Add lemon juice or baking soda to the detergent dispenser.
Emptying the dishwasher and finding dishes with a foul odor isn't unusual. Odor generally results from a dirty dishwasher. If you discover that your dishwasher is transferring a fishy or musty odor onto dishes, clean it out. After a good cleaning, the odor should disappear and dishes should leave the dishwasher smelling fresh and clean.
How Bad Smell Occurs
Although rinsing dishes before placing them in the dishwasher isn't usually necessary, scraping food remnants from plates and bowls keeps large particles from ending up in the filter or crevices of the machine. Over time, leftover food accumulates in these areas and begins to smell. The dishwasher can transmit the odor to dishes during the drying cycle. Unless the machine is cleaned out periodically, the smell will persist.
Clean the Filter
Not all dishwashers have filters that automatically clean themselves once a collection of food debris develops. Certain dishwashers, especially older ones, require that you remove the filter and manually clean it with soap and water. Consult your dishwasher manual for filter cleaning instructions.
Clean the Dishwasher
Thoroughly scrub the dishwasher with a small brush that has been immersed in a cleaning solution of dish soap and hot water. Go over the entire cavity to get into gaps and crevices as well as the rubber door seal. For baked-on food, use an abrasive cleaner like baking soda mixed with hot water to form a paste. Once you're finished scrubbing, wipe down the inside of the dishwasher with a clean, damp cloth to remove soap and dirt. Repeat this step as needed until the machine is fully clean.
Prevention
Food debris has a better chance of becoming trapped in gaps of the machine when too little water is used during the wash cycle. Avoid using the kitchen faucet when the machine is filling with water so as not to divert water resources from the washing machine as it fills. Run the rinse cycle a second time or set the machine to "sani-rinse," which is an extra rinse cycle used to increase the amount of water the dishwasher uses. The more water you use, the better chance that food particles will get flushed down the drain and won't linger in the machine, producing an unpleasant odor.
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