Chosen Solution

It’s a stainless steel dishwasher. It was stinky when I moved into the house about a year ago, but running it through a wash cycle clears up the problem… for a day or so. If I leave the door of the dishwasher closed, whether there are dishes inside or it’s empty, it develops a rotten smell. It does this even when I leave the door open after running it to make sure it’s completely dry. I’ve tried the following tips that I’ve read on the internet, to no avail: running a cycle of vinegar and water; running a cycle of bleach in the detergent cup with the racks removed. Any help with how to get to the drainage lines to clean them (or other ideas!) would be appreciated.

This sounds to me like the drain hose is incorrectly connected to the drain, causing kitchen sink wastewater to back up into the dishwasher. The dishwasher drain hose sits lower than the sink drain, and this must be accounted for to keep from having a back-flow situation. There is a simpler way to do this than my instructions below, and while it may work, any future clogged drains will cause your issue again. The proper and most sanitary way would be to install an air gap into the sink. This device fits into one of the extra holes on the top of your sink and has a cap (usually chrome) to make it look nice. The air gap device has two connections, one that comes in from the dishwasher and the other that flows back down to the drain. The air gap keeps you from having a direct hose connection between the dishwasher and the drain and will allow for the dishwasher to overflow into the sink if the drain pipe gets clogged. Search google for “dishwasher air gap” and you’ll find all the information you need. iFixit also has a Whirlpool dishwasher not draining page with fixes for wastewater drainage problems (it says “Whirlpool” but really it applies to dishwashers in general). Good luck!

My new dishwasher is properly installed and I recently had the sewer gas vent checked. I too had an awful smell in my dishwasher and although I only run the washer every 2nd day or so, I’ve never had this problem before. In addition to the smell, or maybe the cause, I found weird mold stuff growing down in the filter. I cleaned it periodically with boiling hot water, tide detergent and an oxyclean type bleach alternative (sodium carbonate peroxide) which did a good job of cleaning and removing grease, but the smell would return days later. Finally after much research, I came across some information about copper which I found interesting. Apparently, copper kills fungus, mold, and bacteria. It’s suggested that by putting discs cut from copper plumbing pipe in the washer and running vinegar twice a month, it will eliminate mold, and bacteria that may be growing in the dishwasher. Apparently the copper leaches out of the pipe, and kills unwanted organisms. Sounded strange, but I know roofers use copper infused roof tiles to prevent organisms from growing on roofs. I put some discs of copper pipe in my dishwasher and leave them there (they’re too big to get down the drain). I run vinegar twice a month and I finally have NO bad smells. It’s suggested that using copper plumbing pipe will insure a clean metal, not a copper that may be alloyed with some other toxic metal. Pennies won’t work. I know this may sound odd, but google what copper will kill, and you’ll see why this works!

Many dishwasher installation instructions state the drain hose should be looped up higher than the pump to prevent backflow. Many installers ignore this. The high loop is easy to install and test. Here is some info from http://www.structuretech1.com/2010/07/di… Kenmore: “The high loop or air gap must be used to prevent potential backflow contamination of the dishwasher. Local plumbing codes generally dictate the requirements in your area. Section 807.4 of the Uniform Plumbing Code states: “No domestic dishwashing machine shall be directly connected to a drainage system or food waste disposer without the use of an approved dishwasher airgap fitting on the discharge side of the dishwashing machine. Listed airgaps shall be installed with the flood level (FL) marking at or above the flood level of the sink or drainboard, whichever is higher, or separately trapped with the airbreak located on the stand pipe.” GE: “If an air gap is not required, the drain hose must have the high loop from the floor to prevent backflow of water into the dishwasher or water siphoning out during operation.” Bosch: The high loop in the drain hose of your dishwasher is to keep water from settling in the hose if it were hanging down any lower or horizontally. This keeps the drain hose dried out and keeps any odors from backing up into the dishwasher. Viking: In testing our dishwashers, we have found that the additional high loop in the back of the dishwasher is required for proper draining of the water. We have seen when this piece is not applied that over time the consumer will have issues with the water back up and causing issues with proper drainage and water pooling in a particular area.

Had a real bad odour in my 1 year old Samsung dishwasher. Took apart the pump screan and found it to be clean of any food particles. I then checked under the door bottom on the inside!!!!! OMG! The amount of food residue that was trapped in there was ridiculous. What a stupid design. I cleaned this up with a solution of water,a touch of laundry soap and bleach. Armed with a small paint brush and a spray bottle full of my cleaning solution I got her done in no time. Ps,to those who think you need to wash your dishes prior to placing them in the dishwasher,get real. That is the dishwasher’s job! You are simply wasting water. If you feel you need to do that then you either have a bad dishwasher,the wrong dishwasher soap or you don’t know how to load a dishwasher properly! Josh

Strange as it may seem, that bottom door rubber thing may be the culprit. I followed Josh’s suggestion and cleaned it. It was not very dirty (perhaps because my dishes are rinsed of all food before going into the machine) so I didn’t think the little bit of grayish scum (like what’s in the filter) that I wiped off could make much difference … but it’s been a couple weeks now, I’ve repeated the process once more, and the smell seems to be gone. I’ll remember to do this whenever I wash the filter.

Purchase a dishwasher cleaning solution and run through about every three months also rinse dishes off prior to placing into dishwasher and wash as soon as possible Ianf

A home remedy that you may want to try is cleaning vinegar. I found it locally at Wally World. Run the dishwasher empty, and after the initial pre-rinse and refill, dump a healthy dose of the vinegar into the water and let the dishwasher finish. The problem area is most likely in the water return sump beneath the strainer in the bottom of the tub. Also, if you’re good at taking things apart (and remembering how they go back together), you can remove the lower spray bar and disassemble what’s below it to get into the sump area to clean it with a small brush or whatever will do the job. Until that sump is clean, you will continue to have the smell return.

I had the same problem with my Samsung dishwasher. The problem is the “check valve” that doesn’t function properly. It’s just a little rubber valve that’s supposed to stop any water from coming back from the hose into the washer. Just google “samsung dishwasher check valve” and you will see the photos. I replaced mine for $15 and the smell is gone. Forever.

Here are ALL the things I tried, many of which worked temporarily, and what finally worked permanently:

  1. cleaning the filters (back then I had to use ammonia and Dawn; rinsing didn’t work)
  2. dishwasher cleaning product
  3. vinegar in bottom of DW before starting
  4. adding bracket to secure high loop to back wall under sink
  5. hiring someone to reinstall the DW (who found that the original plumber hadn’t followed the installation instructions; he hadn’t used the loop bracket on the side of the DW at all)
  6. totally replacing the drain hose twice, which was filled with rotting gunk (worked for 6 months)
  7. turning our Rinnai up to 140 degrees F. and being sure I ran the faucet til the water was hot, before starting DW.
  8. citrus cleaner soaking in filter cup overnight before running dishwasher
  9. cleaning disposal with a special cleaner regularly
  10. wiping dishes clean of all debris before loading
  11. buying the old type of DW detergent WITH phosphates on the internet (called Boil-Out - it’s Cascade’s original formula) - this did help a lot in getting the dishes clean and getting rid of a jellyfish-like debris in the area where it lets out steam and 12 - FINALLY, after 7 years of the smell returning, we FINALLY learned that the original Rinnai tankless water we had, and the new energy saving dishwashers are not a good team. The DW’s call for hot water, since it uses less, is satisfied before the Rinnai has a chance to heat up enough water hot enough for the detergent to do its job. So even though my initial pre-rinse water was hot, by the time the DW got to the wash cycle, the water in the pipes had cooled, and the wash cycle was only getting warm water. The heater in the DW was not effective in heating up the water quickly enough, and sometimes the cycle would go for 3.5 hours. Sometimes I’d turn it on before I went to bed, and the dishes were still hot in the morning, meaning it had run most of the night. Also, the original plumbers made too long a water-line run from the Rinnai to the DW, AND had used too small a diameter gas pipe. In the winters in upstate New York, when our gas furnace, gas fireplace, and gas dryer were all on at the same time, and water is entering the house just above freezing, the Rinnai wasn’t getting enough gas to heat the water up fast enough nor to a high enough temperature. Therefore during the rinse, there were globules of debris and grease settling out of the water into the lower folds of the corrugated DW drain pipe and sitting there to rot. The new tankless heaters solve the problem of too much cold water in the water supply line by having their own recirculation pump and a small one gallon reserve tank that always stays hot. We bit the bullet and replaced our Rinnai with a Navien (not as much as starting from scratch, because everything they needed was there except the wider diameter 10 feet of gas line) and now everything is working GREAT! And we no longer have to waste gallons of water on the second floor waiting to get hot water for taking a shower or washing our hands. Each of the previous solutions we tried helped a little bit, so we kept thinking we’d figured it out (I had had several professional plumbers and dishwasher repairmen here over the years) but it wasn’t until I hired a man with 45 years experience that we together, doing research on the internet, figured it out. Apparently they are having this problem all over the country. Good luck to you all in your own stinky-smell-solution-search. Your problem may be different from mine, but I’m glad we kept trying until we got to the bottom of it. Sincerely, Barbara in Rochester, NY

I too had the odor problem with my Bosch dishwasher. After watching a youtube video where the guy uses the brand of detergent that is solid with the red “ball” in the middle I tried that. I haven’t had the odor problem since. You have to run the machine on full cycle and ignore the red light indicator to add rinsing agent, but everything has been fine so far. It’s been several months and I’m now a satisfied customer!

After five years of wrestling with this problem, we finally hired an experienced professional with 40 years’ appliance installation experience. He found that the builder’s subs had not installed the dishwasher properly 6 years ago, and had not followed the manufacturer’s instructions as to the location and height of the drain hoses. Debris from the disposal had been backing up into the drain hoses and rotting there. Our dishes were very clean and safe since the gunk was in the drain hoses, but the smell was horrible. We had tried so many other solutions over the years and they each helped a bit so we had thought we were done with the problem, but now I know we are. The hoses he replaced looked like clogged arteries.

None of the other suggestions worked for me. We had no problems for years, but a few months ago the area by the dishwasher stunk each time we washed the dishes. I took the dishwasher apart and it was clean. I ran all kinds of things through the dishwasher and the sink/disposal. Finally, I tracked it back to the vent under the sink. The vent is designed to let air into the drain/sewage lines so you don’t have negative pressure (this can occur as water is dumped in from the dishwasher, etc.). It is a one-way valve, so it has a rubber gasket that prevents the sewer gas from coming into the house. However, after about 8 years, the rubber gasket had simply worn out. Replacing that vent cost me less than $7. This is easy to check. Look under your sink. The vent is a pipe that simply points up and goes nowhere, but has a cap about 2-3 inches long that screws into the top. You’ll probably need channel locks to unscrew it. Once you have, see if the rubber gasket on the inside looks warped (our case) or full of crud. You can find a replacement at any hardware store. It simply screws on with some teflon tape. This has finally solved our “smelly dishwasher” and smelly sink problem that occurred each time we washed the dishes.

Have you tried removing the pump and cleaning. Some times food will get stuck on the propeller and sit there and rot. Search Google for a how to and you will be OK.

had the same problem of a smell after days of none use. was using cascade pellets switched to finish quantum by reckitt benckiser problem is gone!

Under the door on the inside is a rubber gasket. Just clean that gasket with a paper towel as needed.

If, after all the aforementioned cleaning remedies have failed and you still have the odor problem, you might want to get adventuresome and try disassembling the door. On some dishwashers, removing the screws allows removal of the front panel, while on others it’s the inner panel that is removable. Be very observant as to how it comes apart so you can reassemble it properly. Upon disassembly you will most likely notice a very nasty (and smelly) collection of food residue across the inside bottom edge of the door that is impossible to remove without door disassembly, no matter how many time you wipe the inside bottom edge of the door. Scrape off what you can with whatever tool you choose, and then wipe the rest of it away with a rag and hot water and Dawn dish soap, degreaser, etc. Then, after putting everything back together correctly, run the dishwasher on a short cycle to be sure that it’s correctly assembled and that there are no leaks. In the future after this, always pre-rinse the dishes (rinse, not wash) before putting them in the dishwasher. That buildup at the bottom edge of the door is caused by greases and oils, combined with food residue that congeals there because that is the coldest part of the dishwasher while it’s running, and because it does not get the blast of water from the spray bars as the bottom door edge covers that area. Also, from what I’m seeing posted on here, a couple short lengths of copper tubing slipped over a couple unused tines on the upper rack will keep the odors at bay as copper naturally kills the bacteria that cause the odors in the first place.

A lady I was speaking to, suggested I use a good brand of Mouthwash !! Add 2 capfuls to your machine and switch on !! I haven’t tried it yet but she said the machine smells fresh afterwards. Worth a try I suppose.

This is only be pertinent if you the low-end Bosch that was recommended by Consumer Reports: I followed someone’s suggestion upthread about wiping down the rubber gasket at the base of the door where it closes, and sometimes the door too. I skeptically did this and saw an immediate improvement. For awhile I did it regularly, now I hardly ever remember - but the smell seems like it’s just gotten much better. I do clean the filter thing as well as I’m able, but there’s never anything but a tiny bit of residue on it. Like most of you, I really thought the smell was a deal-breaker. So there’s hope. At first I thought I was going to have to run the machine every day, just to reset the smell, which was not in my plans.

Low water use dishwashers require much less soap, so put in way way less detergent and watch the concern disappear as mysteriously as it maybe appeared. Purchase and add some Borax to help remove mineral buildup and clean the screen or filter screen every single month if needed and yes, it’s likely needed! You can get very sick from a dirty screen or filter in your dishwasher!! Update (09/04/2016) How may persons know that there are some dishwashers with an area between the plastic drum and the inner stainless steel liner on BOSCH models that have six small vent/drains, at the lower portion of the panels? As the panels flex during washing the holes breath and exhale all sorts of debris and stuff and allow for too large of a buildup of terrible things behind the rinsing abilities of the machine. Stuff and crap inbetween the two stupidly designed walls!

The smell is from standing water in the bottom of the dishwasher in my case Bosch, I am going to try replacing the check valve and see if there is any improvement, if not 700.00 dishwasher is going to the trash!

I have two houses, two Bosch dishwashers, both stainless, and only one stinks if I use the normal detergent. A fishy like smell that you can smell in glasses. The only difference is the stinky one is on well water full of minerals. Running a cleaner helps for a while but I have found that using Lemi Shine detergent and or booster helps too. It would be interesting to know if folks with a unsolved stink problem are on well water or other mineral laden water. Is it possible that there is an off gassing chemical reaction between the minerals in the water and the dishwasher or the enzyme detergent? Update (12/04/2020) For Bosch dishwasher. I saw a solution posted in this forum in 2016 but missed it. I tried everything. I had to install a new control unit several months ago and decided to seek out the odor problem too. I have always cleaned the bottom filters regularly but couldn’t disassemble the stupid round filter. It always looked clean but it is two layers. I finally pried it apart and even though the surfaces you could normally see were clean, the inside was filthy. Cleaned it up, snapped it back together and haven’t had a smell since. It is a pain to get apart and I thought I might break it but it really needs to be disassembled and cleaned. That is probably why the Hydrogen Peroxide and cleaners probably worked for a few days, probably killed off the bacteria in the filter temporarily. If you have smell and have one of these cylindrical filters, take it apart and see what you have in there.

I remodeled my kitchen and installed a new GE dishwasher a year ago. It has smelled awful ever since. I rinse my dishes well before putting them in the dishwasher. I have had the plumber who installed the dishwasher out twice to no avail. I’ve used Cascade and Costco brand pods, and have switched to liquid detergent with no effect. Finally I called for warranty repair this week. The appliance repairman said the smell was coming from my disposal. He used zip ties to fashion a p-trap in the drain line between the dishwasher and the disposal. That was 48 hours ago. Now I have NO SMELL in my dishwasher! It is a miracle! Thought I’d share this tip for those with a disposal. I told my plumber and he said he’d never heard of this, but was glad to know about it.

I upgraded (I use that term loosely) GE Profile DW with SS tub a year ago, started to stink almost immediately. Have cleaned the door gasket and strainer regularly and it still stinks incredibly. This can’t be right. Why didn’t my 25 year old GE DW stink like this? I put my 25 year old DW in my summer cabin and now considering bringing it back! This DW like many new ones has a built in loop on the discharge hose. The old one did not. Maybe it might be worth a try to remove the loop in the new one. One other thing I noticed, to keep quiet I think the manufacturers have turned down the water pressure. If you opened the door quickly during a wash cycle on the old one, you would get a face full of water, not so with this new one. I even put a piece of clear plastic in front of the door to view the wash cycle, the spray is pathetic compared to the old. Don’t know if one has anything to do with the other. I am willing to dump my $900 DW if there’s a model out there that doesn’t stink but it sounds like other new models have the same issue. Why haven’t the manufacturer’s chimed in with a solution?

Go to a hardware / paint store. Get a box of TSP, trisodium phosphate. Add one half teaspoon to dishwasher detergent cup, with your detergent, at each load. Also, to save energy, turn off heated wash, and on heated rinse…

My daughter has an LG and, by accident, I was fishing for a fork that dropped down and felt gunk coming from under the lip at the bottom of the door. You would not believe what was lodged there! I pulled it all out and sprayed it down - no more smell. It is a major design flaw to have a space where particles can lodge and rot and not been seen unless you specifically reach under there.

Sometimes the dishes smell rancid after washing. Turns out we were using “too” much detergent (We were using the recommended amount of liquid soap and for a while the little prepacked pods). Could be related to the hardness of the water. I tried everything I could think of, had a repair guy come test the appliance (Bosch) and everything checked out ok. He suggested testing the water and/or using less detergent. We have been using the “min” amount for the last 10-20 loads, and they come out smelling clean and fresh (a slight pleasant soap smell).

My brand new Bosch dishwasher STINKS. New out of the box it smells like moldy rubber. It was wet inside, never been used, too. I called Bosch and they sound like they never heard this before which is so hard to believe since I googled smelly dishwasher and a thousand hits came up. Hmmm, they never heard of this… Their answer was to run a cup of vinegar thru the dishwasher. My complaint is my dishwasher is BRAND NEW, I shouldn’t have to do this!!

Bought a new Bosch dishwasher to replace the aging Bosch that had no smells. It was true that the mew machine had a bit of water inside (I think they’re use-tested in the factory) and there was a sort of oil/machinery smell at first. I assumed it would disappear quickly with use. After a month, I noticed a different smell and looked on the internet for solutions. Here’s what worked for me. I had read that I should start using the bare minimum dishwashing detergent (I use Cascade liquid). It was also suggested that I put a couple small pieces of copper tubing in the dishwasher somewhere and leave them. After another month, I can report that one or the other solutions has worked. I had some copper tubing in the garage, cut two pieces, about 1 1/2 inches long (you can simply buy 1/2" copper couplings) and placed them at either end of the top rack over the tines. Dropped my detergent use to the lowest level line in the dishwasher. We only run the machine about once a week and only rinse the dishes quickly before putting them in the machine. I’ve been checking and have not found any odor in the machine, even just before it’s full and we run it again. Not sure which method worked but it doesn’t matter. The copper is out of sight and mind and it all seems to have worked, thankfully.

We had a horrible smell and nothing worked for our Sears Elite. I love this Dishwasher, but it developed a bitter, stinging stink. The repairman came out, and everything tested well. After an hour, we both discovered a small piece of melted plastic on the heating element. That was it! He picked it out and all is well. I was thankful for all the ideas on this page for dishwasher health.

We had the same smell issue every time we turned our dishwasher (KitchenAid) on and it’s embarrassing to admit we were dumbfounded for years without figuring out the cause. We raised the issue twice with two different plumbers, but neither plumber could find any problem to account for the smell each time we ran our dishwasher and once the diswasher had been running a few minutes, the smell would disappear anyway. Eventually, when we had our old dishwasher replaced with a modern replacement, we assumed (or hoped) the issue with the disposal smell each time we had run the old dishwasher would be resolved too, but we were wrong. We got the same issue. In the end, it was the drain line that caused this. I had it in a loop and it just reeked every time I fired up the dishwasher. Dirty water just sat in the loop and would reek when I turned on the dishwasher and it did it’s initial drain line purge. Smell was bad enough I had to open windows. So I shortened the drain line and adjusted it more like this, and the problem went away.

We had this problem and it turned out to be a particular set of dishes that caused every load to smell like wet dog. Once we stopped using those dishes, the problem disappeared. They are a matte finish set from Ikea in blue. Our big clue was that the problem started at the house we moved from and came with us to our new house. How could that be??? We couldn’t imagine why it was happening. It took us a long time to figure it out and we tried everything in the book including bleach, dishwasher cleaners, servicing by professionals, etc. If you brought new dishes into your home and that’s when the problem started, it’s the dishes, not the dishwasher. Stop using them and see what happens.

Okay. I tried the copper trick and had success for one day, but I had just cleaned the dishwasher with H2O2. The next day, not as good. I switched back to LemiShine and that worked for a few days. I left the copper in the washer but now I shoot a squirt of H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide 3%) on the door and walls before I start the dishwasher. No smell since. I had tried vinegar, checked the pipes, cleaned the disposer, and pretty much everything in this thread. Since the machine goes through numerous wash cycles and a thorough rinse cycle, it would seem that the H2O2 is rinsed away, I only use a tablespoon or two and there doesn’t seem to be any adverse reaction with the detergent. I found a few references on the internet where they recommended using H2O2 with your detergent but you need to do your own research. Alternatively, you may try a detergent like Cascade with OxiClean. The first application of H2O2 was pretty heavy. I sprayed all the walls, door and poured a fourth to half cup in the drain area, then ran a normal cycle with no dishes.

Brand new Bosch 100 Dishwasher ran it with the sterilize cycle first , then put a load of pre rinsed dishes in and Cascade packet (2) and had Finish tank filled The smell came with the first load.. New drain line, with tall loop so no backfeed There is something wrong folks ! Brand new and it stinks ! Never had that with my Kenmores or Amana’s - In 30 years I never had to “clean” the dishwashers . My screens have always been perfectly clean I am not a washing machine expert, but I do know metals and I suspect that the stainless steel is treated somehow and that reacts with detergent ? Looks like Bosch has some explaining to do !

The best way to get an awful, rotten smell out of your dishwasher is to run a cycle with distilled white vinegar. Pour about 1 cup of vinegar into the bottom of the dishwasher and let it run through its normal cycle. This should remove any leftover food particles or grease that are contributing to the odor. If your dishwasher still smells bad, you can do a few things: -Scrub down the entire inside with a sponge and a solution of warm water and some dishwashing soap. -Use a toothbrush to gently scrub around the edges of the door, where food particles are often caught. -Place two denture cleaning tablets in the bottom of your empty dishwasher and run a full cycle.