heheheehehe Ash! I love having a dishwasher, ours needing replacing a few months back and while we were without one for a few days we were grumpy LOL
What type of dishwasher is it? - I know the dish drawers are better with powder, but the normal ones are better with tablets - we use the finish powerball ones and have never had a problem with getting everything clean. We got some free Coles tablets once, they are crap
Some Tips
Definitely rinse all the food off and stacking it properly is important so the water/jets can get to all the dishes. DH is a terrible dishwasher stacker and it drives me bonkers as if anything comes out dirty its usually as a result of his poor packing LOL.
Dont put those melamine kids bowls/cups (not dishwasher safe) or kids stuff in there that has glittery or brightly painted logos - they tend to fade very quickly
If you have tomato based sauces in plastic containers, I find sometimes these dont wash well, better to rinse in hot soapy water first
Use a good rinse aid - your glasses will be streakfree (we use the finish one)
We usually clean our filter every week or so - I use an old toothbrush to give it a good scrub out, helps keep the dishwasher and the dishes clean
There are dishwasher deodorisers you can buy, they do smell nice (lemon/lime), but I find the smell penetrates DS's drinking cups so his water used to taste a bit like them, I dont use them any more!
We do use the finish dishwasher cleaner on a heavy cycle every month or so to give the dishwasher a good clean out
We bought a few extra utensils eg tongs etc as found we would need them again before the dishwasher was full and take them out dirty and handwash them. This was a good investment!
Most things are dishwasher safe, but I've always used the rule that if its something a bit special and I am unsure I'll not put it in
There's a definite art to learning how YOUR dishwasher loads in the best possible way. it took us a couple of weeks of figuring it all out! We're very happy with the Woolworths own brand of tablets - work just as well as Finish and a 1/3 of the price! We rinse dishes before loading in (i just don't like the idea of food stuffs washing around and getting on the glassware). Tomato sauces tend to get baked on so i do wash those by hand. And i also wash all plastic cups by hand but that's because i've found they leave a detergent taste in the cup. my dishwasher program takes a long time (over 1 hr) but it's an extremely quiet model which is a blessing as it can be on and i won't even notice it if we're eating dinner or working in the kitchen/diner.
My dishwasher pipes got all blocked up from using tablets ( I used finish), the repair guy said it was a common problem so since then I've used powder and never had issues. I use powder from aldi, it's around $2 mark and works really well. Definitely use rinse aid.
I rinse some things before putting them in otherwise the food dries if it's sitting in the dishwasher all day. I don't usually rinse the tea dishes because I put the dishwasher on straight afterwards.
I don't bother with rinse aid and my glasses seem to come out ok.
DS1 is a 'water warrior' so I've been banned from rinsing. We scrape instead and I haven't noticed any difference in the cleanliness of the plates. Really if you're going to rinse everything off you may as well hand wash anyway.
I clean the filter quite often. I use a deodoriser and when I notice the smell is all gone I replace it and I use a finish dishwasher cleaner on the same day.
We use the fairy tablets and they are much better than the finish ones but after reading Tinks' post I might change over to powder.
I use powder but keep a few balls incase I run out or a vivitor is loading the dishwasher.
If using powder less is better than more.
If you run out of rinse aid you can use vinegar
I rinse the dishes especially if you are not putting it on straight away and you have cooked with cheese, sauces etc.
It is a case of trial and error when you first get a dishwasher. Getting the packing right and not overfilling it
Enjoy your dishwasher. I do after 30 years of marriage
Every so often i do a rinse cycle with viniger and some lemon juice.. Not sure if it actually works but makes me feel good and does smell nice afterwards.
I scrap all scraps off dont bother rinsing unless its something big. i put everything in ours even pots if i have space =p but we dont have much plastic but with my containers i also put the lids on top shelf cause they can warp. most things these days are dishwasher safe
Check the instructions. Yes with the first lot of dishwasher rinsing was vital, these days they say scrap not rinse. Part of the cleaning does rely on some food being in there, sort of.
Also agree with steering clear of tablets. They cannot be adjusted based on water type in your area. In some places you can only use a tablespoon of powder, otherwise it suds up too much.
Definitely go with cleaning the filter regularly and also taking of the arms and giving them a clean.
Wow! Thanks so much for all the advice lol I wouldn't have had a clue about most of that. I didn't get a chance to use it yesterday (subway came to the rescue for dinner lol).
It is a 2 drawer dishwasher so I'll get me some powder for it. I have heard people rave about the Aldi tablets so I was thinking of getting it from there. I have never heard of rinsing aid before lol, which I'm guessing helps rinse off the detergent after the wash has happened?
There is no instruction booklet here for it so I'll have to have a good look at it and maybe consult google to find where the filter is.
I'll probably be back with more questions at some point lol - thanks again ladies!!!
Dishwasher tips and tricks?
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so I'll have to have a good look at it and maybe consult google to find where the filter is. 
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