One day, during a conversation with my in-laws, they were discussing the fact that their dishwasher smells bad. This made me remember about a conversation I had with a friend of mine a few months ago. Therefore, we decided to write an update about this frequent issue.
Most of those smells appear in between two wash cycles, and can appear especially fast during summertime, when the temperature in our houses is hotter. Indeed, hot temperature allows bacteria to develop faster, especially inside closed areas such as in a dishwasher. To avoid these unpleasant dishwasher smells, here are a few solutions:
- Take some time to regularly clean your dishwasher’s filter because this is the part where you will find most of the food residues. To do so, simply remove the filter and clean it with soap and lukewarm water;
- Use some vinegar to dissolve the dirt hidden in the hardest crannies of the appliance. Just pour 2 cups at the bottom, then start a wash cycle (the dishwasher must be empty);
- Never hermetically close the dishwasher in between 2 wash cycles. A small opening of 1 centimeter is enough to allow the air to circulate but mostly to allow the humidity to escape the interior of your dishwasher. Therefore, bacteria development will slow down;
For those that don’t use their dishwasher on a regular basis because they live alone, or they are in a couple, here is another tip. If you wait 4 to 5 days for your dishwasher to be full before using it, bacteria will have more time to develop, thus causing strong dishwasher smells. In this case, several dishwashers models have a rinse mode that you can start beforehand and that will help you get rid off most of the food residues on your plates. This will reduce bacteria development until your next wash cycle, as well as diminish the dishwasher’s odours.