If the glasses come out gritty and the machine smells sour, the filter is almost always the reason. It is the one part of a dishwasher that has to be cleaned by hand, and most machines have not had it out in a year.
Out, rinse, scrub, refit flat
Lift out the filter assembly from the base of the machine, rinse both the coarse and fine filters under warm water, and scrub the mesh with a soft brush. Wipe out the sump underneath, then refit the filter flat. A filter that sits proud lets food recirculate onto the load.
Prices are Freshway catalogue prices as at 16 September 2026 and are subject to change. Confirm the current price, and whether GST applies, before quoting.
The five-minute job, step by step
- Pull the bottom rack out and remove the filter assembly. Most machines have a two-part filter: a cylindrical coarse filter and a flat fine mesh.
- Rinse both under warm running water to remove the loose food and grease.
- Scrub the mesh with a soft brush and a little machine dishwash liquid. Never use a scouring pad, which pushes the mesh open.
- Wipe out the sump below the filter, where glass shards and food collect, and check the drain area for anything that could block the pump.
- Refit and press the filter flat into its seat. Run a rinse cycle and check for the smell.
Do all dishwashers have a filter?
Almost all of them do, though some are self-cleaning to a degree: they chop and flush part of the waste through the drain, and still have a filter that collects the rest. If the machine has a filter you can lift out, it needs the hand clean regardless of what the marketing says.
What to use, and what not to
| Product | Use | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Machine Dishwash Liquid 128 | Filter and sump cleaning, everyday detergent | A$32.00 |
| Machine Dishwash Powder 510 | Heavier soil and baked-on starch | A$48.00 |
| Freshway Descaler 145 | Scale removal on an empty cycle | A$48.00 |
| Dishwashing Liquid Premium 110 | Hand washing the filter clean | A$30.00 |
Cleaning it without taking it out
You can improve a filter in place: run a hot empty cycle with a descaler to soften the film, then reach in with a soft brush and rinse. What you cannot do that way is clear the mesh properly, and the mesh is where the grit and the smell live. If you can lift the filter out, do.
Vinegar, and the empty-cycle myth
Vinegar is a weak acid, so it softens light scale. It does not remove the food film on the mesh, and the filter is not in the water path long enough for the acid to act on it. Running the machine empty with a cleaner is useful for the tank and the element; it is not a filter clean, and the two jobs are different.
How often, and in a commercial machine
Domestically, weekly is a fair interval and monthly is the realistic one. In a commercial dish or glasswasher, the filter and sump are a daily task, and the descale follows the water hardness — monthly in most of Sydney, more often on bore water. Food Standards Australia New Zealand sets the sanitation expectations for food premises, and a documented daily filter clean is the part an auditor will ask about.
Signs the filter is the problem
Four symptoms point at the filter rather than the detergent or the machine. Glasses come out with a gritty film. The load smells sour when the door opens, rather than smelling of nothing. There is standing water in the base that does not drain away. And the machine gets louder while cleaning less well, which is the pump working against a restricted flow.
Where any of those appear, do the filter and sump clean before buying a different detergent or booking a service call. It is a five-minute job and it resolves the majority of dishwasher complaints without any product change at all.
Filter types, and what yours actually looks like
Most machines use a two-part assembly: a cylindrical coarse filter that catches the big debris, sitting inside or over a flat fine mesh that traps the silt. Some European machines use a single cartridge with a removable mesh sleeve, and a few use a micro-filter with a separate stainless plate underneath. Take a photo the first time you remove yours, because replacement filters are model-specific and the assembly is easy to refit the wrong way round.
Two things are worth checking at the same time: whether the mesh has been pushed out of shape by a scouring pad, and whether the seal around the filter housing is still soft. A hardened seal lets food past the filter and into the pump, which is the beginning of an expensive repair rather than a cleaning problem.
Questions we get asked most
- What is the best way to clean a dishwasher filter?
- Lift it out, rinse both parts under warm water, scrub the mesh with a soft brush and a little machine detergent, wipe the sump, and refit it flat.
- Can you run vinegar through a dishwasher to clean it?
- Yes, and it does little for the filter. Vinegar softens light scale in the tank; the food film on the mesh still needs a brush.
- Do all dishwashers have a filter that needs to be cleaned?
- Almost all do, including machines marketed as self-cleaning. If the filter lifts out, it needs a hand clean.
- Is there a way to clean a dishwasher filter without removing it?
- A hot descaler cycle softens the film and a soft brush reaches some of it, but the mesh cannot be cleared in place. Removing it takes thirty seconds.
- How often should the filter be cleaned?
- Weekly at home for good results, monthly at minimum. Daily in a commercial dishwasher, with the descale monthly or to the local water hardness.
References
- Food Standards Australia New Zealand — cleaning and sanitation in food premises.
- SafeWork NSW — chemicals and other substances.
Commercial dishwasher or glasswasher?
Tell us the machine and how hard the water is, and we will set the detergent, rinse aid and descaling schedule around it. Browse cleaning chemicals or ask our team.