This was the phone call I got recently from a buddy of mine who was single and just moved into a new apartment. He wanted to know why his Bosch dishwasher smells bad and could I suggest a fix for him.
It is very common for people to empty their dishwashers and find the dishes washed still foul smelling. In most cases, people blame the smell on the automatic dish washing detergent but this is not the case.
Sometimes the smell engulfs the entire kitchen and the kitchen gets a stinking garbage like smell.
The worst smelling dishwashers not only spreads disgusting smell in the kitchen but may also get spread out to other rooms with passing time. It is unhygienic and is also very embarrassing for the owners.
The smell does not allow people to invite guests to their houses nor does it allow the house members to live comfortably. Yes, it can get that serious!
Why dishwashers smell?
The basic reason of dishwasher smells is simple – a dirty dishwasher. With prolong use of the appliance, tiny food particles get collected in the filter of the appliance or in the sides and edges of the machine.
The particles after a while start to smell and the same gets transmitted through the dishwashers to the dishes in the drying cycle of the machine. In order to omit the smell the dishwashers have to be cleaned timely. If not done, then the odor will persist.
Another reason for dishwasher smells is faulty plumbing reasons. Due to faulty plumbing the dishwasher emits sewage like smell as the drain drains out water slowly or the water gets stagnated in one place.
The smell can be due to the dishwasher pipe being connected with the kitchen sink pipe. In such a case, the odor has a sour or a pungent smell as in this case the smell is a combined smell of decomposing food and residual soap.
Dishwasher also emits smells if it is not installed properly. In cases of defective installations, there is a leakage of cleansing utensils water in the floor and also in the insides of the machine, in such cases the dishwasher smells strongly once the leaked water is dried up and collected garbage gets left behind.
Simple tips to eliminate dishwasher smells
- One of the easiest steps to eliminate dishwasher odor is to add lemon peels to the dishwasher. By doing so not only the foul smelling odors are eliminated but also the dishes smell fresh and lemony. Other than lemon peels, half cut lemon too can be kept in the machine while cleaning the dishes.
- Another simple tip to keep the dishwasher odorless is by drying the parts of the dishwasher like racks and trays under the heat of the sun. Sun’s heat dries the racks and trays and strip away any kind of odor from the machine.
- People can also use baking soda for cleaning their dishwashers as baking soda absorbs every kind of dishwasher smell and leaves the dishwasher clean and odor-free.
- Another household ingredient which is very useful in cleaning the dishwasher is vinegar. It cleans the dishwasher thoroughly and also removes all kinds of strains and smells leaving the dishwasher sparkling clean. In case one does not have vinegar, he or she can clean the dishwasher using unsweetened lemonade.
- The dishwasher’s door should be kept slightly open when it is not in use. This allows good ventilation as there is an air circulation. Due to the constant air circulation, the dishwasher remains dry and foul odor free.
Ways to keep the smell out
Now that the causes of dishwasher smellsare listed out, here, below are some solutions given to the problem:
- Rinse and eliminate the source of smell: As the main cause of dishwasher smells is due to residual food particles and the related clogging, it is very important to rinse the dishes once before turning on the dishwasher. Utensils should be cleaned on regular intervals and not stacked for a long time so that the leftover food particles do not rot and thus the chances of smelly dishwasher is less.
- Clean the dishwasher regularly: Although the main work of the dishwasher is to clean utensils and there are many water and soap cycles involved in the process, the dishwasher itself does not get cleaned with these runs. The dishwasher has to be cleaned individually on regular basis so that no residual food particles or soap residues are left behind which can cause foul odor if left unattained. While cleaning the dishwasher, special emphasis should be given in cleaning the doors and seals of the machine.
Change detergents: Detergents play a very important role in cleaning and neutralizing the smell of the dishwasher. A good detergent boosts up the dishwasher in its every cycle run. While choosing detergents, people should not go for the scented detergents but should buy those detergents which have bacteria killing bleach and odor balancing baking soda. This is so because the scented ones clean the dishwasher temporarily while the other one cleans the appliance properly.
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