Dishwasher: should you rinse plates before loading?

Dishes need to be cleaned. Roughly, of course, but cleaned.

After meals, if the dishes are heavily soiled, you need to remove the main food residue with kitchen paper or give them a quick rinse under the tap.

Only then should you load the dishwasher and set it running.

Like a washing machine, the dishwasher also needs a cleaning cycle roughly every three months, using specialist cleaning products (readily available in shops) to keep the machine running at peak efficiency.

Grease build-up can block the pressure switch tube — the component that regulates how much water is loaded for each cycle.