Smelly dishwashers can have a few possible causes, including: A dirty or clogged filter. Food residue on the interior walls. Mold and/or mildew growth on the gasket seal.
Run a cleaning cycle with vinegar: Fill a dishwasher-safe bowl with white vinegar and place it in the top rack of your empty dishwasher. Run a hot water cycle to help remove any lingering odors and clean the interior. Vinegar is effective at neutralizing odors and breaking down grease and residue.
Burning or Chemical Smell: If your dishwasher has a strange chemical odor, it could be a result of cleaning agents, plastic items, or even the dishwasher itself. Mold or Mildew Smell: Water leftover from previous cycles can cause mold buildup, especially around the gasket seal.
BUILDUP FROM FOOD PARTICLES AND SOAP SCUM
Just like your shower, your dishwasher can build up a layer of soap scum over time. Soap scum acts like a glue trap for food particles, and without regular cleaning, this buildup can make your dishwasher smell bad.
Bacteria can form and grow on dishes, feeding on the leftover food particles. When the bacteria breaks down during a cleaning cycle, they could produce the unpleasant odor you're smelling in your dishwasher. To remedy this problem, you may want to consider running your dishwasher more often.
If the smell is more like sewage, you most likely have a serious clog in your dishwasher's drain line. Mould or mildew will typically smell musty, similar to rotting vegetables.
A dead rat smell is similar to a mouse but stronger and it lasts longer – because a rat is larger than a mouse. Either way, the rodent smell makes it obvious that you have a dead critter!
Dishwasher cleaning FAQ
Our Pros love white vinegar, because it deodorizes as well as cleans. The strong vinegar smell that many people dislike dissipates very quickly, taking any unpleasant odors with it. However if you'd prefer not to use vinegar, you can use citric acid instead.
Pour two cups of white vinegar into the drum, then run a normal cycle at high heat—without any clothes, of course. The baking soda and vinegar should break up any residue stuck to your drum and kill any mold that might be present. They'll also help remove any foul odors.
You can also pour a solution of one tablespoon of baking soda and two tablespoons of vinegar down the dishwasher drain while your at it. Let it sit for 15-20 minutes. Then, run a rinse cycle. This will help clear out the drain pipe, reducing odors.
Over time, minerals such as calcium and magnesium can accumulate in your dishwasher. This can often make your dishwasher smell like eggs or give it a metallic or sulfur-like odor. These deposits can be stubborn and require periodic descaling to eliminate the smell and maintain the dishwasher's efficiency.
First, fill a dishwasher-safe bowl with one cup of white vinegar and place it on the bottom of the empty dishwasher. Set the dishwasher to run on a hot water cycle. The vinegar will break down any remaining bits of food, grease, soap scum, residue, and any other leftover grime.
"While dishwasher tablets and pods tend to be more expensive, they invariably outperform powder in our dishwasher detergent tests," says Matthew. "The top 10 products in our dishwasher detergent review are all either tablets or pods. And the lowest-ranked products are all powders, sheets and gels."
Throw in Some Baking Soda and Vinegar
Pour the mixture into the basket at the bottom of the dishwasher and let it sit for 15 minutes. This should eat away at any easier debris that may be clogging the drain. Pour hot water down the basket, and then run the rinse cycle.
If you wipe down every day spills and splatters on your dishwasher daily and remove leftover food particles from the bottom weekly, it makes the need for a deep clean less frequent. If frequent cleanings slip your mind, do a thorough cleaning seasonally or about every three months.
And whatever you do, we discourage the use of bleach inside your dishwasher, no matter how bad it smells! Bleach is highly corrosive and will erode your precious appliance's stainless steel.
Pour 2 cups of white vinegar in a dishwasher-safe bowl and place the bowl on the bottom rack of your empty dishwasher. Select a dishwasher cycle with an air-dry or energy-saving dry option and press start. During the cycle, the vinegar will mix with the wash water to help neutralize odors and clean your dishwasher.
Dishwasher tablets, such as Finish Ultimate All-in-1, can be utilized in washing machines to dissolve grease, dirt, and mineral buildup that may accrue with regular use.
Damaged or clogged dishwasher drain hose
This is caused by food particles and bacteria that become trapped in the drain when dirty water cannot properly drain, leading to an unpleasant, fishy odor.
Pour 2 cups (500 mL) of white vinegar into a glass measuring cup or other dishwasher-safe container and place upright in the lower rack. Run a normal cycle with the heat dry option turned off to clean the inside of your dishwasher. Do not use detergent.
¹ A single tablet in the bottom of your dishwasher during a normal wash cycle cleans your dishwasher while your detergent cleans your dishes. No matter what brand or model of dishwasher you have, you can use affresh® dishwasher cleaner.
Toxic black mold growth has a more potent and identifiable smell, like the smell of decay, wet soil, or rot. Visually, it may be greenish-black, grayish-black, slimy, or more furry than other forms of mold or mildew.
This smell is often described as musky and ammonia-like, similar to the odor of urine, because rats tend to urinate frequently to mark their territory. The intensity of the smell can vary depending on the size of the rat population and how long they've been present.
The smell of sewer gas is often described as a noxious, rotten-egg-like odor. Its sulfuric, foul smell will permeate your entire home if left unaddressed, leading to major health issues down the line. Small amounts of sewer gas usually won't cause any immediate danger—but large amounts certainly will.