Why Does Your Dishwasher Stink?

Have you opened up your dishwasher only for a funk to waft up from it? As an appliance charged with washing your dishes, the dishwasher should also be pretty self-cleaning. As such, if you are smelling something awful from the inside, it is not part of normal function. The good news is that bad smells in your dishwasher can only have a handful of causes. If your dishwasher is stinky, here is what to look for.

Clean the Filter

If you catch a nasty whiff of something in your dishwasher, your first step should be to check the filter. In order to prevent clogs inside the dishwasher drain system or the drain hoses, every dishwasher comes equipped with a drain filter. This fine mesh catches larger food particles. However, these particles can build up on the filter. If the filter is not cleaned, it will become quite smelly.

Ideally, you should clean the dishwasher filter every month if you have a lot of food stuck on dishes. This will help prevent smells from happening again.

Clogged Drain

It is also possible that the filter didn’t actually work so well. If you have a clogged drain, even a partially clogged one, it can cause smells. Essentially what is happening in the wash water isn’t draining away fully and it is lingering. It is also possible that you are smelling a drain clog from inside the system. While clearly, a drain clog takes some disassembly, it also merits mentioning that you will need to rewash your dishes. Clogs can prevent wash water from draining fully. This means that your dishes may be contaminated.

As clogs can lead to contaminated dishes, this is why it is so important to investigate smells as soon as you smell them in your dishwasher. The best case is you just need to rinse your filter off. However, if it is a serious clog, it can pose a hazard to your health.