Somebody Help Me...Stinky dishwasher

[ajer72]

Hello, Let me start by say I really don't know what to do anymore. I have tried everything. We have a Miele dishwasher. I have had the repairman here 3 times, he says he doesn't know. I get this swamp / fishy smell the problem is it isn't every load. The repairman says I do such a great job with keeping the filter clean. I have took the drain line off and it is spotless. It is stainless steel, I only ever use 3 cycles even though being desperate I have tried them all. I use Pots and Pans, Normal and Sani Wash (when someone has a cold) I have had it drain into the disposer, I have had it drain into the air gap, I have even tried draining it into a bucket, I have every dishwasher detergent as of 2 weeks ago, I special ordered detergent that has been outlawed in some states with Phosphates in it...costing me 100 bucks 60 for commerial cascade and 40 for a product call Bubble Bandit. I have used tabs by all the makers, powders by all, cascade complete, gels, right now under my sink I have 8 different products, I have stop washing cookware thinking that might be it...I have stopped washing plastic....I don't know what to do any more....I am connected to very soft city water, our hardness is 1.8. Please is there any help? I have had the older kitchenaid that was amazing...before whirlpool ruined the name. I have also done bleach to clean, then other loads with vinegar and baking soda, Lemi shine, tang, Koolaid, Anyone else having this problem....in the past I have had Kitchen Aid, Maytag (older models) from 80's and 90's, the builders grade dishwasher they had installed never stunk...just didn't clean so I guess it did stink...just didn't smell....LOL....so sorry for rambling but I am so down and out and don't know what to do...is there any one that has had this problem and had success? Also I don't rinse the dishes, I do keep the filter spotless, I have started rinsing and washing the dishes before loading. Help me....Please

 

[nmassman44]

Have you looked where the bottom the door and the tank meet? I have a Miele LaPerla dishwasher and I clean the area every so often to prevent any chance of smell. There is a lip there and run a rag over it.

 

[ajer72]

Thanks, I keep it spotless I know exactly where you are saying....I even clean under the bottom rack tracks. The repairman took the whole thing apart and says he has never see one so clean, The Dishwasher is amazing with cleaning the dishes, they just smell. I have also tried all the dishwasher cleaners, affresh, finsh dishwasher cleaner, even the $20 Miele one, Miele dishwasher detergent, Miele "jetdry" regular jet dry, cascade jet dry....it is when the cycle is complete esp, if they are left overnight (starting the dishwasher before bed or when I leave for work) or after they are dry, it the most terrible smell, you poor a nice glass of wine take a sniff and SWAMPY FISHY SMELL Yukky...Any other thoughts, Also the I run the dishwasher everyday, sometime twice...so it isn't like they are sitting long..thanks for the thought...

 

[neptuneguy27]

I have a Miele

As well and have not had any issues with a bad smell (or any smell for that matter) at the end of the cycle. What is your model number? How long have you been having this problem? Is your machine connected to cold or hot water? We'll see if we can't figure something out.

 

[logixx]

I eventually tossed our old dishwasher because dishes, especially glasses, would stink. Also tried different detergents and all. In the end, it was so bad I seriously wanted to cry when I opened the DW to unload and everything in there smelled really bad - melodramatic but true.

Our Bosch has this problem sometimes, too. I could pin it down to the type of soil in the load. Dishes with anything egg on them -> no-go in the dishwasher. Even the dishwasher I'm using at my new flat, a real water-hog, will render smelly dishes if I put anything coated with egg in there.

Miele can activate an extra rinse and/more water via the service menu of the machine.

 

[rolls_rapide]

I find that raw egg taints my dishwasher if I beat eggs up in a bowl. I thoroughly rinse the bowl before putting in the machine. The same goes for raw chicken - rinse before putting into the machine.

 

[toploader55]

Just a thought...

Miele uses the Waterproof System.

 

Could it be possible that there is some type of stagnent water in the Safety Catch Pan that runs the Whole Bottom of the machine ?  Stagnent water (as we know) sure does smell.  I know in the Restaurant if the Dish Machine Operators do not mop under the machine every night, Whew... does it stink the next day.  It just comes to mind as that catch pan has just the right amount of heat to get a nice Mojo going under there.  If the repair man pulled out the machine and took the pan off, well, then you'd know.  But if he hasn't pulled the machine out, it might be worth looking into.  If there is a rank odor in the pan, during the dry it could be entering the machine through the vent ?  Just a theory.

 

[rapunzel]

Assuming that your dishwasher is new

Could it be that this fishy smell emanates from the plastic/rubber components inside the tub? Was the smell present from day one? Sometimes new plastics and rubber may have a strong odor about them and it's something to do with the manufacturing process.

 

[mrb627]

Drying?

Are your dishes drying completely? Is the tub all wet at the end of the cycle? Perhaps extended drying is needed.

Malcolm

 

[nmassman44]

My thinking is that it could be your water. I would sniff it at the tap or in a glass. When I stayed at a place in NH the water smelled like that and so did the dishes. Not to mention taking a shower in it.

 

[jmm63]

I had the same problem with the Miele dishwasher in my apartment in Brooklyn. It never fully went away no matter what I did but I propped the door open all the time and it got a little better. Really disappointed in a $1500 dishwasher to have this most basic problem.

 

[rapunzel]

Tap water with a fishy smell?

That's a worry.

 

[rapunzel]

For a dishwasher to stink when it is frequently used and pro

would indicate some design flaw/operational deficiency. I've never owned a dishwasher that smelt. If there ever was an odor it went away with the next wash.

 

[bertrum]

Hi,

Smells from dishwasher are not the appliances fault, if you are running the machine very heavily "sometimes twice a day", you have to use a cleaner to prevent detritus from building up within the machine.

Unfortunatly with smells, 99.9% of the time its cleaning/ wahing ADVICE ONLY as there is nothing to put the tools on to stop this.

This may not be what you want to hear but all dishwashers suffer from this problem particulary if you are using them commercially.

good luck

 

[rapunzel]

You are the expert bertrum,...

but I couldn't disagree more with you. I've owned many different dishwashers. American, European and Australian. The best, most convenient and effective, were the American machines with built-in disposer and maintenance free filtration system. The second best are my current Fisher and Paykel dishdrawers regarding ease of maintenance and keeping the filters clean. The least convenient, from experience, are the European machines with their standard three to four piece filtration systems. I've never had a European machine with a self-cleaning filter and don't know how well they work, but the standard design requires periodic checking. None of the dishwashers I've ever owned have had persistent odor problems. Solids are scraped off dishes before they are loaded and nothing gets pre-rinsed.

My personal experience spans a number of decades now. The concept of a smelly dishwasher is anathema and, in most cases, has to be the result of flawed design, poor maintenance or both.

 

[petek]

We had a Miele for years and it never stunk. I'm thinking there just has to be something somewhere rotting, or stagnant funky water pooling somewhere. It reminds me of the time one of our refrigerated semi-trailers had a huge fishy stink in it. We had that thing power washed, steam cleaned, deodorized time and again and the fishy smell kept returning, we couldn't load it cause no customer would accept it to load their stuff in. Weeks later one guy finally found the problem. The last load it had carried was frozen salmon on ice and a big chunk of now rotting salmon was found in one of the ventways . Why no one thought to check them out before.. well....
Maybe there's some gunk got into one of the spray arms or the pipes leading it to. How you'd check them not sure.. Or else there's funky water somewhere sitting.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Have you tried using a chlorinated DW detergent? The gel forulations have chlorine.

 

[ajer72]

WOW....thanks for the help and thoughts....

Thank you so much for the responses.

 

I am so glad many of you have not had this problem...but it is more common then you would think....google smelly stainless dishwasher.....I know many people may not keep there dishwasher clean like I do...but mine is spotless.  However I must be doing something wrong....

I don't think running the dishwasher every day is too much?? I do run it sometimes twice and that would be when cooking to take care of the prep dishes and other items. I would say my dishwasher runs atleast 7-10 times a week. I said I had bought the Heavy duty cascade used for commerical use because it has the phosphates in it. Not that I am using the dishwasher for commercial use. I thought maybe it was the formula of cascade being changed to Phosphate Free would help...I was wrong another 60 bucks wasted....and the other Product Bubble Bandit....40.00 more....ordered them on the same day....

The Dishwasher was bought in Oct 2010 It started shortly after, would say 2-3 months.

I have tried all different kinds of dishwasher detergents, I have spent...no lie in the last 14 month. I would guess at least 300-400 bucks on detergents and cleaners.

I thought it could be the water...but it never smells ever. I have lived in my townhouse for 5 years, I start out with the builders grade GE Profile (I know horrible) never had a smell...but didn't clean. Then I bought the Top of the line Stainless Steel Kitchen Aid in 2006 costing 1200.00. Did a great job cleaning but the control where the ones on the top and I went through 3 control board 1 under warranty and 2 not ringing in at 200.00 bucks a pop. Then I though oh hurray...see if you can sell a freakin kidney and buy a Miele. Holy Crap I am nearing the end of my rope....

The repairman has been here 3 times and says there is nothing wrong with it.

My dishwasher is not the top of line, it cost 1600.00, the top of lines cost over 2400.00.

Someone asked about it being dry, they have reprogramed the dishwasher to heat the final rinse temp to 165 and run the dry period longer. There isn't a heating element for drying, just for heating the water. I guess the Miele uses some way of drying by moving cool air around the tub, Normally they are dry, just the normal damp top of glasses unless I really focus on loading to angle.

As far as detergents, I have done them all. I have run the dishwasher with a cup of bleach. I have run vinegar, I have tried detergent in the pre wash and lemi shine in the main wash, I have tried so many combination of detergent table spoon, to filling the cups completely up and dumping a bunch more in. Baking soda in the bottom.

But like today, I went to cupboard took out a wine glass smelled fine...but poured the wine and moments later thought I could die it stunk so bad. Sometimes it will stink right at the end of the cycle. other times not...

Now...you might be on to something with the raw eggs, I do give it a quick rinse, but I will really try to make sure it is really clean first....

I do have a question about the "Brand New Kitchen Aid Kuds22" I saw you guys talking about it in CT, I found the post and have emailed the person. I am seriously considering driving from NC to CT to get it I truly don't know what else to do. I had that model in the other house and it was the most amazing dishwasher. No matter what I loaded in there it would be spotless also smell free!  Also it finished the cycle in 60mins vs 2hours it takes mine now. My question is....for a 20 year old dishwasher do I need to be concerned about the seals or dry rot? I have hard wood floors and if I drive 12 hours to buy somethings for 600.00 that leaks and destroys my floors...I truly will be on sucide watch...I have already had to hide my shoe laces....Thoughts?

[this post was last edited: 2/17/2012-23:37]

 

[arbilab]

Does it stink AS SOON AS IT'S DONE? Or hours later? If hours, something is growing in it. Bleach "should" have killed it but apparently not to where it lasts.

All DWs have a sump where water remains. Try this. Put a splash of bleach in a cup of water and pour it in the sump when finished/unloaded. Next day it should smell of chlorine and that's all. NOTHING can grow in bleach.

I grew up with a Westy frontloader that retained water in the boot but it never stunk because it never went more than a day without running. Running MORE should make it stink LESS if that is any indication.

I seldom run my DW but I use it as a drying rack for handwashed dishes so there is always water in it and even THAT doesn't stink. It's hard to imagine what's going on with yours.