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Question

I very recently started noticing that some of the dishes coming out of my dishwater smell terrible. It's hard for me to describe the smell, but the closest description I can come up with is wet dog.

Some more details:

• The dishwasher is a relatively ancient Maytag MDB5130AWQ
• I started having this problem only about a week ago after years of successful dish washing
• The smell seems to affect mainly glass and sometimes metal objects, but not plastic
• It's not every dish in a load - some glasses will smell fine, some make me gag
• It doesn't happen every load
• I'm on well water and have a septic system

I've tried:

• Taking the dishwasher apart and cleaning the filters (this video shows the internals of my dishwasher)
• Running multiple dishwasher cleaning products
• Using the heated dry option
• Begging the dishwasher to behave
• Running dishes in multiple cycles

I don't notice any smells coming from the sink, my water, or anywhere else in the kitchen. What could it be? I'd like to avoid buying a new dishwasher if at all possible.

Edit:

A couple more things I've tried with no change in results:

• Changing detergents
• Confirming that the water is hot while washing
• Running an empty load with vinegar

Answer 1

You've tried reasonable trouble-shooting (even politely addressing the washer ;-) One more thing to try:

Run a full, hot, cycle with a cup or two of white (distilled) vinegar, and no detergent or rinse aid. Then put clean glasses and other dishware in for whatever cycle you normally use, but without detergent or rinse aid.

• If the glassware still has a bad smell, the issue is with hardware -- e.g.,
  • Sulfides or other chemicals in the well water
  • Grease and food in the drain line from the dishwasher: Consider replacing the inexpensive flex drain tube
  • The food waste chopper inside the dishwasher is fouled or broken: see this video for example
  • Decay or dead insects behind or under the washer
• If the glasses no longer have a foul odor, consider using a different detergent and/or rinse aid. Some brands change formulation, e.g., using enzymes to replace phosphates.

Answer 2

To me this sounds like "zankha", a smell which lingers on tableware which has been used with eggs or meat and then washed in hot water. Apparently only some people can smell it. The key is to wash egg- and meat-contaminated tableware with cold water or vinegar before using hot water, detergent, or putting it in the dishwasher.