Smelly dishwasher and stagnant water- is this normal?

[MrsGrumpyPants]

Our dishwasher is smelly so thought I'd try cleaning the filter/ drainy bit for about the first time ever. I've taken out the bits that seem removable, but at the bottoms there's a cloudy stagnant pool of water. Is this normal? Or does that mean there's a blockage?

And can you put those drain unblocker liquids down?

Will try and attach a photo!

No, that should have clean water in it.

You could try running it on hottest wash with no dishes in, and see if that clears it. Or poke about in there and see if something is stuck.
Or get some soda crystals and run it empty with this in. Soda crystals great for cleaning gunk out of pipes.

Pour a kettle of boiling water in bottom of dw and then put it on the hottest wash with nothing in it just a tablet. Engineer who came out to ours once said you should pour a boiling water into it once a week to clear the congealed fat etc away. Hth

Brilliant thank you both. Have tried some bicarbonate of sofa and white vinegar, and have got it on a hot wash at the moment. Will try again once it's finished with nothing in it.

So there should be some water at the bottom though? But it should be clean?

I disconnected the drainage hose and there did seem to be at least some water pumping out of it

You say you have never cleaned the filter before. Have you looked at the instructions to verify that you have cleaned all parts (mine has three)?

does the grey waste hose attach to the sink U-bend? Have you got some food colouring?

Do you put greasy pans in there without pouring off the fat and wiping out with kitchen roll?

do you keep the salt reservoir topped up?

Was hoping you'd appear PigletJohn!

It's actually heaps better after the booking water and bicarbonate/ vinegar thing. There's much less water at the bottom, and it looks clean. If I now pour a kettle of hot water down, it all pours straight away without standing like it did earlier today.

It's a built in dishwasher that's at least 9 years old, came with the house so no instructions. But I think I've taken out everything and cleaned it, including the pump cover.

Food dye down the pipe is a fab idea!

Um I never top up salt, I buy those all-in-one tablets that I thought had everything in them. You're going to tell me they're rubbish aren't you?

Oh and I did unscrew the salt reservoir before I started all this, and it had standing water in it too. I'm guessing its all connected to the drainage?

I never put pans in the dishwasher as I worry about it damaging the nonstick lining.

But I certainly don't rinse plates etc before putting them in.

the salt bit should have water in it - it gets displaced as you add the salt. You will get a better wash by adding dishwasher salt as the salt in the tablets doesnt activate the salt function of the dishwasher.

you dont need to rinse plates - scraping food off them is fine

Thanks powerhoop, better add salt to my Tesco shop!

just get the own make stuff. I wouldn't pay the extra for branded

I've heard it said many times those 5 in 1, 3 in 1, 2 in 1 etc tables are not good for dishwashers. Your bog standard tablet together with salt and rinser added to the dispensers work much better for the upkeep of the machine.

does the waste pipe connect to the sink waste?

no point using vinegar and bicarb together, they neutralise each other.

if you look on the manufacturer's website, you can probably download the instructions.

Model and serial number are usually engraved on the top edge of the door, unless they have been scoured off.

Yes, the grey waste hose connects to the drainage of the sink. Is there anything else I should check PigletJohn?

Rats am I going to have to buy rinse aid too? How often should I be putting that and the salt in?

It's becoming apparent that I never read the instructions for things, isn't it

Have just checked the salt reservoir and it's still full of water, but clean water now rather than murky, and I can see to the bottom.

when you have reconnected the waste pipe, fill the sink right to the top and add food colouring, pull the plug out, look inside the dwr. Does any coloured water appear in the sump?

it is an easy fix if so.

Salt will depend on usage, it never hurts to fill the reservoir to the top, a jug is easier to use than tipping it from the bag. Every couple of weeks or so. It should never be empty. You will see the inside of the dwr get shinier as the limescale dissolves, especially on the heating element if it is visible (two metal rods, thick as a pencil, usually bent round the bottom of the cabinet)

Thanks PigletJohn. Have just performed a rather smelly expedient involving Turmeric (I didn't have any food dye!) and no water appears in the sump. That's good, I'm hoping??

Experiment not expedient

Good.

Bit of a side track (sorry not trying to hijack the thread)

In my last DW, I added salt to the machine, and for months after, I got rust on the cutlery - to the point we hand washed cutlery. Along with little brown spots on the unsealed rough bits of the bottom of mugs.

I live in a very very soft water area, so do I still need salt? I use all in one tabs and rinse aid, but am scared to ever use salt again.

E1y1- don't know the answer to that, but I've never used salt and we always get those rust marks on cutlery too! We live in a very hard water area. Hoping someone can help you better than me!

if you ask your water co, they will tell you the typical water hardness in your district.

In the instructions for your softener, it will tell you how to adjust the hardness setting to suit. Many Bosch and similar designs have a small blue adjustment dial in the top left hand corner of the doorframe.

Unless the water softener in your machine is severely faulty, there will never be any salt in the water which is used to wash or rinse. The salt is only used to regenerate the resin is the softener vessel.

Rusty cutlery may be due to the quality of steel, some far Eastern stainless is prone to corrosion pits (maybe the size of a pinhead) or more rarely, a thin film of corrosion. The film will polish off with a nylon scourer, the pits won't. The dwr makers recommend opening the door so it can dry off as soon as the cycle is complete.

PigletJohn, you are awesome

More dishwasher info please. Maybe about the last month, I've also noticed there's always drops of water condensing on the undersurface of the worktop that sits on top of the dwr unit. And the laminate surface of the next door cupboard door has started cracking and peeling, like it's getting water or steam in it, or getting too hot. Could this have been related to my blocked drainage? Or is my dwr just stuffed?

About 3 months ago the door hinge suddenly gave way such that there was no tension in it, it flung right open and wouldn't stay locked. Got a local guy from checkatrade rather than Neff as thought would save money. Bad bad idea. He said was dwr lock (replaced) and string tension thing in door (fixed), but once that was done it started pouring water out of one corner all over the floor near the end of the cycle.

About 5 increasingly fraught visits later where he didn't really believe me despite video footage, he changed the seal and cut the floppy loose ends of the seal, and it seems to have stopped leaking.

Could any of this be related? Sorry for essay.

Steam escape probably means the door is not sealing correctly. Perhaps it needs further adjustment.

Neff is a label used by Bosch so there will be lots of experienced menders.

The advertising websites are not very good sources, you usually do better asking around friends and neighbours.

You can usually get a fixed-price repair from the BSH organisation, but it is quite expensive, IIRC more than a hundred pounds.