Raise your hand if you’ve ever cleaned your car keys or house keys. No one?

We thought not.

Those things are filthy AND they have crevices everywhere. Sure, you can drop them in some hot water and dish soap, but if you really want to give them a deep clean, stick them in the dishwasher.

Just be sure to remove keychains and anything else that the heat cycle might melt.

(And, of course, don’t stick your electronic keys in there.)

Whether there’s one in your bathroom or at the bottom of your purse, your contact lens cases could probably use a little de-germing. After all, you do put the contents straight into your eyes.

Many dishwashers come with a little cage near the silverware that they can be tucked into so the pieces don’t go flying around.

You don’t want to put them in there with really rank dishes or while cleaning pots and pans, but tossing them in with a light load is no big deal.

If they’re thin, however, you probably don’t want the heat cycle.

We didn’t believe this one at first, and of course this isn’t something you can do with leather, But you can in fact wash many types of rain-resistant shoes in the dishwasher.

Now, you’re going to want to make sure you can clean your dishwasher drain if you put really filthy shoes in there. And you definitely want to skip the heat cycle so you don’t melt any adhesives.

But consider this tactic when you’ve been out and about and have a penchant for wearing shoes in the house. There’s no end to what you can track in, posing problems for air quality and pets.

Is your vacuum covered in dust? Ours too.

While the machine itself will need to be wiped down, any attachments you have (even brushes) can be run through the dishwasher to remove dust, dirt, bacteria, etc.

There’s no use in cleaning a dirty house with a dirty tool!

This one had never occurred to us. Our floor mats are gross – especially after winter – and we rarely get around to cleaning them.

The nooks and crannies make it even harder.

But enter the dishwasher!

Put them in there alone since you don’t know what they might be harboring, and always look to make sure the manufacturer hasn’t specifically forbidden it.

We put our glassware in there, so why have we been hand-buffing our glass light fixture covers every time we change the light bulb?!

It’s so much easier to just put them in the dishwasher, making sure to use a streak-free detergent.

Sponges harbor a wide variety of germs and can spread them all over your counters and dishes if you keep them around too long.

Some people swear by putting them in the microwave, but that can easily become a serious fire hazard.

You don’t have the same worries with the dishwasher though.

In yet another example of things we’re ashamed we’ve never really washed, think about how much your garden tools have seen over the years!

Sure, we might wipe them off, but there’s plenty of bacteria in the soil that can get all over your implements.

From spades to shears, small tools can go in the dishwasher – just not with your spoon and forks (that’s just yucky).

Your expensive boar-bristles will need their own cleaning routine, but if you have some plastic brushes and combs that you keep in your handbag or stick in a drawer, take time to wash them before you drag them through your hair one more time.

It’s kind of incredible to believe many of us go years before we think about cleaning something we use every day.

You certainly don’t need convincing that kids’ toys get all sorts of grime on them.

And maybe you’re the “it’ll toughen their immune system crowd” when it comes to your kids. That might work when we’re not in the middle of a global pandemic.

But we are. So next time you have some space in the dishwasher put those plastic toys in there.

Again, you might want to skip the heat cycle for delicate plastics or toys with adhesives that could melt in the heat.

Saving Ziploc bags isn’t cheap – it’s sustainable. And frankly, it’s a shame to use those heavy-duty bags just once.

If you let something go rotten in there, it’s probably best to get rid of it, but if there’s more life left, put it in the dishwasher and get a few more uses out of it.

Ok, we get it. Technically you could get those clean in the dishwasher and plenty of lists put hubcaps on there.

We didn’t want to skip it in case it seems like a great idea to you.

Of course, you have to get them off your car first, so they may be easier to wash where they are.

These things are covered in dirt and dust!

Before you turn on your heat or A/C – or every couple of months for bathroom exhaust fans – is a good time to take off those covers and give them a deep clean.

You can do this in the sink, but the dishwasher is going to be much easier and faster.

Well this will take a good 20 minutes off of cleaning a filthy microwave!

All that stuck-on muck that you don’t want to think about after your teenagers have nuked one too many convenience store snacks will be a mere memory after a trip through the dishwasher.

We love this idea because we hate cleaning the fridge and have a hard time finding a place to dry off all those drawers and shelves.

And we have to admit that we’ve even used the dishwasher as a drying rack without thinking about it for cleaning too!

The washer and dryer are the places for cloth mitts, but if silicone is your style, those are fare for the dishwasher.

Think about how clean all of your kitchen stuff will be when you open that door to see even your oven mitts freshly cleaned and disinfected.

Less trouble to remove than hubcaps, but still a little inconvenient to take off and wash, are your outlet covers.

But next time you paint and take them off anyway, consider giving them a run through the dishwasher.

And hopefully, everyone is using a disinfectant on them pretty frequently anyway since they’re such a high-touch surface!

It always seems a special kind of annoying to have to wash something that should be clean by definition.

But soap dishes (and pumps) get scummy and need some hot suds every now and then.

The dishwasher makes easy work of it.

For really grimy holders, you’ll want to start with vinegar, but your toothbrush holder might carry a lot more germs than you think.

Spray from toilets spread throughout the bathroom.

Don’t freak out, but do go ahead and throw it in the dishwasher next time you’re cleaning the bathroom.

You may want to run them through the dishwasher on their own, but your non-slip tub mats can also go in the dishwasher.

Again, it’s not even something we think about cleaning very often – but we should!

They might say they’re antibacterial, but we all know those poufs need to be switched out every couple of months at least.

But keep them clean in between – or even extend their life a little – by giving them a hot wash in your dishwasher every couple of weeks.

This is something we never thought about.

Sure, we could hit them with an antibacterial wipe every now and then, but we don’t ever seem to remember.

What would occur to us, however, is to throw them in with the silverware next time we wash dishes so they can be sanitized.

Latex pacifiers are NOT dishwasher safe, but silicone ones are (unless their packaging says otherwise).

Be sure to double-check the specifics, of course, but usually, pacifiers and teething rings can be thrown on the top rack of the dishwasher for a good de-germing.

Your furry buddy might look at you like you just canceled Christmas when you deprive them of their toy for an hour or two, but it’s all for the best – for everyone.

Not only do slobber and food get all over pet toys, but anything that goes outside really should get at least a wipedown before they come into your home.

You can’t do it with leather, but most other kinds of collars and leashes can be washed on the top rack of your dishwasher.

Just make sure to wrap it around something so it doesn’t get tangled in the spinning arms.

You’re not going to want to put fine porcelain in the dishwasher, but some heartier figurines might benefit from a run through the gentle cycle (which pumps air along with water to prevent anything dainty from being damaged).

It’ll get off years of dust without leaving residue.

Just do a little research on the material and paint first so you’re not disappointed.

Good quality golf balls can be put in the dishwasher without harming the machine or the ball.

Just make sure to use the silverware basket so they don’t fall through the cracks.

Often in need of some elbow grease, a grill grate that hasn’t been used in a while can simply go in the dishwasher.

Just watch out for steel or cast iron grates – those may rust. Stick to washing your less hefty grates in the dishwasher, giving them a good soapy soak first if you’re dealing with stuck-on food.

Sturdy plastic pots can be put in the dishwasher, and even some other materials can go in on the gentle cycle (with no heat).

Just wash these separately – they carry different kinds of dirt and bacteria than your dishes do.

And check your filter before you put your dishes in there for their next trip through.

Oven knobs can get super greasy.

Again, gentle cycles that don’t remove paint and skipping the heat dry at the end (to prevent any warping) are a great way to get them clean as a whistle.

Pretreat any stains beforehand and place it on the top rack (or in a washing rack of its own if you need it to keep its shape – they sell those separately).

Just be sure your detergent doesn’t contain bleach before running it through the warm cycle with heat dry off.

Set the hat out to dry in a place that has good airflow.

Small bathroom trashcans can get extra gross if you don’t use liners with frequency.

That’s why the dishwasher can be so helpful.

It’s no fun to scrub those by hand!

Low heat settings are your friend for getting bugs and dust out of window screens.

These are so hard to wash by hand because pieces of paper towel, etc. can get left behind.

Not true of the trusty dishwasher!

First clean off the residual grime, but then you’re free to wash your wellies at will.

But your boots down horizontally and hook your flip flops around the rack so they don’t bounce around.

You may not want to put your pricey Hunter boots in the dishwasher, but anything utilitarian is good to go.

There’s almost nothing we hate to clean more than our stove and oven pieces.

They’re hard to get the grime off of and they’re always dirty. Oh, and they’re no fun to let try either.

The dishwasher it is!

You don’t want to put things that might warp in there, like mouth guards (and while plenty of people say you can, most mouthguards even say they’re not dishwasher safe).

But shin guards and the like? Sure!

Get rid of the sweat and the smell – because you know your kid is not going to clean their own.

We love this idea!

Sure, the lint is relatively easy to peel off, but after it gets stuck in there real good, it’s a lot less easy.

If the sink in your basement is easily accessible (and not the spider sanctuary ours seems to be), then you can always use that.

But the dishwasher just seems to easy when you think about it!

Rubber ducky? Plastic…whatevers?

Bath toys can stand up to a lot, but just because they’re in a soapy tub doesn’t mean they’re germ-free.

Put them in the dishwasher with the rest of your kiddos’ toys when you get a chance.

Hair pins? No. Those are just going to fly around everywhere.

But plastic headbands on the top rack and plastic barrettes and clips in the cutlery cage and you’ve got yourself a sanitary set of hair accessories!

Bye-bye stuck on hairspray and goodness only knows what else!

This is another one where you might need some vinegar to get the scum off first, but after that, a deep clean in the dishwasher is your friend.

Just because it’s i the shower doesn’t mean it’s clean!

Artificial flowers – yes, even silk flowers – can actually go in the dishwasher as long as you use a mild cycle and no detergent.

No more dusty flowers making things look dingy!

These are probably some of the grossest things in our house and we have to admit we forget to wash them most of the time.

But since they’re in the same room as the dishwasher, maybe we’ll remember to stick them in next time!