What Causes Those Bad Dishwasher Smells?

Q. Why does my dishwasher smell funky?

A. Check your filter. Those bad dishwasher smells could be coming from food residue that’s collected there, according to appliance tester Larry Ciufo. European dishwashers have always used a self-cleaning filter to combat such dishwasher smells. But American manufacturers have self-cleaning and manual filters, and not everyone knows that the latter should be cleaned periodically so that you don't get that funky dishwasher smell. Read your owner’s manual to see what kind of filter you have and how the manufacturer recommends cleaning it or dealing with bad dishwasher smells. If you find that the smell lingers, you could try using a dishwasher-cleaning product. We haven’t tested any, so we can’t recommend a specific one.

For buying advice and related information check our Dishwasher Buying Guide.

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Editor's Note: This article also appeared in the March 2016 issue of Consumer Reports magazine.



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