# Why does my dishwasher smell bad? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 23, 2023, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-dishwasher-smell-bad/988974 "2023-08-23T13:54:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-dishwasher-smell-bad/988974/1 "2023-08-23T13:54:47Z")
It’s just happened the last couple of cycles. I open the door and it smells funky. Any thoughts on why, and how to get my dishwasher smelling fresh again? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-dishwasher-smell-bad/988974/2 "2023-08-23T13:59:21Z")
Why, I don’t know. Fixing it, 1. Check the filter at the bottom of the dishwasher. Clean it out if possible. 2. Run the dishwasher while empty with a bowl of white vinegar. 3. Run a second time now with a cup of baking soda in the bottom. This works well, I had it happen in my first house. It is a very old solution using basic household items. Same treatment works well if your washing machine smells. That happened in my second house. ETA: Oh, I forgot, check the filter at the bottom of the dishwasher. Clean it out if possible. Do this first. * * * * * * Do you have any browning of the dishwasher walls? If so, buy **Glisten** , it removed the browning from rust (iron) & manganese. When I used it on my first dishwasher, the one that sometimes started stinking, it also removed the smell, though not as well as the vinegar & baking soda. But it was like magic the way **Glisten** removed the brown on a white plastic walls of the dishwasher. We had a high manganese content in our well water. ---
**Author:** ![Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pasta)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-dishwasher-smell-bad/988974/3 "2023-08-23T14:06:52Z")
100%, you need to clean the filter. @What_Exit’s follow-ups are good suggestions, too. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-dishwasher-smell-bad/988974/4 "2023-08-23T14:09:32Z")
Total second of @What_Exit 's excellent advice. Once the OP has cleared out the funk, which is probably something hidden in / under the filter, try this next suggestion as preventative maintenance. About once every couple of months (more often in humid Florida) run the dishwasher empty on the hottest cycle possible with only a small bowl with ~1/2 cup vinegar in it sitting on the top rack. It’s negligble effort and prevents problems before they start. Pulling & rinsing the filter before running that vinegar bath is also smart. I’ve never found the baking soda necessary, but the first time as a one-two punch it sure can’t hurt. ETA: Unrelated to my or @What_Exit’s ideas above … If the dishwasher outlet hose is kinked or is starting to clog, or some of your other downstream drain plumbing is starting to clog, that can lead to gucky kitchen drain water backing up inside the dishwasher. Which can hold a couple of quarts invisibly under the floor of the dish compartment. So that’s something else to check for. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-dishwasher-smell-bad/988974/5 "2023-08-23T14:18:27Z")
Isn’t anybody going to suggest cleaning the filter? ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-dishwasher-smell-bad/988974/6 "2023-08-23T14:18:36Z")
Vinegar for your washing machine, too. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-dishwasher-smell-bad/988974/7 "2023-08-23T15:01:50Z")
I toss in eight ounces of vinegar at the start of each load. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-dishwasher-smell-bad/988974/8 "2023-08-23T15:02:56Z")
There are two fundamental types of dishwasher (at least with regards to this particular symptom): those that grind up the various biological effluvia floating around in the dishwater, and those that do not. The ones that grind are noisier. The ones that don’t grind have a trap that holds all that mess. Other people mention a “filter”, which conjures up an image of a little mesh screen or paperlike membrane that you could unclip, whack against the side of your garbage pail, rinse, and return. That isn’t how I’d describe the thing we had to clean. The author of this video describes it as “an ancient and eldritch abomination that lives in the bottom of your dishwasher’s plumbing” and it’s a lot more complicated than what “clean the filter” implies. You may have to do things like this (we did): [click for ick](https://youtu.be/1ERyNzfn0SE?t=57) ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-dishwasher-smell-bad/988974/9 "2023-08-23T15:12:26Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > I toss in eight ounces of vinegar at the start of each load. Yeah, there’s no vinegar smell afterward, is there? The water’s hard in my area, and I first considered vinegar for cleaning the limescale off the shower curtain. Then I got to thinking that, after buying the washing machine, I should have been using vinegar once a week or something to clean the limescale that accumulates inside. Cleaning vinegar (industrial strength, not for consumption) is what I was considering for a while, but I wanted to find out first if it would damage the washing machine. But now I’ve found that plain old vinegar seems to work pretty well. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-dishwasher-smell-bad/988974/10 "2023-08-23T15:19:02Z")
Vinegar _seems_ to make the clothes (a tad) softer, but that may be more like keeps them from becoming stiffer because of mutant water. We have a softener system (even with the city water) which drives me crazy and I figure some vinegar in the wash can’t hurt. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-dishwasher-smell-bad/988974/11 "2023-08-23T15:28:32Z")
Mods, I think the OP’s question has been answered, but if this is hijacking/sidetracking, just say so. After washing the shower curtain a couple of times, I noticed that my biggest bath towel stank a little after two days of normal showering and drying myself. It had never gotten funky so quickly before, and it’s an old towel, so I washed it with vinegar, and it’s back to its normal non-funky self, with no apparent damage to the washing machine. So, I think I’m going to start chucking some vinegar into every load of laundry, just to keep the machine squeaky clean. It’s an entirely uninteresting subject for posting on a message board; the point is that I thought the vinegar would leave a strong scent and it doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-dishwasher-smell-bad/988974/12 "2023-08-23T16:09:28Z")
(Last thing from me, promise.) > [@alovem](#): > > cleaning the limescale off the shower curtain That’s just adorable. When the $2 plastic shower curtain gets as rank as it can, it’s down to the Dollar Store (or one of its friends) for a new one. The old one gets folded up and off to the shed it goes where it may have some use yet as a drop cloth. Or it goes in the trash. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-dishwasher-smell-bad/988974/13 "2023-08-23T16:16:18Z")
> [@alovem](#): > > Vinegar for your washing machine, too. I found my washing machine smelled after a while - the solution was simple - leave the door ajar when not in use, so any residual water can evaporate. (And also remove the soap tray so it can dry out and mold doesn’t grow in the tray area.) For the dishwasher - make a point every week or two to clean that filter, especially if you are the type that just scrapes (not rinses) their plates before loading, so there could be decent chunks of food in that filter. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-dishwasher-smell-bad/988974/14 "2023-08-23T16:18:58Z")
I got use to leaving the washing machine open, never had an odor issue since. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-dishwasher-smell-bad/988974/15 "2023-08-23T16:19:07Z")
These two threads showing up next to each other might be an indication. [![](https://i.imgur.com/rGKuYkW.png) ](https://i.imgur.com/rGKuYkW.png) ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-dishwasher-smell-bad/988974/16 "2023-08-23T16:20:09Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > I found my washing machine smelled after a while - the solution was simple - leave the door ajar when not in use, so any residual water can evaporate. (And also remove the soap tray so it can dry out and mold doesn’t grow in the tray area.) Yes, I do that regularly and dry the little puddle of water that accumulates in the door’s rubber seal after each cycle. Still, the limescale inside the machine will eventually become a problem, if we’re to believe the detergent advertisements, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Passiflora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/74df32/32.png) [@Passiflora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Passiflora)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-dishwasher-smell-bad/988974/17 "2023-08-24T17:12:28Z")
Hello! This worked for me on dishwasher stink that always returned soon after filter cleaning and vinegar rinse: Do not let a single bit of egg get in the washer. I clean any eggy stuff off plates before they go in and haven’t had a problem since. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-dishwasher-smell-bad/988974/18 "2023-08-24T18:33:26Z")
> [@alovem](#): > > So, I think I’m going to start chucking some vinegar into every load of laundry, just to keep the machine squeaky clean. I just put vinegar in with the towels, so just one load per week gets vinegar. Seems to be enough, and I have a front-loading washer which doesn’t get stinky, as I leave the door open. The grocery store here sells dishwasher cleaner. Some brands are also marked as suitable for washers as well. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2023, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-dishwasher-smell-bad/988974/19 "2023-08-25T02:07:12Z")
> [@Passiflora](#): > > Do not let a single bit of egg get in the washer. I clean any eggy stuff off plates before they go in and haven’t had a problem since. We have the patented **K9 Pre-wash System** , takes care of everything on the plate, eggs included. 🐕 **Passiflora** , welcome to the neighborhood. Would you be mine? Could you be mine… ? 😄 ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2023, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-dishwasher-smell-bad/988974/20 "2023-08-25T02:10:30Z")
Thanks for the tips, everyone. I’m just surprised no-one suggested I should clean out the filter. 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-dishwasher-smell-bad/988974.md?page=2)