Author Topic: Horrible Dishwasher Smell  (Read 2265 times)

joshuag3

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Horrible Dishwasher Smell
« on: September 29, 2017, 08:18:49 AM »
A couple months ago, I installed a new dishwasher in my kitchen.  The old dishwasher was emitting a foul smell from time to time. Due to the smell and the overall need to upgrade old appliances, I installed a new Kenmore dishwasher.  The smell hasn't gone away.

The drain hose doesn't empty into the garbage disposal.  It empties directly into the drain.  The drain hose feeds up towards the bottom side of the countertop before emptying into drain.  I had two thoughts to what could be causing this:

1. There drain has food remnants rotting and that water is backing up into the dishwasher.
2. The drain hose has a little too much slack and that dirty water is sitting in there causing the smell.

It doesn't smell horrible all the time, which seems odd also.  Anybody have some advice on the issue, and what the best way to fix it is? 

Meowmalade

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Re: Horrible Dishwasher Smell
« Reply #1 on: September 29, 2017, 08:29:00 AM »
We recently installed a new Whirlpool dishwasher after our 30-40 year old one started screeching and we couldn't get replacement parts.  The new one would sometimes smell like a swamp!

Things I've done to avoid this:
- after the cycle, there is still water that drips.  I run a manual 3-min drain by holding down the start button-- more water ALWAYS goes down.
- I wipe the tops of all of the cups and containers with a sponge to let them air dry.
- I wipe down any water sitting on the door or bottom, and clean the filter.

The main thing to stop the swamp smell was to run the manual drain cycle after every run.  If it's gotten too stinky and the smell is sticking, I also pour vinegar in and let that get drained.

aasdfadsf

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Re: Horrible Dishwasher Smell
« Reply #2 on: September 30, 2017, 01:12:47 AM »
What you describe sounds exactly like sewer gas. Do you live in a house without roof-top vents? If so, you should have one-way valves that allow air in to compensate for the vacuum created by the draining water. These valves eventually go bad and need replacing. And if you do have roof-top vents, might they be blocked?

Either way, I would bet it's sewer gas, not your dishwasher per se.

CowboyAndIndian

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Re: Horrible Dishwasher Smell
« Reply #3 on: September 30, 2017, 07:00:58 AM »
What you describe sounds exactly like sewer gas. Do you live in a house without roof-top vents? If so, you should have one-way valves that allow air in to compensate for the vacuum created by the draining water. These valves eventually go bad and need replacing. And if you do have roof-top vents, might they be blocked?

Either way, I would bet it's sewer gas, not your dishwasher per se.

+1

I had  similar issue with the washing machine where the outlet hose was pushed beyond the bottom of the P-trap.

Sewer gas smells different from rotting food.

joshuag3

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Re: Horrible Dishwasher Smell
« Reply #4 on: October 02, 2017, 08:50:31 AM »
What you describe sounds exactly like sewer gas. Do you live in a house without roof-top vents? If so, you should have one-way valves that allow air in to compensate for the vacuum created by the draining water. These valves eventually go bad and need replacing. And if you do have roof-top vents, might they be blocked?

Either way, I would bet it's sewer gas, not your dishwasher per se.

+1

I had  similar issue with the washing machine where the outlet hose was pushed beyond the bottom of the P-trap.

Sewer gas smells different from rotting food.

This was a great tip. What you said about your washing machine made a lot of sense.  I believe this was what was causing the smell for me as well.  I pulled the hose back 6 inches, and I haven't noticed that sewer gas smell in the two times I have run the dishwasher since. 

Thank you all!

CowboyAndIndian

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Re: Horrible Dishwasher Smell
« Reply #5 on: October 02, 2017, 11:30:25 AM »
What you describe sounds exactly like sewer gas. Do you live in a house without roof-top vents? If so, you should have one-way valves that allow air in to compensate for the vacuum created by the draining water. These valves eventually go bad and need replacing. And if you do have roof-top vents, might they be blocked?

Either way, I would bet it's sewer gas, not your dishwasher per se.

+1

I had  similar issue with the washing machine where the outlet hose was pushed beyond the bottom of the P-trap.

Sewer gas smells different from rotting food.

This was a great tip. What you said about your washing machine made a lot of sense.  I believe this was what was causing the smell for me as well.  I pulled the hose back 6 inches, and I haven't noticed that sewer gas smell in the two times I have run the dishwasher since. 

Thank you all!

Great to hear that.