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Troubleshooting Guide
Dishwasher Smells Bad?
7 Common Causes and How to Get Rid of the Odor
You open the door and get hit with rotten eggs, a sewer smell or something burning. Most dishwasher odors come from food and water trapped where you can't see them, and one kind means stop and switch it off.
Quick answer: When a dishwasher smells bad, it's usually holding rotting food in the filter, grime on the door gasket, or dirty water backing up from the drain. Clean the filter, wipe the gasket and the bottom edge of the door, run the garbage disposal, then run an empty hot cycle with a dishwasher cleaner. A burning or electrical smell is different: switch off the breaker and call a technician.
Dishwasher still smells? A technician can often come the same day in Chino and nearby cities. $75 diagnostic, applied to the repair.
Below are the seven reasons a dishwasher smells, matched to the odor you're noticing, with how to clear each one and when to book dishwasher repair in Chino.
The seven causes
1. Food rotting in the filter
The filter at the bottom of the tub is where every scrap that comes off your dishes ends up, and food left there between loads rots. Egg, fish, meat fat and dairy smell the worst, which is why the odor often reads as rotten eggs or fish. Whirlpool (opens in a new tab) names food trapped in the filter, the spray arms and the bottom of the tub as the main source of dishwasher odor and asks owners to clean the filter at least once a month.
Signs it's the filter:
- The smell is strongest at the bottom of the tub
- Slimy film or food bits on the filter mesh
- The odor gets worse when the dishwasher sits closed for a day or two
Can you fix it yourself? Yes, and it's the first thing to do.
- Pull out the lower rack and twist the filter out of the tub floor.
- Scrub the mesh under hot water with a soft brush, then rinse off any soap.
- Wipe out the opening it sits in and lock the filter back in place.
2. Grime on the door gasket and the bottom of the door
The spray inside a dishwasher never reaches the outer edge of the door gasket or the strip along the bottom of the door, so grease and food collect there and grow mildew in the warm, damp air. The same goes for the area under the lower edge of the door and around the detergent cup. That's often the musty or wet-dog smell you notice the moment you open the door.
Wipe those spots with warm, soapy water. For mildew, GE suggests half a cup of chlorine bleach in a gallon of water, or half a cup of ammonia in a gallon of water, followed by a rinse cycle. Never mix bleach and ammonia: together they make toxic fumes.
Signs it's the gasket:
- Musty or wet-dog smell right when you open the door
- Black spots, slime or food along the seal or under the door edge
- The smell lingers after you've cleaned the filter
Can you fix it yourself? Yes.
3. Dirty water flowing back from the sink or disposal
A dishwasher drains into the garbage disposal or the sink drain, and without a high loop in the drain hose or an air gap on the counter, dirty sink water can run back into the tub between loads. GE (opens in a new tab) calls dirty water building up between uses an installation problem and says the installation instructions require either an air gap or a high drain loop.
A disposal full of old food smells too, and the dishwasher shares its drain, so run the disposal with cold water before you start the dishwasher. Standing water after a cycle, including the kind caused by a new disposal's knockout plug, belongs to dishwasher not draining. If the drain hose is tied into the plumbing below the sink trap, sewer gas can come up the hose, and that's a plumber's fix.
Signs it's the drain side:
- A sewage or garbage smell, worst between loads
- Cloudy, dirty water in the bottom of the tub before you start a cycle
- No high loop or air gap on the drain hose under the sink
Can you fix it yourself? Often yes. Running the disposal is an easy test, and raising the drain hose into a high loop under the counter is a simple fix once you can see it.
4. Dirty dishes sitting in a closed dishwasher
A half-full dishwasher that waits several days for a full load keeps food and moisture shut in together. The longer dirty dishes sit, the more the whole tub smells when you open it. Whirlpool suggests a Rinse and Hold or Rinse Only cycle when dishes won't be washed right away, and GE says running the dishwasher at least once a week usually prevents mildew odor.
Scrape plates into the trash before loading, and leave the door cracked after a cycle so the tub can dry.
Signs it's dishes waiting too long:
- The smell is worst when you open the door to add more dishes
- Loads often wait several days before running
- The odor fades after a full hot cycle, then comes back
Can you fix it yourself? Yes.
5. Plastic or food burning on the heating element
A burnt-plastic smell usually means something fell through the rack onto the heating element, the loop-shaped rod in the tub floor: a lid, a small container, a bag clip. On a new dishwasher, GE says to check the element for leftover packing material before the first use. The plastic melts onto the element and smells every time it heats.
Switch off the dishwasher's breaker and let the element cool completely, then pull out the lower rack and look. GE suggests scraping debris off the cooled element with a wooden spoon or another non-metal tool. Wash only dishwasher-safe plastics, on the top rack.
Signs it's something on the heater:
- The smell starts during the dry part of the cycle, when the element heats
- A melted lump or dark residue on the element
- A plastic lid or utensil missing from the last load
Can you fix it yourself? Yes, once the element is cool and the breaker is off. If plastic is fused to the element and won't come off, a technician can clean or replace it.
6. New-dishwasher smell
A new dishwasher can smell of plastic, rinse aid or detergent for its first few weeks, and manufacturers call that normal. GE says the newness odor may last until after several washing cycles. Whirlpool says a plastic smell should fade in about two weeks, that sound-deadening material on some models smells like hot tar or petroleum for 4 to 6 weeks, and that a varnish smell from new motor windings wears off in about a month.
Running a few empty cycles with detergent speeds it along.
Signs it's the new-appliance smell:
- The dishwasher was installed in the last few weeks
- A plastic, chemical or tar-like smell rather than a food smell
- It fades a little with each cycle
Can you fix it yourself? Yes. It goes away on its own. A burning smell from a new dishwasher is the exception, covered in the heating element cause above.
7. Burning or electrical smell from a motor or the controls
A sharp burning, hot-wire or electrical smell from the control panel or from under the dishwasher is the one odor not to clean away. A failing wash or drain pump motor, a wire connection heating up or a failing control board can all give it off, and running another cycle can make the damage worse.
Switch off the dishwasher's breaker, keep the door closed and don't use it again until a technician has found the source.
Signs it's electrical:
- The smell comes from the control panel, the top of the door or under the toe-kick, not the tub
- Smoke, a buzzing sound or a breaker that trips
- Lights flicker or the panel acts strangely
Can you fix it yourself? No. Switch off the breaker and call. This is the smell on the list that is a safety problem, not a cleaning job.
What does it mean when a dishwasher smells like eggs, sewage or burning?
The kind of smell narrows the search quickly.
| What it smells like | Most likely cause | First step |
|---|---|---|
| Rotten eggs or fish | Food rotting in the filter | Clean the filter and the tub floor |
| Sewage or garbage | Dirty water flowing back from the sink or disposal | Run the disposal; check the high loop or air gap |
| Wet dog, mildew or musty | Grime on the gasket and door edge, or dishes left waiting | Wipe the gasket; run a hot cleaning cycle |
| Burnt plastic | Something melted on the heating element | Let it cool, then look under the lower rack |
| Plastic, chemical or hot tar on a new unit | New-appliance smell | Run a few cycles; it fades within weeks |
| Hot wiring or electrical burning | Motor, wiring or control overheating | Switch off the breaker and call |
How do I get rid of dishwasher smell for good?
Work from the bottom of the dishwasher up, in this order:
- Clean the filter and wipe out the opening it sits in.
- Clear the spray arm jets with a toothpick.
- Wipe the door gasket, the door edges and the area under the door with warm, soapy water.
- Run the garbage disposal with cold water.
- Run the empty dishwasher on its hottest cycle with a dishwasher cleaner, or with a measuring cup of white vinegar on the bottom rack and no detergent, the way Whirlpool describes.
Then keep it up: clean the filter monthly, run the dishwasher at least once a week, and leave the door cracked after a cycle. Use vinegar only now and then, since Whirlpool warns that it's an acid and frequent use can damage the dishwasher. If the smell comes back within days, something is holding water or food where you can't reach it, and dishwasher not cleaning dishes covers the spray arm and filter checks in more depth.
What to check yourself first
- Clean the filter. Twist it out, scrub the mesh and wipe the opening it sits in.
- Wipe the gasket and door edges. Use warm, soapy water on the seal, the bottom of the door and around the detergent cup.
- Run the disposal. Clear it with cold water before every dishwasher cycle.
- Check the drain hose. Make sure it rises in a high loop under the counter or connects to an air gap.
- Run a cleaning cycle. Run the dishwasher empty on its hottest cycle with a dishwasher cleaner.
- Leave the door cracked. Let the tub air out after a cycle instead of sealing in the damp.
One safety note: if the smell is burning or electrical, switch off the breaker and don't run the dishwasher again until it's checked. If the whole kitchen smells of rotten eggs or gas rather than just the tub, don't touch light switches or other controls: leave the house and call SoCalGas or 911 from outside.
When to call a technician
- A burning or electrical smell comes from the panel or under the dishwasher
- Water sits in the bottom of the tub after the cycle ends
- The sewage smell comes back after you've cleaned the filter and checked the drain loop
- Melted plastic is stuck to the heating element
- The odor returns within days of a full cleaning
Sounds like yours? A technician can diagnose it at home in Chino and nearby cities, often the same day. $75 diagnostic, applied to the repair.
Era Service repairs dishwashers across the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley, from drain and pump problems to heating elements, often the same day in Chino and nearby cities.
Good to Know
Dishwasher Smells Bad: FAQ
A rotten-egg smell inside a dishwasher is almost always food, often egg or another protein, rotting in the filter or at the bottom of the tub. Clean the filter, wipe the tub floor and run an empty hot cycle with a dishwasher cleaner. If hot water from the kitchen tap smells the same, the odor is in the water, not the dishwasher. If the whole kitchen smells of rotten eggs, it may be a gas leak: don't touch light switches, leave the house and call SoCalGas or 911 from outside.
A dishwasher that smells like sewage usually has dirty water from the sink or garbage disposal getting back into the tub, because the drain hose has no high loop or air gap, or the disposal itself is full of old food. Run the disposal, check that the drain hose rises high under the counter and clean the air gap cap if you have one. A drain tied in below the sink trap needs a plumber.
A burning smell from a dishwasher is usually something on the heating element: a plastic lid or utensil that fell through the rack, or packing material on a new unit. Let the dishwasher cool, then look under the lower rack. A smell of hot wiring from the control panel or under the dishwasher is different and can mean a motor or wiring fault, so switch off the breaker and have a technician check it first.
A wet-dog or musty smell in a dishwasher usually comes from mildew and greasy grime on the door gasket, the bottom edge of the door and the filter, especially when a damp dishwasher stays closed between loads. Clean the filter, wipe the gasket and door edges with warm, soapy water and run a hot cleaning cycle. Leaving the door cracked after a cycle and running the dishwasher weekly keeps it from coming back.
Yes, for a few weeks. Manufacturers describe a plastic, rinse aid or detergent smell during a new dishwasher's first cycles as normal, and some models have sound-deadening material that smells like hot tar for longer. Running several empty cycles with detergent helps. A burning smell from a new dishwasher is the exception: check the heating element for leftover packing material before the next cycle.
Yes, now and then. Whirlpool lists white vinegar alongside dishwasher cleaners for cleaning the inside of a dishwasher, run in an empty cycle without detergent. Clean the filter first, since vinegar won't dissolve trapped food. Don't use vinegar every week, because it's an acid, and never combine it with bleach in the same cycle.
Dishwasher still smells? Let's find the source.
Open 7 days a week, 9 AM to 6 PM, across Chino, the Inland Empire, the San Gabriel Valley and North Orange County. The $75 diagnostic is applied to the repair, and every repair carries a 90-day parts and labor warranty.
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Read the guide →Dishwasher Not Cleaning Dishes?
Food left on dishes, grit and cloudy glasses: filter, spray arms, water and detergent.
Read the guide →Washer Smells Bad?
Mildew, rotten eggs or sewer smell: the gasket, the drain path and how to clean it.
Read the guide →Repairing a specific brand? Whirlpool repair, GE repair.