitchen You're Forgetting to Clean—and the $3 Product That Will Fix That

When ticking off your regular household chores, cleaning the dishwasher might not even be on the list. However, mineral deposits, grime, and gunk can find their way into your dishwasher even if you do your best to keep the appliance in tip-top condition. There are many ways to prevent your dishwasher from getting smelly, from loading dishes properly to removing food debris regularly. But sometimes, you need a little extra help. That's where a dishwasher cleaner comes into play.

You could go the natural route by mixing your own formula with ingredients like lemon and vinegar, or you could purchase a product specifically designed to keep your dishwasher fresh. Many Amazon shoppers are turning to Lemi Shine's dishwasher cleaner to do just that.

The cleaner and deodorizer relies on citric acid to naturally remove hard water buildup and debris from dishwashers. Free of bleach, ammonia, and formaldehyde, the powder formula is safe to use around kids and pets. In fact, it earned a Safer Choice certification from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2020.

To use the cleaner, simply open up one of the individually wrapped packets, empty the contents into the bottom of your empty dishwasher, and run it through a normal cycle. Hundreds of Amazon shoppers confirm this simple process reveals shiny, fresh-smelling dishwashers, and many say they now use Lemi Shine once a month to maintain a clean machine.

"Very simply, this stuff works," a user wrote. "It turned a dull stainless-steel interior of an older dishwasher into a like-new interior. One application worked like a charm."

It even has a stamp of approval from appliance repair specialists, according to multiple reviewers with similar stories of discovering the product after calling a professional. "Recommended by the repair serviceman, this product does an outstanding job in clearing your dishwasher of hard water debris," one person said.

To effortlessly tackle dishwasher gunk and grime with Lemi Shine's dishwasher cleaner, order a pack of eight cleaning pouches for $22 on Amazon today. That comes out to just $3 per pouch.

To buy: $22; amazon.com.