Does your dishwasher smell like fish?

[whitewhiskers]

I've been using a Plink tablet weekly in the dishwasher. Saw this ad for Affresh tablets. I thought it funny and sharing it with you. I like these products, my house has VERY hard water. The tablets dissolves the hard water stains that form on the stainless interior.

 

[rp2813]

Hard water in my part of town too.  Mostly sourced from ground water.  When we lived out near Los Gatos, a larger portion of our water was sourced from mountain runoff, but it still had its share of mineral content. 

 

Now that I'm back in a neighborhood that's over 100 years old, I'll add some Lemishine to a load of dishes periodically and that takes care of the Miele's stainless interior.  So far I haven't had any smell issues.

 

I've smelled a sort of wet dog/fish smell in hot water out of the tap at a friend's apartment.  Hand-washed cups and glasses stunk.  I think the source of that was a shot anode in the heater.

 

[givemehotwater]

I had this problem...

Briefly about a Decade Ago, with my Bosch Dishwasher. Using a Chlorine Dishwasher Detergent off/on solved the issue overnight. Sad, that there is basically nothing left out there though. The old Cascade Gel is discontinued, and so is Palmolive Gel.

 

[Marky_Mark]

Cascade gel with chlorine bleach does not appear to be discontinued. It is still on the Cascade website and is still on the shelves in stores.

 

[littlegreeny]

I've had this issue in the past and Afresh certainly helped. Now I'm pretty heavy-handed with powder detergent and no longer have odors.

 

[joeekaitis]

 

My dishwasher never smells bad.  My garbage disposer never smells bad.  My front-loading washer never smells bad.

 

What am I doing wrong?

 

[givemehotwater]

@marky_mark

I called P&G and was told Cascade Original Gel is no longer in production. I have also noticed that it's no longer in stock at Wal-Mart, and several retailers in my area.

Before it disappeared, I could only find the 120oz bottles. I haven't seen the 75oz bottles in a long while.

 

[Marky_Mark]

Oh I see. That's disappointing, as it was the only remaining chlorine gel detergent that was sold anywhere I shop. I don't use it much, but I liked knowing "that it's there" in stores if I want it. In light of this news, I'll have to stock up on some. Thanks for letting us know!

Mark

 

[panasonicvac]

Dang

That sucks the original gel has been discontinued, I really liked that detergent. Guess I'll have to get plenty of them if I ever see any left. Or I'll have to try something else instead to replace it. Unless the demand comes for Cascade to bring the gel back.

My dishwasher in the house never smelled, probably because we're using good detergent and dish soap, we always rinse our dishes out before loading them in the dishwasher, and we have soft water. Once in a while I'd put vinegar in with the hottest setting to completely self clean the dishwasher out.

But we did had one problem with our dishwasher up at our last cabin before. Just shortly after we got it when the cabin was built, it had some kind of burning smell coming out from the dishes whenever we'd run a cycle through them. It took a while to figure out that the odor was coming from the heating element. What happened was is that a plastic utensil fell down in there and melted on top of the element.

 

[qsd-dan]

Been using automatic dishwashers for 39 years, none of them ever smelled yet.

 

[Marky_Mark]

Let's hope Cascade Complete powder is not next on P&G's hit list

 

[novum]

I’ve often wondered is this down to people using very short cycles or bad detergent?

I’ve always had a dishwasher in the house, going back to when I was a kid in the 80s and they never smelled bad.

My parents had a some kind of Ariston machine in the 80s, then Bosch and later AEG. My grandparents had some kind of Hoover and then Hotpoint.
I’ve had Bosch and Miele. I’ve rented places with Electrolux machines.

None of those dishwashers have ever been anything other than spotless and very fresh smelling. I would have thought many bugs could survive a run though a hot dishwasher cycle with normal detergent.

 

[me]

Neither of the dishwasher I've had have ever smelt of fish, might have been a problem for Vincent Price:-

 

[Marky_Mark]

Well the dishwasher I grew up with (branded Hotpoint, but essentially a Bosch) was the absolute BOL model and it only had three cycles:
1. Prewash
2. Super Wash 65º
3. Normal Wash 65º

The only difference between the two wash cycles was that Super Wash did 2 prewashes and Normal did 1 prewash. Both cycles then did a main wash at 65 ºC (150 ºF), purge, two full rinses (final rinse was 65C/150F) followed by a heated dry.

There was no way to reduce the wash or rinse temp and no way to turn off the heated dry. We used to fill the dispenser full of powder (which contained phosphate). Results were excellent and the dishwasher never smelled.

Now, my parents have a modern Bosch that defaults to the eco cycle every time it is switched on, unless you select a high-temp cycle, which they don't bother to do. Every time I go to their house, the dishwasher is disgusting. The filter is absolutely full of really thick grease. As well as only ever using the low temp eco cycle, it could be that they are using poor detergent tablets, which they stockpile and they may get old and damp. I have used modern Bosch dishwashers and mine have always remained pristine. But I use good detergent and high temps.

Their washing machine always used to be pristine too, with regular boil washes. Now, it's a disgusting, smelly, mouldy mess. They now wash exclusively at low temps.

So, at least in some cases, I'd say it's down to how the machine is (mis)used.

 

[combo52]

Reply number 13

Hi Mark, you are very correct I think a big part of the problem today is people are so far removed from knowing how to clean clothing and dishes, etc. because they haven’t done it by hand in a generation or two and they don’t realize what needs to happen to get clothing and dishes clean.

You actually can wash clothing and cold water if you use enough good detergent enough rinses enough mechanical agitation But people have no clue and I suppose you could probably wash dishes and fairly cool water by hand but again it would take a lot more mechanical work and a lot more rinsing, etc. to get things to come out reasonably well.

In our business we constantly see dishwashers that aren’t even fit to take the garbage out in they so disgusting inside and yet people are running their dishes through them every week and eating off of them. I guess it proves that the body is pretty resilient and it doesn’t kill you , lol

 

[me]

Hotpoint branded Bosch

Ah, we also had a Hotpoint that was made by Bosch, it was a bargain price for a Bosch and a Which? best buy.

It washed better than my current Bosch, which might have a few more programs, but lacks the stand alone rinse cycle, and doesn't have air drying either, so doesn't dry half as well.

Had to completely rewire it after quite some years because my mum took part in a liquid detergent trial which ate through the dispenser and door seal and rotted the insulation. The machine was used on a plug in timer to run overnight so the detergent was sitting in the dispenser for hours. Prior to that we used Sun dishwasher powder, which was a much better product.

Got rid of it after 20 years or so because some of the other seals had shrunk and the racks went rusty.

 

[me]

Hotpoint branded Bosch

Meant to say the liquid detergent ate through the dispenser flap seal and the seal between the dispenser and door, letting the detergent get into the wiring. Not the door seal.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

dishwasher smell

My dishwasher doesn't have that smell. If anything, it smells like the food covered dishes I put in it, until I start it.

 

[yuccadew]

Does anyone know if buying cleaning tablets like that is worth it, or can plain citric acid do the trick?

We have well water, and I go through a lot of citric acid, including in the dish washer, as a hair rinse, to clean out the tea kettle... It does seem to help, and I haven’t noticed any weird smells from the water. The last time I noticed a smell like that was when I went through a “natural” laundry detergent phase; the clothes really did come out smelling foul.

I also like the brand Lemi Shine, their products are citric acid/ citrus/ lemon based.