Dishwasher Smells Bad in West Hollywood — How to Fix It

You open the dishwasher and there's a smell. Sometimes it's just stale water. Sometimes it's something worse — sour, eggy, like a wet sponge that's been sitting in the sink for a week.

A bad-smelling dishwasher is one of the easiest problems to fix yourself. In most cases you don't need a technician at all. Here's the order we'd check.

1. Clean the filter

This is the answer about 70% of the time.

Every modern dishwasher has a filter at the bottom of the wash tub — a cylindrical mesh assembly under the bottom spray arm. Food particles, bits of pasta, fruit pits, broken glass, and grease all collect there. If you've never cleaned it, that's where the smell is coming from.

How: Pull out the bottom rack. Find the filter (usually a circular cover that twists off — turn counterclockwise). Lift out the filter. Rinse it under hot water with dish soap and a soft brush. Put it back, twisting clockwise until it locks.

Bosch and Miele dishwashers especially need this — they're designed for users to clean the filter monthly. Most owners don't know it exists.

2. Clean the door seal

The rubber gasket around the door catches food, soap residue, and moisture. Mold loves growing in there.

How: Pull the gasket back gently and wipe it with a paper towel and warm soapy water. Get into the corners and the bottom edge where water collects. Once a month is enough.

3. Run a cleaning cycle

After the filter and gasket are clean, run an empty cycle on the hottest setting with one of these:

• A cup of white vinegar in a bowl on the top rack.
• A commercial dishwasher cleaner (Affresh, Finish dishwasher cleaner, or similar — about $5).
• Half a cup of baking soda sprinkled on the floor of the empty dishwasher (run a short hot cycle).

Don't use bleach unless your dishwasher specifically allows it (check the manual). Bleach damages stainless steel interiors.

4. Check the drain hose for a high loop

If the dishwasher smells like a sewer — not just food smell, but a real sewage smell — the problem is usually the drain hose under the sink.

The drain hose has to go up high before going down to the disposal or drain stub. That high loop prevents dirty sink water from flowing back into the dishwasher. If your hose runs flat, sink water and food bits can siphon back into the dishwasher every time you use the sink.

How to check: Open the cabinet under the sink. Look at where the dishwasher hose connects. It should rise up close to the bottom of the countertop before going back down. If it doesn't, you need a plumber to add a high loop or — better — install an air gap on the countertop. This is actually required by code in Los Angeles County.

5. Check the garbage disposal connection

If your dishwasher drains through the garbage disposal (very common in West Hollywood kitchens), make sure the disposal is clean. Run hot water and a half cup of baking soda followed by a cup of white vinegar through the disposal once a month. The smell from a dirty disposal can travel back up the hose into the dishwasher.

6. What if it still smells?

If you've cleaned the filter, the gasket, run a cleaning cycle, fixed the high loop, and cleaned the disposal — and the smell is still there — the cause is usually one of:

• A blocked spray arm. Food gets stuck in the small holes on the spray arms. Pop the arm off and rinse it out.
• A dead drain pump. If the pump isn't fully evacuating water at the end of each cycle, water sits in the sump and gets stagnant. This needs a tech.
• An old check valve. Stuck open, lets dirty water sit in the dishwasher between cycles.

7. What you can safely check yourself

• Clean the filter (most common fix).
• Wipe down the door gasket.
• Run a vinegar or commercial cleaner cycle.
• Check that the drain hose has a high loop.
• Clean the disposal with baking soda and vinegar.

8. When to call a technician

Call us when:

• You've cleaned everything and the smell comes back fast.
• The dishwasher is also leaving water in the bottom after cycles.
• The drain pump sounds weak or doesn't run at all.
• You need help installing an air gap or fixing the drain plumbing.

Most dishwasher smell problems are fixed with a 10-minute filter clean. If a real repair is needed, it's usually $200–$380 parts and labor.