About Maytag DishwasherMAYTAG DISHWASHER CUTLERY ADVICE Many people ask whether stainless steel cutlery be washed safely in a dish washing machine? How come if it says dishwasher-safe that you still seem to get rust spots on some of the knife blades? So what do you do? Buy top-of-the-range and pay really big bucks or will average priced stainless steel cutlery stand up and resist rust? So what do the ratings really mean? A quick Stainless Steel 101 primer! Stainless steel is steel which has chrome added for corrosion and rust resistance and also they add some nickel to increase acid resistance. The really high quality stainless steel (18/10) contains around 18% chrome and about 10% nickel. This is usually a lot more expensive, and pf course much brighter and whiter in color. The lower-grade 13/0 stainless steel has a quite grey appearance. The majority of metal alloys used in making cutlery make them stain-resistant rather than actually stainless steel.. In general most forks and spoons have quite good corrosion resistance. Knife blades tend to be manufactured from a harder grade of steel that will gives a more long lasting edge but one that is more prone to rust from continual dishwasher cleaning. As a precaution don't leave either acidic and salty food remnants on cutlery for very long. These can cause staining and its best to rinse the food pieces off before you place them in a dishwasher. This is important when you don’t run the dishwasher straight away and leave them sitting for a period. You should never store dirty cutlery in your dishwasher tray for some days as some do. In addition do not leave washed and wet cutlery in the dishwasher overnight or for extended periods (I am guilty of this!). Always open the door when the washing cycle is over to assist drying, or preferably take them it out and wipe it dry straight away.Never over pack the cutlery basket as many do. Use the supplied grid if you can and try to prevent items touching each other. It is really important that stainless steel and silver-plated or copper items do not come in contact with each other. This causes a chemical reaction with the hot water and dishwashing detergent and causes cutlery discolouration. MAYTAG DISHWASHER CUTLERY ADVICE Never wash cutlery in a dishwasher that has wood, plastic, bone or china handles unless they are labelled dishwasher safe. Never pour dishwasher detergent directly over cutlery. What will happen is that silver-plated cutlery will permanently stained and stainless steel cutlery will start pitting within minutes Never soak your cutlery in soapy water for long time periods or in bleach solutions or in saltwater. Never clean using abrasive cleaning materials. MAYTAG DISHWASHER CUTLERY STAIN ADVICE You can remove stains such as water marks by wiping the knife blades. If it is something more persistent such as rust stain you should use a non-abrasive metal cleaning paste or liquid. Never use silver cleaner on stainless steel. If your cutlery has a rainbow type stain you can use lemon juice.
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