It’s a tale as old as time: You open your dishwasher to do a load of dishes, and a giant wave of nausea sweeps over you as an unbridled, nasty reek pummels your nostrils into sadness and submission.
Yup. Something is definitely, totally, 100 percent wrong. The good news is that there is a solution for your problem. Several, in fact! First, let’s try to figure out what is causing that smell and get to the root of the problem.
Trapped in the Filter
The first thing you want to check when your dishwasher smells worse than two-month-old roadkill that’s been baking in the hot sun like an omelet of death and disease is the washer’s filter/trap. When was the last time you cleaned your filter? Have you ever even looked at the filter? Did you even know that your dishwasher had a filter? Well, now you do. You’re welcome.
We aren’t here to judge! Just to help. Clean that sucker out, and see if that helps the smell problem at all. If not, keep reading. We’ll get to the bottom of that smell even if it kills our noses first.
A Home for Mold
Remember when we said we weren’t here to judge? We really mean it. We’re just trying to help you keep your appliances in the best shape possible. We want your stuff to last as long as it can.
With that in mind, we do have one small little question: How often do you do dishes? This is a totally judgement free zone, so be honest. If the answer is “Not that often,” then that could be part of the problem.
If you leave your dishwasher closed for long periods of time, it creates an environment for mold to take over. There are a few ways to avoid this: You can wash dishes more often – you even save water by washing them in a dishwasher versus washing them by hand! – or you can make sure to leave your dishwasher open just a crack to let it air and dry out.
Of course, if The Rot has already taken hold, you may need to give it a deep cleaning, as well.
What Lies Below
Despite the best laid plans of mice and men, it is possible that your washer’s odor issue is not because of something you did. It could be a problem that was out of your own hands.
If you’ve cleaned and scrubbed and rub-a-dub-dubbed and your dishwasher still smells, then you might want to check underneath and behind the dishwasher. Be primed for the worst, however: It’s possible that a rodent died underneath it and is the source of all your problems. Sob.
Of course, these are only a few possible reasons why your dishwasher may have turned into a party for scents and rodents. Maybe your dishwasher is too far gone, and there is no turning back from the dark and dingy road your neglect has set your dishwasher upon. If that’s the case, there is only one solution that will work: Buying a new one.
That doesn’t have to be a painful solution, though. Come on down to our store and check out our selection, and we’ll help you find a dishwasher that will best suit your needs. Just, please, try to clean and care for this one more often!