How to Keep The Dishwasher From Smelling Between Washes?

Knowing how to keep dishwasher from smelling between washes starts with understanding why it happens in the first place. Most of the time, it comes down to one of three things: trapped food debris, standing water, or poor airflow inside the tub. Whirlpool’s own odor-removal guide points to the same short list, and each cause has a specific, quick fix.

Below, we’ll cover how to keep dishwasher from smelling between washes step by step: what’s actually causing the smell, the cleaning steps that fix it, and the daily habits that keep it from coming back. This guide applies to any standard U.S. dishwasher, including double-drawer models, where each drawer needs its own attention.

Key Takeaways

• Most dishwasher odors trace back to food debris in the filter, standing water that breeds mold, or a closed door trapping moisture inside.
• Cleaning the filter and running a vinegar cycle once a month handles the majority of cases.
• Leaving the door cracked open after each wash is the single easiest habit for preventing odors, since it lets trapped moisture dry out.
• If the smell persists after cleaning everything, the cause is likely a drain-line blockage or a mechanical issue that needs a closer look.

What Causes a Dishwasher to Smell

Food residue is the most common culprit. Scraps that slip past the filter or cling to the spray arms and door seals start to break down and smell, especially anything with fish, egg, or dairy in the mix. Standing water is the second cause: if water doesn’t fully drain after a cycle, it sits in the tub and becomes a breeding ground for mold and mildew. That’s not just an odor problem. The EPA’s guidance on mold and moisture notes that damp materials should dry out within 24 to 48 hours to keep mold from establishing itself, and a dishwasher tub with leftover water is exactly the kind of damp environment that invites it. Third, poor ventilation compounds both problems. A closed door traps humidity inside, and that warm, damp air is what lets mildew take hold between cycles. Understanding these three causes is the first real step in learning how to keep dishwasher from smelling between washes for good, rather than just masking the odor after it shows up.

A sewage-like smell, rather than a food or mildew smell, usually points to something further downstream: a clogged drain line rather than debris in the tub itself.

Matching the Smell to the Cause

The type of smell is a useful shortcut for figuring out where to start. A smell like rotten vegetables, fish, or old cheese almost always means food debris decomposing somewhere in the filter, spray arms, or door seals. A musty, damp smell, closer to a wet basement than rotting food, points to mold or mildew from standing water or trapped humidity. A sewage or drain smell suggests the problem is downstream in the drain hose or garbage disposal connection rather than inside the tub itself. Starting with the smell narrows down which of the fixes below to try first, rather than working through the whole list from top to bottom every time.

How to Keep Dishwasher From Smelling Between Washes: Step-by-Step Cleaning

Clean the Filter

The filter sits at the bottom of the tub, usually under the lower spray arm, and it’s where most trapped food ends up. Look for a round or rectangular cover; twist or lift it out depending on your model. Rinse it under warm water, then use a soft brush or old toothbrush to scrub off any grease or buildup that’s clinging to the mesh. Give the area underneath a quick wipe too, since debris often collects around the filter housing as well as inside it. Snap or twist the filter back into place once it’s clean, and confirm it’s seated correctly. A loose filter can rattle or let debris bypass it entirely. Do this at least once a month, and more often if your household runs the dishwasher daily.

Wipe Down the Door Seals

The rubber gasket around the door traps moisture and food particles on every cycle, and over time that turns into a breeding ground for grime and odor. Wipe it down with a damp sponge and mild dish soap, paying attention to the folds and creases where the door hinges, since that’s where debris hides most easily. Run your finger along the full perimeter of the seal as you go. It’s an easy way to also catch cracks or stiff spots before they turn into a leak.

Run a Vinegar and Baking Soda Cycle

Place a dishwasher-safe bowl with a cup of white vinegar on the top rack of an empty dishwasher and run a hot cycle. Vinegar cuts through grease and neutralizes food odors. Follow it with a short cycle using a cup of baking soda sprinkled across the bottom of the tub, which handles any smell the vinegar left behind. Once a month is plenty. Running this more often than that isn’t necessary and can be harder on some interior finishes over time.

Leave the Door Cracked Open After Washing

This is the simplest habit on the list and arguably the most effective. Leaving the door open an inch or two after each cycle lets trapped humidity escape instead of condensing inside the tub overnight. It costs nothing and takes no extra time, and it directly addresses the ventilation cause described above. If you only adopt one habit from this guide, this is the one that does the most to keep dishwasher from smelling between washes.

Watch: Deep Cleaning a Smelly Dishwasher

If you’d like to see a full filter cleaning and vinegar cycle in action, this walkthrough covers the process from start to finish.

Loading Habits That Prevent Odors

Good loading habits are an easy way to practice how to keep dishwasher from smelling between washes without adding any extra steps to your routine. Scrape large food particles off dishes before loading them. You don’t need to fully pre-rinse (most detergents are formulated to handle light residue), but big chunks that get past the filter are what lead to clogs and standing water down the line. Avoid overloading the racks, too. When dishes are packed too tightly, the spray arms can’t rotate freely, water doesn’t reach every surface, and leftover debris has more chances to get trapped instead of washing away. Load larger items on the bottom rack and smaller ones on top, and leave enough clearance between dishes for water and soap to circulate through the whole load. If you’re consistently cramming in more than the rack comfortably holds, that’s also worth factoring into how often you run a cycle rather than always waiting for a completely full load.

Advanced Fixes for Persistent Odors

Run a Commercial Cleaner Cycle Monthly

A dedicated dishwasher cleaner (run empty, following the package instructions) breaks down grease, soap scum, and odor sources that a vinegar cycle alone might miss. It’s a good complement to filter cleaning, not a replacement for it.

Check the Drain Hose and Line

If the smell persists after cleaning everything above, inspect the drain hose for kinks or visible buildup, usually accessible from the back of the unit. Unplug the dishwasher first, then detach the hose and run a long brush or pipe cleaner through it to clear debris before reattaching. Our guide on how to clean a dishwasher drain hose walks through this in more detail, including the no-removal method if you’re short on time. A drain hose that’s connected to a garbage disposal can also carry disposal odors back into the dishwasher. Cleaning the disposal with ice cubes and citrus peels often resolves that side of the problem.

Long-Term Maintenance Habits

A few recurring habits keep odors from becoming a repeat problem. Schedule a deep clean every few months to catch the hard water deposits and residue that a quick wipe-down misses, especially if you’re in an area with hard water where mineral scale builds up alongside grease and food debris. Run an occasional high-temperature or sanitize cycle, since hot water helps dissolve grease and kill bacteria that a normal cycle might not fully clear; once a month is a reasonable cadence for most households. Check the door gasket periodically for cracks or flattened sections. A worn seal doesn’t just risk leaks (which create the same standing-water problem that causes odors in the first place); it also lets warm, moist air escape unevenly around the door, giving mildew more places to take hold along the frame. If your dishwasher has started leaking as well as smelling, our guide on what causes a dishwasher to leak covers the most common sources and how to trace them. And if your household doesn’t run enough loads to keep the tub from sitting damp between washes, see our guide on how often you should run your dishwasher for guidance on finding a cadence that keeps both cleaning performance and odor control in check.

When to Call a Professional

If you’ve cleaned the filter, wiped the seals, run a vinegar cycle, and checked the drain hose, and the smell still won’t go away, that usually points to something beyond routine maintenance, like a clog deeper in the drain pump or mold that’s established itself somewhere you can’t easily reach, such as inside the pump housing or behind the sump cover. A persistent sewage-like odor in particular is worth a professional look rather than repeated at-home cleaning attempts, since it often means the issue sits past the point a filter clean or vinegar cycle can reach.

What you’ll need for routine odor maintenance: a soft brush or old toothbrush, white vinegar, baking soda, a damp sponge, and mild dish soap. None of it is specialized, and most households already have everything on hand.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best way to keep dishwasher from smelling between washes?

Clean the filter monthly and run a vinegar cycle about once a month as well. Wipe down the door seals every couple of weeks if you run the dishwasher daily, and always leave the door cracked open after a cycle to let moisture escape.

Is it normal for a brand-new dishwasher to have a smell?

A faint plastic or “new appliance” smell in the first few cycles is normal and fades on its own. A food, mildew, or sewage smell in a new unit is not normal and is usually a sign of an installation issue, like a drain hose without a proper high loop.

Can I use bleach instead of vinegar to clean my dishwasher?

Avoid it unless your dishwasher’s interior is explicitly rated for it. Bleach can damage stainless steel interiors and rubber gaskets over time, and it isn’t necessary. Vinegar and baking soda handle the vast majority of odor causes safely.

Why does my dishwasher smell worse after I’ve been away?

Standing water left in the tub between trips has extra time to grow mold and mildew before you run another cycle. Run an empty cycle when you return, and consider cracking the door open before you leave for extended periods, if that’s practical in your kitchen.

Learning how to keep dishwasher from smelling between washes really comes down to a short list of habits: clean the filter and seals monthly, run a vinegar cycle to reset the interior, leave the door cracked open to dry, and scrape dishes before loading. Stay on top of those, and a bad smell should be the exception rather than something you brace for every time you open the door.