Dishes Smell Like a Wet Dog

[valgigante]

I am looking for help. For almost a year now, our dishwasher produces dishes that smell like a wet dog. We have had it serviced 3 times and a new motor put in, most recently. The dishes still smell. I bought a new set of porceline dishes... still smell. I have tried washing with low heat... better but still smell. I have used commercial cleaners, vinegar, running empty, all the tricks that people have suggested to me. I have recently noticed that our clothes (most noticeably the whites) are not smelling that fresh when they come out of the dryer. Could it be our hot water heater?! It is not the "rotten egg" smell that people talk about. It is just an unclean smell in the clothes. The dishes literally smell like a wet dog. If someone has solved this problem, could you please respond? I would be eternally grateful!
Val Gigante

 

[Jadnashua]

Try turning the WH thermostat up to max and leave it that way for a day or so and see if it makes any difference.

If yo draw a pot of cold water, does it smell?

 

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[Ian Gills]

I wonder if this is sewer gas getting into the dishwasher?

Do you have a P trap on the drain line?

Or is it dirty water getting pulled into the DW? A potentially hazardous situation. Do you have a high loop on the DW drain line or an air gap installed?

Or it could be an old disposal starting to smell, and this smell getting into the dishwasher through the drain line that connects to it?

Does your disposal smell and is it old? Ice might clean it.

I wonder if you washing machine is siphoning dirty water back in as well. How is the drain line plumbed on that? A pipe that hooks over a sink (in which case this is unlikely) or straight into a drain pipe (then this might be possible)?

There are a few possibilities here so it might be worth getting a licensed plumber to diagnose the problem.