I wash dishes often with expencive fairy liquid. Allso I keep sink and dish accessories clean and hygienic as possible. Allmost all my dishes smell horrible and I have tried several tricks to get the smell out.
Answers (26)
It is probably your hot water supply which is causing this. Such wet dog smells can often be a problem especially if you have a typical large copper cylinder hot water tank. You cannot normally notice the smell in the water itself, but after washing dishes the smell becomes noticeable on the dishes as they begin to dry. You can check whether this is the cause of the problem in your case simply by washing your dishes once again using only cold water from a running cold water tap and using a clean piece of kitchen roll. The smell on the dishes should disappear after performing a thorough cold water wash. If this turns out to be the case then you may be able to minimize the problem by turning up the thermostat on your hot water cylinder to its maximum value for about 12 hours or so and then run the hot water until it begins to go cool. Then turn the thermostat back to a value which is maybe ten or more degrees higher than you usually have it.
Mike
this was the problem for me,
Many thanks for your help
If you have cats or dogs and r washing there food bowls in sink or dishwasher that will make ur plates smell like dirty dog water we wash them with outside tap in garden and smell gone
We have the wet dog smell off and on on the clean dry dishes and its been going on several years. I've seen lots of peoples suggestions and answers and would like to set the record straight on what it isn't caused by:
1. Its not related to a dishwasher. It happens when I handwash as well
2. It has nothing to do with pet dishes being washed with regular dishes. We NEVER do this.
3. Its not the soap, because it happens with handwashed dishes and dishwasher washed dishes which use totally different types of detergent.
4. Letting the water run ahead of time does nothing. I run the water to rinse the dishes and the smell is still there
5. It has nothing to do with municipal water treatment methods. We are on a well.
6. It is not because of a dirty dishcloth. It can happen with a brand new j-cloth
7. It is not caused by an old hot water heater as we had it with the old one and we just got a new one and smell was there tonight.
I have no idea why it happens, and why it doesn't happen every time I do dishes. Using bleach does seem to help which says to me it is bacteria related, or maybe something like sulphur but not sure where it is coming from. We do have a problem with iron in our water and a rotten egg smell in the hot water. This is caused by anaerobic sulphur bacteria in the water and is worsened by having a water softener. We cranked to heat to max on the heater which helped the rotten egg smell but not the dog smell.If anyone figures it out let me know because I'm ready to smash all.my dishes when it happens.
I can confirm that outside air is the identified culprit in out "wet dog" smelling dish mystery. we live very close to a swampy area and often open the sliding glass doors in warmer months. We did a controlled test over a two day period and we able to confirm the pen door as the cause. Very weird. It seems to only impact glass and ceramics. I am hoping this is the case. LOL no one has told me I smell like a wet dog.
i have smelly dishes too and its so frustrating.they smell ok and when I put food on them they smell, I can;t eat off them then
well mine used to smell from the dishwasher as well. I have now put it down to my china plates. I also have pottery glazed plates and I don't get it with them, so I am going to invest in a pottery set with a glaze. good luck.
Vee
Sorry in advance for the length of this. A big Thank You to taximick47; I was searching for is something scientific I can point to as the reason why dishes come out smelling like wet dog when my husband washes them, but not when I wash them, and I think he's on the right track. Here's why:
We have had this problem for more than 10 years. What happens is that I end up re-washing the dishes after my husband to get rid of the smell. I actually have to do this surreptitiously, because if he catches me his feeling are hurt. I hate this, because I've watched him wash the dishes, and I know he does a fine job. I don't want to upset him, but I just can't stand putting the dishes away stinky and being smacked in the face later with an unappetizing odor when I open the cupboards.
Here are the particulars of our situation: We hand wash all our dishes. We swap out our dishwashing cloths for clean ones religiously every couple of days. We have very little outside air circulating through our house, as we live in a hot place and run the A/C practically year-round. We have recently had our old water heater replaced with a new model, yet the problem continues. We have municipal water, and the problem continues even though the servicing utility and the treatment method has changed within the past few years. Also, all of our dishes are actually washed twice: First I "pre-wash" them with a mixture of detergent and bleach to remove all traces of food and grease. Then later, one of us comes along and washes them "for real" -- again, with a mixture of detergent and bleach. We wash one item at a time with the soapy cloth instead of using a sink full of soapy water. The problem affects all types of dishes: glass, stainless steel, stoneware, plastic, etc.
I refuse to believe for one second that the odor is caused by residual food or lingering bacteria, given that all of our dishes are treated with not one, but two rounds of bleach. I dare anyone to find colonies of bacteria on our dishes. The ONLY difference in the way my husband and I wash dishes is that he insists on using hot water to wash and rinse, while I use cold. I tried to tell him that using hot is kind of pointless, since our hands cannot tolerate water hot enough to actually sanitize, and because we have the bleach doing the sanitizing for us, but he persists. And so does the smell, which disappears completely as soon as I give them a quickie rewash in cold.
Hello,
I live on the East Coast of USA and I have read pages upon pages of this same exact thing, posted by all kinds of people all over the world! Vegans and Egg-Eaters alike have the same "eggy -wet-dog" smell. This is what I can say for sure:
1) It does not matter what your water supply is (well or city)
2) It does not matter what brand dish soap you use
3) It does not matter if you you use the HOT Heat dry cycle or air dry method (they still smell)
4) It does not matter if you hand wash in the sink or use dishwasher machine
So, the ONLY question that I have not seen discussed here is this: Maybe it has something to do with the actual product composition at the FACTORY where the dishes or flatware (silverware) is made? Does anyone really know what junk they are using to make our cheap glasses, pots and dishes in the factories in China and elsewhere? Are there any standards and agencies governing and examining that all "materials are pure & safe"? Could it be that over time, our cheap cups & dishes have somehow broken down and are now porous and leaching some kind of contaminated or unpleasant chemical residue or odor or bacteria? Maybe it's NOT our food or our technique or any of YOUR faults. Maybe its just really crappy housewares. That would explain why good porcelain is NOT effected nor smelly...... Just some food for thought!
Well that could be, however, I have dishes made in the USA and dishes made in England. No difference. What I do is rinse them off again usually with cold water, and quickly dry before I place food on them. Sometimes if the food is sauce-y they will start smelling again but only when in direct contact with air from outside. Even the granite counter tops etc. Perfect example this morning, I was having a bowl of cereal and I had it placed by my desk which was by a window. When I got to it 5 minutes later, it smelled so bad I had to dump it into a new bowl. The smell is disgusting, and I have been living with this over 6 years that I can recall. Today I found this page, because I needed to see if I was crazy or if people experienced this also! I am so tormented and sick over this smell! It is a strong smell, to me it smells like worms! (You know how it smells sometimes after it rains when all the worms have come out of the ground?) My my family thinks I am nuts! I am beginning to think that, chem trails are real, and it has something to do with this. I think there are a lot of metal pollutants in the air that it is causing our smell because, the smell appears only when windows are open and air from outside comes in direct contact with the wet or dry dish.
Taximick47 - I have had this problem of my dishes coming out of the dishwasher smelling horrible. The small is hard to describe (wet dog, metallic). I have done everything (had a plumber out twice, cleaned the filter, changed detergents, used vinegar, baking soda down the sink, everything right up to replacing the dishwasher ($1100 Kitchen aid) same problem. Recently my very old water softener had a problem and I have had it in bypass mode while I am considering having it replaced. Guess what, the dishwasher doesn't smell at all. It actually smells quit fresh. I am trying to research whether a water softener reaches an age where it breaks down and causes this problem
Hello everyone, we had this problem and now it's solved. Really. Problem is, you're not going to believe my answer, but feel free to give my solution a go.
Anyway, we had the same issue last year, and then this past winter, our wet dog smell magically disappeared. We had tried different detergent, using vinegar, regularly cleaning the dishwasher filter, whatever, but the smell kept happening. But this past winter, it never happened, and we had done nothing different. In fact, it had been so long since we smelled that smell that I had figured our dishwasher had somehow fixed itself.
And then, as the weather started to warm recently, we did what lots of people do and opened our windows to let in some allegedly fresh air, running fans to pull in as much as we could. On that same day, my wife ran the dishwasher. After it was done and I opened it up to empty it (emptying is my job, since she prefers to fill it to make sure it's filled right), and the smell was back, strong as ever. Not to be outdone by the invisible wet dog, I did some online research. A lot of the forums had the same possible answers given, but in one, I found someone who realized it was the natural outside air that was causing the problem.
Now, I don't know if it's the natural humidity in the air (though where we live is pretty dry, so that may not be it), the dust that's in the air outside that isn't in indoor air, the microbes in outdoor air that aren't in indoor air, or whatever, but it's the air. Because every time we run our dishwasher with our windows closed--if it's been a while since they've been open--we have no issue. But whenever we run it after we've had our windows open for a while, we get that wet dog smell on our dishes and in our dishwasher. While I don't know the exact mechanism, but I believe that something in the outdoor air is interacting with our softened water (I've done my research, and this doesn't seem to happen to people who don't soften their water), causing the smell. And yes, our water softener is new and filled and I keep it clean, etc. So, you either get rid of your water softener, which I don't recommend, or just shut your windows for a while before running your dishwasher. This solution worked for us without having to change detergent or do any of that stuff people keep suggesting that doesn't work. One final thought: sometimes when my kids come in from outside after they've been playing a while, their hair and clothes have that same wet dog/sour smell, only not quite as strong. It goes away after a while, but I think they're picking up that smell from the outside air just like the dishes do. Good luck!!
I was about to start using only disposable dishes. I was at my wits end and could not stand the awful smell any longer until I found an answer on a forum somewhere that has actually helped. The answer was something like this.....It is certain dishes that have have not been properly sealed or coated or treated or something and after many uses and washings begin to smell terrible when wet...I am not 100% on the words they used but it was something like that. Anyway, I stopped using any dishes I thought may be contributing, souvenir mugs, cheapie coffee cups, some ceramic dishes and have noticed a significant improvement. I want to thank that person for posting their answer but can't remember where I saw it. I am posting this answer in hopes it helps someone else and because I am so grateful to have found a solution to a problem that was really making my crazy!
This is bullshit. Glass, ceramics and sometimes plastics give off the same smell when dried by windows open to fresh air.
real nice
Nope, I do not think that is the issue. I have had fine china, dishes made in England in the US, even Corelle dishes. It does not matter. Glasses, even granite counter tops, even the crock pot. Came in contact with open window and I can smell it from 3 feet away, now. My dishes are all new! I have gone through many different dishes, companies, and still the same issue.
We also live in a new home with new water heater etc. I am convinced that there are some pretty hazardous pollutants in the air.
Im from New Zealand and I have this problem of the wet dog smell too. We have tried and eliminated everything suggested and the smell is still there. We moved house and went from living rural on tank water with a filter, to town with mains water and the problem is still accuring. We have had 2 new dishwashers and a couple of crockery sets, cutlery and glassware during the last 6 years as well as a new hot water cylinder but the smell continues. I'm at my wits end too and trying to find an answer is as rare as hens teeth. Someone somewhere must have an answer.
Please help!
We did the same as you. New hot water heater. New Bosch dishwasher. Finally, I figured out it was the dishes themselves. The stoneware was the problem. It is more porous than porcelain. The city water had an algae problem and the dishes must have absorbed the smell. So when they were washed with hot water they gave off a smell. We bought porcelain and no smell.
I would notice the wet-dog smell whenever passing by my kitchen cabinet. For many years I thought it was the fiberboard shelves. Then one day I realized it was my Franciscan ware China, which is almost 80 years old. I am a hot water and soap fanatic. I tried the dishwasher instead of handwashing, to no avail-that seems to make the smell worse, especially when I open the dishwasher door after washing them-wet dog smell again. I tried soaking them in vinegar and baking soda. Most of them have needed many many more soaks in this solution, but some lost their odor. I will continue to do this weekely after washing a load by hand. A big clue here is that the chipped or nicked plates needed the most soakings. Porcelain isn't an option because I put them in the microwave. Also, I have well water, which has no odor. I hate to get rid of my heirloom china, but thanks to all of you, I now know it isn't anything I have done, and I'm not going crazy :)
My husband and I are retired and live in the Catskill Mountains of New York State. We live in an area known for the "Marcellus Shale". So, there is a lot of shale in the ground here and deep in the earth is a large supply of natural gas. We have a relatively new home - nice double-wide only lived in now by us, first owners, for about 1&1/2 years. At first the smell of water from our deeply dug well was from the sulfur. So, we got a pretty good water purifier tank and it helped that problem greatly. I can still smell it sometimes but overall it is quite tolerable. We also may have iron in the water because there is a brownish stain that develops in the toilets, shower and tub. Could that actually be from sulfur? I really have been talking about having the water tested and should definitely do it. It is now April and for the last, oh I don't know exactly, maybe two months, the water, especially at the kitchen sink smells like a wet dog. Yucky! Drives me crazy. I go smelling around trying to find out exactly where it is coming from. And, though we wash most of the dishes etc. by hand, I do a load of dishes in the dishwasher about once a week. Those smell like a wet dog too. I said to my husband tonight, "Why does our water smell like a wet dog?" I finally had a description for the smell and it's certainly unpleasant. This is my first attempt to find an answer to my question and I am surprised to hear that the issue is fairly common. Never had this happen anywhere else I lived. Don't have any answers yet but it is good to know I am not alone.
I believe it is indeed dish related, though perhaps the water source is relevant too. I had a novelty glass with an NFL logo on it where I smelled it. Tried to wash it out with cold water, still stunk when drinking water. Tried another plain pint glass out of same dishwasher load, no problem.
it seems to only happen in the warmer summer months. I have checked out everything, i thought maybe there was a dead animal in the water supply but the city says that can not happen. It is not glass or ceramics, or hot water tank,because we get it out our cold water tap too. The only thing I can think of is some kind of alge in the air or water in summer. anyone else have any more ideas?
I have this same smell. I wash up with hot water and liquid. If I dry these straight away and smell them they smell of that stale smell that you get from clothes that have been left in the washing machine too long after the cycle has finished. This happens with pans, cutlery, glasses etc. In fact everything.
My solution is to wash with hot water and liquid but then rinse thoroughly with cold water and then dry. Smell gone. If you don't rinse thoroughly a faint smell will still be there.
My partner has the same problem and she lives 40 miles away. This solution works for her too.
I can only conclude it is something in the hot water because it happens with pots and pans too.
We need a chemist to work out what is going on.
I have recently had a completely new boiler and cylinder installed and I still have the same problem so I think we can rule out anything to do with the hot water supply!
However rinsing with cold water after washing WORKS although I do feel like I am washing everything twice!
It's from egg yolk. Yolk makes everything smell. When you've finished eating egg, wash the egg crockery and cutlery separately from your other dishes, first in cold soapy water, then rinse in hot water with a generous splash of vinegar. Don't put an egg plate in the dishwasher - it will make everything in the dishwasher smell.
It can't be eggs. I have been vegan for years, and I've never had eggs or any egg-related products touch any of my dishes. Yet I still get the disgusting wet dog smell. I hate it!
eggs make it smell worse every time.I wash plates first then add to dishwasher
I bet it is your check valve it is probably a single change it to a dual check valveThis is the valve that is installed after your water meter it prevents your toilet and discharge water from back feeding into your running water .Mine stunk for years and I changed the valve because our meter went bad and the borough required our old single to be changed to a dual check valve and now no more stinky water.
The odor is caused by the bacteria & yeasts colonizing in the leftover water vapor. Sometimes the bacteria & yeasts are present in the water itself, sometimes they come from nature through airborne propagation. The odor is stronger in fibrous materials where they can build a colony faster and more efficient due to shelter & hyphae.
*Ways to remove them & prevent them from growing on your stuff.
1. HOT WATER. Bacteria & fungi cannot survive being boiled. Run your dishes under scalding hot water and place them somewhere where they can dry before "wild air" has a chance to get to them. Do not leave laundry in the washing machine, hampers, ect. Your skin oil & other proteins in your dirty laundry are food for these bad smells. When your laundry is finished remove it and dry it immediately.
2. Rubbing Alcohol. Bacteria & fungi cannot survive contact with 70-91% rubbing alcohol. Drench or wipe with alcohol and quick dry.
3. Antibacterial Soaps, Bleach, & Peroxide. - Follow steps 2.
4. Direct Heavy Sunlight. Kills and prevents bacteria & spores.
Basically if you kill what is on the surface and dry it before any more can land on it, they can't form a colony and cannot create bad smells.
:)
Hi,
this is one of the most annoying things!
So let me tell you that this is the 3rd country I currently live in and experiencing the same smell on clean ceramic dishes (after they dried) and the sink too. I was experiencing it in my childhood home (bothering my mom a lot about it), experienced it when I moved alone and switched countries and still experiencing it on the dishes at my workplace, the same way as I experiencing it at home.
I always change the washing sponge in a regular basis (2 weekly) and keep the sink clean, always weekly washing it through with Dettol but still the smell on the dishes remains. And it is the same old smell!
I am washing the dishes in fluid hot water and clean them with cold.
Rationally thinking the only explanation is that somehow there remain some bacteria on the plates that, while the dishes dry, proliferates and cause the bad smell.
I do eat a lot of chicken in the ceramic plates.
Interestingly though I don't have the smell neither on my plastic food containers nor my wooden chop-board.
It only affects the ceramics, the glasses and the inox steel cutlery.
My sister doesn't have it (but she remembers the smell clearly at my parent's kitchen). I asked her and the only thing she does differently is that after the she takes the dishes out from the dishwasher , she wipes them dry with a clean kitchen cloth.
So I will try to do the same, maybe that helps. I'll come back here with the results. :)
I can be washing the dishes in clean hot water with fairy liquid and half way through I can smell the doggy smell - I usuallly then just change the water - I am not washing pet bowls either - the window is not open as someone suggesting that causes it? sometimes I open my dishwasher and can smell it. I do not know what the cause. My son has taken to putting his dishes in the oven after washing to make sure the smell is not on them.
I have noticed this for years and it took me a long time to figure out. It happens if you open a door/window. For some reason fresh air reacts with anything glass, ceramic or metal and gives them the weird fishy/wet dog/ metallic smell. It doesn't matter if you use dishwasher, hand wash, air dry or towel dry. The key is to keep all windows and doors closed until the dishes are put away. If you enjoy outdoor eating then you're out of luck, use disposables! I've also noticed that the inside of my dishwasher will even take on this smell if I have it open and someone comes in my kitchen door. It happens immediately. There is nothing worse than drinking a glass of milk and someone opens the door and your glass immediately turns rotten!
You are the only person in the forum that I believe has hit the nail on the head. We have already noticed that it has something to do with the outside air coming in. I JUST opened the windows and inside my plastic Members Mark bottle I now smell that weird metal/ fishy aquarium tank smell. My husband swears this did not happene when we lived in Denver. We are back in Oklahoma now and there it is. Every single time. And yes if the dishwasher is open, it gets in there too. It happens in an instant. One minute your glass smells fine, you take it outside or open a window nearby and in minutes it stinks. Doesn’t affect the water taste thought. I notice when we go outside that same metal smell gets on our clothes too. I wonder if it’s a humidity thing. Like more humid locations.
And that was supposed to say this also happens to my plastic Members Mark disposable bottle of water. So weird. It’s not just dishes. I was trying to search online for WHY the outside air does this. I need to know! Lol
Dishes that are left to dry on their own or dishwashers set on economy mode which also leave dishes to dry on their own will attract this rather unpleasant smell. The only way to remedy this is to finish off the dishes with a tea towel once they have drained or as you remove them from the machine.
I suspect it is a certian type or types of stainless steel that causes the wet dog smell. I battled that smell for a while and then one day figured out it was our knives.. so they got tossed and the wet dog smell disappeared. Then roughly 6 months later I noticed it again.. this time it was a stainless steel mixing bowl that was the culprit. Today I was eating Wild BIll jerky. The jerky is hung on steel hooks in the making and as a result, made my jerky taste like wet dog smells, right around the hook hole.
Of all the suggestions, this one was the only one that rang a bell for me. I hand wash my dishes because I live alone. First of all, I don't notice the odor all of the time. I've had to pour out a glass of wine because the glass had a wet-dog or metallic smell. I've noticed it on dishes of every material. (A friend in a local restaurant had to send back a glass of beer because the glass smelled "funny".) Today, my washed, air-dried dishes smelled again for the first time in a while. In the dish drainer was a stainless colander which I don't use very often. I will be interested to see if this is the culprit.
Same here. This is the first answer that doesn't seem to be clueless. I DO have such a tank. also, I've noticed, that the smell is much stronger and much more probable, if dishes dry while a window is open (or outdoors). Can anyone confirm this? Until now I suspected some bacteria or fungi cultures produced this smell, but you say it's chemistry/physics, not biology? :) Any sources?