How to keep dishwasher from smelling

[Anonymous]

We just leave the door open so it can dry out. I also run a lemmi shine cleaner monthly. The smell I had has disappeared.

[Anonymous]

I have had the same issue with a brand new washer had the service man come out, no help, read about the copper 2 months ago, put 3 copper pipe fittings into the bottom of the washer, on top of the drain screen. The smell is gone, no more plastic cups that smell, no more rank smell at all, sounds crazy but it works.

[Anonymous]

I find that when possible, I open up the dishwasher as soon as it finishes and pull the racks out to let dishes dry this way. Five minuets is all it takes and the dishwasher dries out and it doesn't stink. But I also routinely clean it, by wiping down the perimeter, and particularly along the bottom of the door.

[Anonymous]

We replaced our dw two years ago. In researching what I wanted, I read review after review on Bosch's about an odor problem. Different models.
Went with a different brand after reading the reviews, and I was leaning toward Bosch originally. Glad I did after reading this thread.

[Anonymous]

I have never had this issue with any dishwashers I've owned! Current is a samsung

[Anonymous]

Is it Bosch? If so there is no disposer and you must clean out the trap regularly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get Dishwasher Wizard on Amazon. Works great. Gets the hard water stains off your dishwasher and dishes and let and leaves a nice citrus smell.

The problem is that they simultaneously made the dishwashers more energy efficient (less heat) and took the phosphates out of dish soap. It you want a cheaper solution, buy a box of tsp at the hardware store and put a half a tablespoon in each wash.

TSP does do the trick. I have used Dishwasher Wizard, as well, and it leaves a nice citrusy smell. Both will also get rid of that chalky residue on your dishes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How dirty are the dishes you put in? We gives our a quick scrub with a dish brush (the dishes, not the diswasher) so they're relatively debris-free when going in. No smell problems.

+1, I rinse everything before I place in the DW, no food on plates means no food gunking up the filter or line. I run the DW at night and then in the morning I’ll open the door and pull the rack out and let everything dry out a bit more. I do this while I make and drink my coffee. By the time I finish my cup of coffee, everything is dry and ready to be put away.

I also agree with wiping down the interiors of the door. We like the Finish powder tabs but sometimes will use the Cascade gel tabs.

[Anonymous]

Do you rinse your dishes before loading? I do and mine never smells.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We just leave the door open so it can dry out. I also run a lemmi shine cleaner monthly. The smell I had has disappeared.

We also just leave the door slightly open - just enough so it doesn’t click shut. Took care of the smell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We just leave the door open so it can dry out. I also run a lemmi shine cleaner monthly. The smell I had has disappeared.

We also just leave the door slightly open - just enough so it doesn’t click shut. Took care of the smell.

+1 Another Bosch owner here. We pre-rinse most dishes and leave the door open after we unload the dishwasher and no more stinkiness. It's a small price to pay to have an energy efficient dish washer.

[Anonymous]

We tried everything and nothing was getting rid of the moldy mildewy smell in our NEW Whirlpool dishwasher. We saw somewhere that copper kills bacteria, fungi, viruses, and many other things so we figured WHY NOT? Hubby cut 4 pieces of 1/4 inch copper tubing and put it on the pegs in the DW, 2 on top and 2 on bottom. After ONE wash the smell was SO much better, and after 2, bam! It was gone! Leaving that copper in there for good!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you talking about the swampy/wet dog smell? I smell it sometimes at my house. I believe that it is egg residue that causes this smell. I put an eggy pan through my dishwasher yesterday and as as soon as I opened the dishwasher...there it was...the wet dog smell.

I had to put in more detergent and run the entire cycle over again. This time, I also poured about a 1/2 cup of white vinegar in the bottom of the dishwasher. You could also try vodka. No swamp smell.

I have a new dishwasher, use a dishwasher cleaner 1x month and rinse aid and nice smelling dishwasher tabs.

yep... I now rinse the dish really well before putting it into the dishwasher. Sometimes have to scrape the egg off.

Also, there is probably gunk buildup on the bottom, particularly at the edge near the door. Clean that up, the do a wash cycle with vinegar.

Also, leave the door slightly open when not running (obviously). It helps air it out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had the same problem --

we've had this dishwasher for 8 years! It works fine but ... One day I was feeling around trying to find the source of the odor and I found a space inside the door on the bottom down near the hinge. So with the door open all the way flat I could stick my fingers under the plastic liner at the bottom about one inch and there was a huge amount of gunk up in there! Got it all out -- now I check it all the time and its pretty clean -- it must have just taken a long time to build up. Also check along the sides on the rubber seal strip - mine gets unky there too.

what brand is this? My dishwashers have gotten yucky after 3-4 years. I no longer have one -- just not worth the repairs any more.

[Anonymous]

What brand dishwasher? I did not get a Bosche because many reviews complained about this problem.