Is it possible that sink water is backing up into the drain? Air vent clogged on the roof?

quote:

Originally posted by Nismo:
Is it possible that sink water is backing up into the drain? Air vent clogged on the roof?

I like your thinking, but this drains well and is vented properly. We cleaned the drain hose and it looks like new. Im going to look in all over based on everyone's suggestions and try some additional cleaners. No one has any Oh Yuk locally, so I'll have to order it. Thanks again for the suggestions.

How often do you run it, and how full?

We had some odors sometimes apparently because the wife thinks it has to be full to run it. To save $$ I guess.

When she busted her knee a few years ago I took over ALL the house work for 3 months... I ran the DW almost every day regardless of how full it was because I preferred the stuff got done and put away, and wow, no more odors.

She recovered and took the DW back over and back to packing it full, running it only 2 or three times a week and guess what, yup, the odor returned.

It took weeks to convince her, just run the damn thing, and leave the door cracked, always, unless it is actually running.

Oh yea, I have my kitchen water heater set to ~150 degrees and I run the water in the sink until it gets hot there before I turn on the DW.

1-Miele.

2-Miele.

3-Miele.

4-Bosch (with the stainless interior).

I have a 2 yr old KitchenAid DW, but it only smells funky if we let it sit too long with dirty dishes inside. Smell is gone after a full cycle.

We often use the rinse cycle to rinse the really messy/sticky stuff off. We try to prevent most larger food chunks from getting get into the DW and use only "Finish" tablets. I clean all the seals every few weeks. Hot water is 135-140. We generally use the delay start, but if I manually start the DW, I'll run the hot water at sink to purge the line.

At the time we bought, KitchenAid was one of the few that still had heated drying as an option. Bosch did not. Miele was not available near us.

quote:

Originally posted by Nismo:
Is it possible that sink water is backing up into the drain? Air vent clogged on the roof?

Check the drain line under the sink, it should be hooked to the top of the cabinet so that the line runs from the dishwasher, up to the top then back down to the connection to the disposal or drains. This creates a high point preventing back wash.

If it runs straight down then dirty water could run back down the pipe into the dishwasher and cause the odor...

5 top reasons dishwashers smell

Why Does My Dishwasher Smell? Five Potential Reasons
It’s troubling when you open your dishwasher after a cleaning cycle and a foul odor emerges. You might ask yourself, why does my dishwasher smell so bad? How is that even possible? Once you know the answer to these questions, you can begin to address the problem.

Below, you’ll find five potential reasons for why your dishwasher smells bad, along with a few ideas on how to clean that dishwasher smell out.

1. A Clogged Food Trap
A common cause for a bad-smelling dishwasher is the presence of old, rotting food somewhere inside the unit. If your dishwasher smells, the first thing you should do is check the food trap located at the bottom of your tub. There’s a hole there that catches runoff from the cleaning cycle. While the dishwasher is dry, pull out the bottom dish rack and look to see if there’s old food inside the food trap’s basket.

If you don’t see food on the surface, pull out the basket if possible and dig farther into the opening to see if anything is there. Be careful when you do this—if you’ve ever had a glass break inside your dishwasher, there could be loose shards in the food trap.

In some cases, you may consider plunging out the opening in the food trap to unclog any waste that may have gathered. Regardless of how you do it, removing old food from your dishwasher should help reduce or eliminate a bad smell.

2. A Damaged Drain Hose
A drain hose works by emptying the dirty water and any small food particles into the disposal unit under your sink. If something is wrong with the drain hose, it could be the reason why your dishwasher smells.

If possible, pull your dishwasher away from the wall and look for any bends, kinks or other problems that would prevent the easy flow of material through the hosing. Try straightening the hose to make sure material can pass from one end to the other without a problem. If your drain hose is too damaged to straighten out, you may want to replace the part yourself or contact a professional to handle it.

3. A Poorly Placed Drain Hose
Even if your drain hose is not kinked or otherwise obstructed with food waste, it could still be the reason why your dishwasher smells. If your drain hose drops from the back of your unit and runs along the floor before moving upward towards the sink, gravity could be working against you.

If you have a drooping drain hose, try to find a way to reposition it. Ideally, your drain hose will run downwards from the dishwasher into the sink disposal, allowing gravity to do most of the work. If the dirty water and food waste don’t have to go “uphill” to the disposal, they’re less likely to get stuck and create a bad smell in the hose.

4. You’re Not Running It Enough
Even if you rinse your dishes before putting them in your dishwasher, tiny food particles can remain. If you tend to fill your dishwasher over the course of several days before running it when it’s full, that could be why your dishwasher smells 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. Even if it isn’t full, run it on the “light” cycle so you don’t use as much energy while washing fewer dishes.

5. It’s Your Disposal
Finally, the reason why your dishwasher smells may not even have to do with your dishwasher at all. As mentioned above, the drain hose connects your unit to the garbage disposal in your sink. If your disposal has food stuck inside of it, the clogged food may be preventing your dishwasher from emptying properly.

Run your disposal thoroughly and check to make sure there is no more food trapped inside of it. If there is still food in the disposal or it’s not cranking properly, use an Allen wrench to manually grind out the food that’s trapped. If that still doesn’t work, it may be time to repair or replace your disposal. If you do manage to clear the blockage, run your dishwasher again to see if the smell dissipates.

If you take all of these steps and you’re still not sure how to clean out your dishwasher’s smell, you may want to consult with a repair technician. Luckily, a home warranty plan can help mitigate professional repair costs. Home warranty plans are designed to address the issues that arise as appliances age, which is part of what makes homeowner’s insurance and home warranty plans different.

I am going to endorse Fisher and Paykel drawer dishwashers. We are on our 3rd - replaced due to a move, 2nd replaced thanks to mice destroying it. Once you use the drawers, it is hard to go back to a regular one.

Just bought a Bosch 500 series. There is a setting on it that pops the door open at the end of the cycle to promote better drying. Amazingly quiet - so much so that there is a red light that shines on the floor to let you know that it is running.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

The Oh Yuk should be here tomorrow. Will try it out and see if it helps. Thanks for all the other suggestions.

I did not see any post this. Where the bottom of the door, INSIDE the washer meets teh washer, rum a paper towel along the entire twi surfaces, and clean once a week....Lots of mold building there.
Cheers

quote:

Originally posted by Pizza Bob:
Just bought a Bosch 500 series. There is a setting on it that pops the door open at the end of the cycle to promote better drying. Amazingly quiet - so much so that there is a red light that shines on the floor to let you know that it is running.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

I’ll second this. We recently replaced our 12 year old GE Profile with a Bosch 500 series. Does an amazing job cleaning and the feature that allows the door to open at the end of the cycle helps aid drying fully.

Any progress on this? Inquiring minds want to know.

posted May 11, 2023 09:15 AM
Have you contacted KitchenAid about your problem? I would think they would want to help correct this condition. Is it still under warranty? Could there be a piece of meat or other food stuck in one of the rotating water spray arms? Our KitchenAid is over twelve years old and still works fine. I do rinse off any residue on dishes before I load them. I sure would exhaust all solutions before replacing an appliance that new. (Assuming you are correct on it's age) I would add two quarts of vinegar at the beginning of the long wash cycle so it has lots of time to work before getting pumped out. This has to be a solvable problem. Good luck!

quote:

Originally posted by Gene Hillman:
Any progress on this? Inquiring minds want to know.

posted May 11, 2023 09:15 AM
Have you contacted KitchenAid about your problem? I would think they would want to help correct this condition. Is it still under warranty? Could there be a piece of meat or other food stuck in one of the rotating water spray arms? Our KitchenAid is over twelve years old and still works fine. I do rinse off any residue on dishes before I load them. I sure would exhaust all solutions before replacing an appliance that new. (Assuming you are correct on it's age) I would add two quarts of vinegar at the beginning of the long wash cycle so it has lots of time to work before getting pumped out. This has to be a solvable problem. Good luck!

Sorry, been busy dealing with the loss of my mom. We got the oh yuk, it helped..but didn't seem to last. We double checked all the drain lines, you name it. We loosened up the machine and checked it all around..nothing we could find. Other than replacing it, not sure what else to check or do.

Well, we purchased a new Whirlpool dishwasher. Just couldn't get the other to not smell. Hopefully this is the end of it....

quote:

Originally posted by coloradohunter44:
Well, we purchased a new Whirlpool dishwasher. Just couldn't get the other to not smell. Hopefully this is the end of it....

We just bought a new Whirlpool as well. So far it’s been very good. Our old Samsung had a nasty odor like yours.