Appliances Discussions

What, exactly, is the odor? What does it smell like?

Good question.  It doesn't smell like spoiled eggs or a musty smell.  It is just a stinky smell (like garbage) that shouldn't be in a dishwasher that is loaded with clean dishes washed the night before and opened in a.m. next day.  After the washer finishes now, I leave the door open a little bit and unload whenever. 
Next washing I'll leave the door closed and open when unloading. I'll smell what happens then.
Just very puzzling.   
Thanks for replying.

I know that the plastics and nylon can have an odor that's slightly chemical in nature, and those odors will dissipate with time and use. Every dishwasher that we display starts out with the same smell. It's how the come off the assembly line. If it's not a chemical smell, you might want to check that your discharge hose is installed correctly. You may need to loop it so it creates a vapor trap, which can prevent the odors from the drain pipe from backing into the dishwasher.

pull out the lower rack and look around the heat element and see if something has fallen down around it.

You own one of my favorite dishwashers made.  This KitchenAid dishwasher utilizes the EQ wash system which would be the first thing I would check as it is the easiest thing to do.  It is the small removable filter like device at the bottom of the dishwasher that is below the wash arm and is surrounded by the heating element.  Depending on the status of the dishes before you put them in the dishwasher you should check this filter semi-annually to monthly.  It is possible for a food particle or piece of bone to become stuck in there.  Remove it by turning it counter clock wise about one quarter of a turn and rinse it in the sink.  If there is nothing in there I would definitively pursue the discharge hose option.  I hope you enjoy how quite that particular machine is.  Don't forget to use the MPA's annual Preventative Maintenance check to keep your dishwasher running smoothly!

Thanks also to terryf & Va BlueCrew for their imput.  We just bought the DW on June 25th.  I checked the inside filters, etc. and my husband checked the discharge hose which goes into an open stationary tub drain which has a gooseneck.  (thats a whatever for me??) Anyway I am about to do another load, so we shall see what happens this time.  I really love it, so I hope this problem go's away. Could be like you said a new plastic/nylon smell. So far the dishes come out beautiful - dry and sparkling clean.
I'll keep you posted.  Just asking, but have there been other complaints about this dishwasher? 

None that I've ever seen regarding smell issues (this also includes the Kenmore 1312X and any other triple-filtration dishwashers made by Whirlpool). The wash system in these dishwashers is fantastic, though, so you should continue to enjoy incredibly clean dishes and silverware with very quiet operation and high efficiency. Very cool.

Hey JustPerplexed-Because your washer is so new, you might as well call 1-800-4-MY-HOME and have them come out to take a look.  Glad to hear the dishes are coming out clean, though!

Thank you for that suggestion.  If the odor is back after washing this load, I'll will be sure to consider your suggestion.
There is an answer here I know.   Wow, it's great to see that others want to help solve problems that can arise.  This Discussion Board is great - thank you everyone!
Again I will keep you informed as to whether the smell goes away, (forever I hope!)
God bless! 

We have the same problem with our kitchen Aid stainless steel tub dishwasher that I bought in May. The smell is an awful smell and it only happens when the dishes hit the cool air out of the dishwasher. At time, it would be on only some dishes. We are going out of minds with this wet dog smell dishes.

Are you using rinse aid?  Most (if not all) stainless steel dishwashers require the use of rinse aid in them.  i.e. Jet Dry, Cascade, etc.

Perhaps the rinse cycle is not working properly.

Patrick

Thanks for the response.  yes, I have a wash aid and tried many different type of  detergent, but nothing worked.  I had a plumber out to check on the plumbing, no issues there.  Had Culligan out too to see if my soft water had issues, but no issues there either.  Could it be the machine.  Oh, and this is my second kitchen Aid since May.  The first Kitchen Aid had the wet dog smell to the dishes.  We thought it was a lemon and Lowes replaced it with the identical new one, and still the same problem.  Is it my plumbing?  Help!!

You know, a few things to look at, do you have "hard water" Have you ever ran "Glisten" through your cycle? It cleans the inside and has a fresh scent. You may have something small in your impeller in the pump screen, I see it all the time. You can buy "Glisten" from your friendly "SEARSTECH" or in your case "A&E TECH" when they come out to take a look at it. Also be sure to inquire about a MPA. I know they get a ton of bad reviews but those are from the customers who waited to call in weeks after the MPA was out of warr time period. Just call 1-800-905-9505 if you bought it from Lowes, 1-800-4MY-HOME from Sears....;)

I'm guessing it's the plumbing if it smells like sewer. The stinkpipe may be plugged up. Do you get the same smell in your sink? I have a Kitchenaid too (that smells fine) and the sink has a separate stinkpipe right thru the wall.

Could you tell me what is a stink pipe?  I do have an air vent.  And yes, I have the smell coming from both sinks.  I'm thinking that the water that comes throught the dishwasher is not draining completely. But, not sure either. I'm having a friend coming over tomorrow to redo all of my under the sink plumbing, hopefully, this issue will be resolved.  Thanks for your advise. JLV 

I would check how the drain hose is connected, you need a high loop in the drain hose, that is a loop that keeps the hose higher than the water level of the Dishwasher, this will prevent siphoning, and will also provide a goose neck trap to keep odors from backing up the hose and into the Dishwasher

No one has mentioned if the dishwasher is plumbed through a garbage disposal? , if so , this may be another item to check for "smell". Most states ( per Uniform Plumbing Code) , prohibit the plumbing of a dishwasher discharge hose into a garbage disposal port  for fears of backup in the GD and into to the DW.

creating an air gap is standard install requirement, in addition, you may want to add an "inline backflow preventer" which only allow liquid to go in one direction.

Then the air vent may be plugged, but its pretty definitely a plumbing issue. Terry is pretty sharp on this stuff, that high loop prevents odors from coming back into the dishwasher thru the drain line just like the gooseneck under the sink.

We don't have a garbage disposal. The plumber came today and re routed the plumbing, included an air vent replacement and hose adjustments.  We then bleached the DW and vinegar it then did a wash.  The dishes still smell.  We don't know what to do.

We just bought a KA stainless tub DW, it was installed on Thursday.  And yep, it smells!  I think wet dog is an appropriate way to describe the smell.  This is unique to the DW as just 5 days ago (with old DW) we did not have this issue.  We run our DW approx 2-3 times per day.  So it's already been run probably 7 or 8 times and there is definitely a smell.  I noticed it as soon as I opened it after the first load was run :(

I found out an interesting fact about using Garbage Disposals; don't put food in them BEFORE turning them on.

What?

The first few rotations can send unchopped food into the exit port, which is bound to eventually clog the machine and "may" be generating that smell.

The cold water flow has to be established, with the disposal "running" before food can be effectively disposed of using the undersink machine.

Did everyone else already know this?

New to me.

Hope this helps.

Hi laundryismylife-Welcome to MySears-I like your screen name! 

You should give Sears a call if the smell persists.  They will come out, at no cost to you, to check out where that odor is coming from.  1-00-4-MY-HOME is the number.

Let us know what the repair tech says-that could be good information for others on the community.

We have the same problem with the wet dog smell on dishes...not just after they come out of the dishwasher, but before as well. I've noticed that any plate, bowl, pan, etc., that had any kind of animal product on it (egg, dairy, meat) has this wet dog smell. It's especially bad with metals. (Our dishwasher is Kitchen Aid with a stainless steel tub.) The only way I've gotten rid of it is by washing by hand with bleach. There is some kind of reaction going on with the animal proteins in the food and the dishes. You'd think washing in the dishwasher would get rid of it. I've been searching for solutions and no one can figure it out. Maybe someone with a science/chemistry background could help?

I thought I had resolve the problem by installing a check valve to insure a one way draining.  It worked for about three days and I'm back with the same wet dog smell again.  The check valve was the advise from a Kitchen Aid tech.  I've put a call into the plumber to figure out what the next step would be.  Does anyone here know if this could be a softwater and stainless steel tub issue? 

Laundryismylife, do you have a softwater system?