Dishwasher Smells Bad? Where the Odor Comes From and How to Fix It

Quick answer

Most dishwasher smells come from food trapped in the filter, spray arms, or bottom of the tub; slimy buildup in the door gasket; or dirty water that sits in the tub or flows back in from the sink drain. Clean the filter and the gasket first, then run an empty cleaning cycle with a dishwasher cleaner or your manufacturer’s vinegar method. A sewage smell that keeps coming back usually points to the drain hose. A burning smell means stop and find the cause before the next cycle.

Match the smell to the cause

A dishwasher doesn’t normally hold on to odors, GE says, so a lasting smell has a cause you can find. KitchenAid suggests naming the type of smell first.

What it smells like	Causes the manufacturers list	Check first
Rotten food, fishy, or garbage	Food trapped in the filter, spray arms, tub bottom, or door edges; dirty dishes left waiting (KitchenAid, Whirlpool, GE, Frigidaire)	Filter, tub bottom
Sour, stale, or rancid	Grease on the filter, walls, spray arms, and gasket (KitchenAid); GE starts with the filter	Filter, cleaning cycle
Sewage, wet dog, or rotten eggs	Standing water; a clogged, kinked, or sagging drain hose; no high loop or air gap, so sink water flows back (KitchenAid, GE); a smelly sink drain or disposal (Samsung, Whirlpool)	Tub, drain hose, disposal
Musty or mildew	Slimy residue in the door gasket folds and trapped moisture (KitchenAid); long periods without use (GE, LG, Bosch)	Door gasket
Burning plastic	Plastic resting on the heating element; packing material on a new install (GE, Whirlpool)	Tub floor, once cool
Plastic, petroleum, or varnish when new	Usually normal and temporary (Whirlpool, GE, LG)	Run normal cycles
Electrical burning or smoke	A service problem, not a cleaning one (KitchenAid)	The breaker

Smell descriptions are rough. KitchenAid notes the same problem can smell different depending on circumstances. Source: GE Appliances, Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag, Bosch, LG, Samsung, and Frigidaire pages listed below

Rotten food or sour smell: clear out trapped food

Whirlpool calls trapped food a primary source of dishwasher odor, and Bosch blames food particles stuck in the filter.

1. Empty the dishwasher and turn off the power.
2. Clear the tub bottom. Remove any food residue, plus any paper, plastic, or other debris blocking the pump inlet (GE).
3. Clean the filter. See how to clean a dishwasher filter for each brand’s steps. KitchenAid says a maintenance-free filter is unlikely to be the source.
4. Clear the spray arm holes with a paper clip (GE), a needle or toothpick (Samsung), or a toothpick (Bosch). Go gently, since GE warns that damaged holes hurt wash performance.
5. Wipe the door edges and the bottom of the door. Residue builds up along the edges (KitchenAid), and Samsung says to wipe the bottom of the door with warm, soapy water.
6. Flush it out. Run the empty dishwasher with a full cup of detergent (GE), or a Quick cycle with detergent and no dishes (LG).

If dishes sit waiting for a full load, run a rinse cycle on the partial load (Rinse Only or Rinse and Hold on some models), as Whirlpool, Frigidaire, and Samsung suggest.

Musty or mildew smell: clean the door gasket

The rubber door gasket stays damp between loads. KitchenAid says the warm, moist inside of a dishwasher can leave a slimy feel or dark residue in its folds, which causes a musty odor.

• Start with soap and water. Wipe the rubber door seals with a damp cloth and mild detergent (Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag) or dishwashing liquid (Bosch’s SHX78CM5N manual). Then dry it completely with a clean towel so the residue doesn’t come back (KitchenAid).
• Samsung’s method is a damp cloth soaked in white vinegar, wiped around the door seal.
• Look for damage while you’re there. A cracked or damaged gasket can lead to leaks, so KitchenAid lists it as a reason to call a technician.

To keep mildew from coming back, let the inside dry. Leave the door slightly open after a cycle (KitchenAid, Samsung) or when the dishwasher won’t be used for a while (Bosch). GE says running it at least once a week usually prevents mildew odor. If the washing machine smells musty too, see Washer Smells Like Mildew?

Run a cleaning cycle the way your brand says

With the filter and gasket clean, an empty cleaning cycle deals with grease and residue you can’t reach. Brands allow different products and give different vinegar instructions, so follow your brand’s row.

Brand	Cleaner product	White vinegar, only as the brand describes it
Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag	affresh Dishwasher Cleaner (or another dishwasher cleaner) in an empty hot cycle. Whirlpool recommends it every 30 days	Whirlpool and KitchenAid: 2 cups in an upright glass measuring cup on the lower rack, Normal cycle, dry option off, no detergent. Whirlpool warns that vinegar is an acid and using it too often could damage the dishwasher
GE	A commercial dishwasher cleaner in an empty hot cycle	1 cup in a bowl on the upper rack, empty hot cycle
LG	A dishwasher cleaner or deodorizer, or 3 tablespoons (1.5 oz) of citric acid in the main detergent compartment on an Auto cycle	7 to 10 oz in a shallow bowl on the upper rack, Auto cycle, no detergent. LG says not to pour vinegar into the base and that too much vinegar can damage the dishwasher
Samsung	A dishwasher cleaning tablet, used as its maker directs, on a Self Clean or Normal cycle	8 oz in a dishwasher-safe glass on the bottom rack, added after the cycle’s first drain. Samsung says not to use detergent and vinegar at the same time
Frigidaire	An empty PowerPlus or Heavy cycle with the Sanitize option	1 cup poured into the tub, empty cycle, no detergent. Frigidaire recommends cleaning every 3 months
Bosch	Bosch dishwasher cleaner a few times a year: one box on the bottom of the tub, hottest and longest cycle. For limescale, Bosch descaler the same way, followed by another wash cycle	Not mentioned on the Bosch pages checked for this article

Run these cycles with no dishes inside and one cleaning product at a time. Your owner's manual has the final word for your model. Source: Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag, GE Appliances, LG, Samsung, Frigidaire, and Bosch support pages listed below

Samsung says hot water cleans better and helps eliminate odors, so run the kitchen faucet until it’s hot before you start. To check the temperature, see Dishwasher Not Cleaning Dishes Well.

Sewage or rotten-egg smell: check the drain path

A sewage or “wet dog” smell usually means dirty water is sitting in the dishwasher or getting back into it, and KitchenAid links both to drainage problems. Rotten eggs belong here too: hydrogen sulfide, the gas behind that smell, is commonly called sewer gas (Washington State Department of Health).

1. Look for standing water. A small amount of water in the filter area is normal, KitchenAid says, because it keeps the seals from drying out. An inch or more pooled in the tub after a finished cycle points to a clog. If water is standing in the tub, work through Dishwasher Not Draining first.

2. Notice when the dirty water shows up. Dirty water that builds up between uses is an installation problem, GE says: the drain hose lacks the high loop or air gap that GE’s instructions require, so sink wastewater can back-siphon into the tub.

3. Check the hose under the sink. Follow the drain hose in the sink cabinet. Whirlpool says its high loop should be at least 20 inches above the floor, with an air gap if it’s lower. Heights vary by brand, so check your installation instructions. If there’s no loop, GE says to contact the installer or a plumber. A clogged, kinked, crushed, or sagging hose can cause the same smell (KitchenAid).

4. Run and clean the garbage disposal. If the dishwasher drains into a disposal, run the disposal, then clean both with a cleaner such as affresh (Whirlpool). KitchenAid also says to make sure the knockout plug has been removed from the disposal’s inlet. If the disposal hums but won’t spin, see Garbage Disposal Humming but Not Spinning.

5. Smell the sink drain. If a smell survives a cleaning cycle, Samsung says it may be coming from the connected sink, so clean the sink drain or disposal. If it still remains, Samsung suggests a plumber.

6. Smell the water at the faucet. If the tap water itself smells like rotten eggs, the dishwasher isn’t the source. Contact your water system, or your well service company if you have a private well, as the Washington State Department of Health advises.

Burning smell: stop and check the heating element

Don’t run another cycle until you know what’s burning.

1. Cancel the cycle and turn off the power at the breaker.
2. Wait for it to cool, at least 30 minutes (Whirlpool).
3. Pull out the lower rack and look at the tub floor. A lightweight plastic dish, lid, or spatula can fall through the bottom rack onto an exposed heating element and melt (GE). Food particles can collect around the element too (Whirlpool).
4. Remove what you find. Scrape melted plastic off the cooled element with a non-metal tool such as a wooden spoon (Whirlpool, GE). Whirlpool says leftover plastic burns off after a few cycles and suggests a rinse or cleaning cycle for the smell.
5. Just installed? Check for packing material on the heating element, as GE suggests.

From then on, wash only dishwasher-safe plastics, on the upper rack (Whirlpool).

If nothing is on the element and it still smells like burning, or you see smoke or damaged wiring, leave the breaker off and call a technician, as KitchenAid advises. Don’t open panels or handle wiring yourself.

Also check for a recall. In October 2017, CPSC announced an expanded recall of about 408,000 more Bosch, Gaggenau, Jenn-Air, and Thermador dishwashers in the U.S. because the power cord can overheat and catch fire. Look up your brand and model number on CPSC.gov.

A new dishwasher with a faint smell is usually fine. A “newness” odor may last several cycles (GE), and a burning-like smell at first use eases after 10 to 20 uses (LG). Whirlpool says a plastic smell fades in about two weeks, a petroleum smell from sound-deadening material in 4 to 6 weeks, and a motor varnish smell in about a month. If the smell gets stronger, or you see smoke, follow the steps above.

How to keep the smell from coming back

• Scrape plates, and don’t let dirty dishes sit. GE reminds owners that a dishwasher is not a food disposer.
• Stay on schedule. Clean the filter at your brand’s interval (see how to clean a dishwasher filter), and run a cleaning cycle about every 30 days (Whirlpool), every 3 months (Frigidaire), or a few times a year (Bosch).
• Let it dry with the door slightly open.

Samsung points out that if the dishwasher drains and runs normally, a service call won’t fix an odor. These cases are different: