You may be curious how I know about all of these mistakes. Well, let’s just say that I’ve made all the mistakes so you won’t have to! Mistake: You Need to Pre-Rinse Scrape off all the chunks of food from the dishes, but don’t pre-rinse. It’s not necessary and only wastes time and water. Unless you have particles of food on your dishes, pre-rinsing could actually hinder your dishwasher’s performance. Dishwasher detergent needs the acidity of food to activate its cleaning power. Without that, it can become abrasive to dishes, glassware, and flatware. Mistake: Segregating the Flatware If your flatware is coming out spotted with visible food stuck on, more than likely it’s a loading problem. Everyday flatware is fine to put in the dishwasher, but it needs to be mixed up, then handles down, with the exception of sharp knives, which should be point-down. This prevents like pieces (spoons …