SemiHandyRon
New Member
The Problem: Dishwasher of a year and a half old stinks. Consequently, the dishes come out stinking too. KitchenAid with stainless steel interior.
Background: House is six years old, plumbing (including water inlet line right into the d/w) is copper. Water heater is three months old. Have whole-house carbon filter and water softener. The d/w drain line is mainly the corrugated semi-clear plastic kind that comes with the unit. About two feet on the end is 7/8-inch rubber drain line; this part connects into the garbage disposer.
Even further background: Previous d/w (a Kenmore), which never stank, died at the five-year point. The new d/w (a Kitchen Aid, installed Nov 08) began to stink at the ten-month point (roughly Sep 09). Interestingly, I discovered that the two models were identical when I looked at their underneath sides as they were out on the lawn side-by-side. Thus my two d/ws are of the Whirlpool/KitchenAid ilk. I confirmed that they were installed in identical ways. The installation configuration is to have the drain line looped up high then down into the garbage disposer without an air gap; the installation manual that came with the d/w says this is valid.
What I’ve tried: When the d/w first started stinking I disassembled every interior part I could (spray arms, etc.) for a thorough inspection and cleaning. Used a commercial d/w sanitizer and deodorizer, bleach, etc.--did not work. Used drain cleaner to clean the sewer lines into which the d/w and garbage disposer connect (primarily I used the Zep green-colored enzyme cleaner from Home Depot).
Next, I called warranty repair twice. Service guys from different companies came out, but didn’t fix. Warranty service refused to come out again, saying that odor problems were not covered.
Next (not necessarily in chronological order), I pulled the d/w out to check for leaks and dead critters--none found; sterilized the brine tank on the water softener; sterilized inside of all copper plumbing; removed, inspected, and bleached the rubber part of the d/w drain hose; replaced the garbage disposer with a new one (inspected and cleaned PVC drain pipes while the disposer was being switched out); installed new sink; inspected and confirmed that the d/w check valve is in working order. None of this worked.
One thing has “sort of†worked: pouring the enzyme drain cleaner into bottom of the d/w, hitting the “drain†button for about three seconds to get the cleaner into the drain pump and drain line, then letting it sit overnight (drain and flush thoroughly in the morning). This procedure took the smell away for a couple of months, but now the stink is back. The procedure seems less and less effective now, and there is shorter non-stink times between the stink times. Bleach (used separately from the enzyme cleaner) doesn’t help much.
At this point, I think I’m ready to scrap this d/w and get a new one. Any other ideas?
Background: House is six years old, plumbing (including water inlet line right into the d/w) is copper. Water heater is three months old. Have whole-house carbon filter and water softener. The d/w drain line is mainly the corrugated semi-clear plastic kind that comes with the unit. About two feet on the end is 7/8-inch rubber drain line; this part connects into the garbage disposer.
Even further background: Previous d/w (a Kenmore), which never stank, died at the five-year point. The new d/w (a Kitchen Aid, installed Nov 08) began to stink at the ten-month point (roughly Sep 09). Interestingly, I discovered that the two models were identical when I looked at their underneath sides as they were out on the lawn side-by-side. Thus my two d/ws are of the Whirlpool/KitchenAid ilk. I confirmed that they were installed in identical ways. The installation configuration is to have the drain line looped up high then down into the garbage disposer without an air gap; the installation manual that came with the d/w says this is valid.
What I’ve tried: When the d/w first started stinking I disassembled every interior part I could (spray arms, etc.) for a thorough inspection and cleaning. Used a commercial d/w sanitizer and deodorizer, bleach, etc.--did not work. Used drain cleaner to clean the sewer lines into which the d/w and garbage disposer connect (primarily I used the Zep green-colored enzyme cleaner from Home Depot).
Next, I called warranty repair twice. Service guys from different companies came out, but didn’t fix. Warranty service refused to come out again, saying that odor problems were not covered.
Next (not necessarily in chronological order), I pulled the d/w out to check for leaks and dead critters--none found; sterilized the brine tank on the water softener; sterilized inside of all copper plumbing; removed, inspected, and bleached the rubber part of the d/w drain hose; replaced the garbage disposer with a new one (inspected and cleaned PVC drain pipes while the disposer was being switched out); installed new sink; inspected and confirmed that the d/w check valve is in working order. None of this worked.
One thing has “sort of†worked: pouring the enzyme drain cleaner into bottom of the d/w, hitting the “drain†button for about three seconds to get the cleaner into the drain pump and drain line, then letting it sit overnight (drain and flush thoroughly in the morning). This procedure took the smell away for a couple of months, but now the stink is back. The procedure seems less and less effective now, and there is shorter non-stink times between the stink times. Bleach (used separately from the enzyme cleaner) doesn’t help much.
At this point, I think I’m ready to scrap this d/w and get a new one. Any other ideas?
