My dishwasher smelled like wet dog. Here’s what I did to fix it

After several days of rain here in Los Angeles, I walked into my apartment kitchen to smell wet dog. The only problem? I don’t have a dog. I couldn’t pinpoint the source until I went to grab a bowl for breakfast and opened a bowl dishwasherThe smell stuck to all my freshly washed dishes.

I thought the smell had something to do with the rain. After checking Google, I discovered that if heavy rain overloads your septic system, sewage and gases can build up in your drain lines, causing a foul odor. Hoping that the problem would resolve itself once the rain stopped, I hand washed all the dishes and deep cleaned the dishwasher, but no luck.

The smell of wet dog persisted.

Not wanting to call a plumber unnecessarily, I did one last deep search online when I came across this Reddit thread About how leaving eggs on dishes can cause a chemical reaction in the dishwasher resulting in a wet dog smell. I confirmed this with a plumbing expert.

“When the egg material decomposes, it releases hydrogen sulfide gas, which has the classic ‘rotten egg’ or sulfur smell,” he said. Bruce Brookinsa spokesperson for Beacon Plumbing, Heating, Air and Electric. “This odor can also mix with other food debris, moisture, and detergent residue to create a musty odor similar to that of a wet dog.”

A light bulb lit up above my head.

I recently (and dramatically) failed at making egg bites in a muffin tin, and ended up with an egg that seemed permanently stuck to the tin. Thinking the dishwasher would take care of it, I threw the muffin tin on the bottom rack and promptly forgot about it. To compound the problem, the dishwasher couldn’t remove all the eggs the first time, so I lazily put the tray back in, which explains why the smell persists.

How to Fix a Wet Dishwasher Smell

“The solution I would try first is to clean your device Dishwasher filter“After reinstalling the filter, run the dishwasher with the detergent on an empty cycle,” Brookins said. If the filter is not clean after this cycle, repeat the process.

Sure enough, once I removed the egg-shaped muffin pan and cleaned the dishwasher and its filter, the smell went away. And I learned that, as Brookins puts it, “a dishwasher is not designed to handle a lot of solid food waste.”

I will be removing food from all my dishes from now on, even if it means more fat.

Bonus deodorizing tip

Some dishwasher manufacturers, e.g whirlpool and KitchenAidWe also recommend removing unpleasant odors by placing a bowl of white vinegar on the bottom rack of your dishwasher. Not in the rinse aid compartment. Just make sure this matches what your manufacturer recommends in your dishwasher manual.

You don’t want to replace a bad smell in your dishwasher with a bad smell in your sink, so Brookins added that you should clean your dishwasher. Garbage disposal With running water after putting any food waste in it. Run the drain with dish soap and hot water once a week.

Lesson learned

Although this was a valuable science lesson about chemical reactions involving eggs, it also highlighted the importance of… Realistic expectations For devices. While they can do a lot for us, they cannot do everything. Knowing where to draw that line is an important part of ensuring our success Home appliances Work as intended and enjoy a long life, a life that is not interrupted by something as seemingly innocent as a box of egg-covered muffins.