The short answer
When a Criterion dishwasher smells, the useful distinction is musty versus drain-like. Musty comes from the machine; a sewage smell comes from the waste plumbing and needs a different fix. Where a cause needs test gear to confirm, the page says so rather than pretending otherwise.
What the owner sees
- A stale or musty smell when the door is opened — Residue inside the machine, strongest after it has stood closed for a day. It is worth confirming twice before you act on it, since one observation can mislead.
- A greasy film on the tub walls — The residue that cool programmes leave behind, and the thing that holds the odour. It needs nothing you do not already own.
- A sewage-like smell rather than a musty one — That points at the waste plumbing rather than the appliance. Compare it with how the machine behaved a month ago rather than with how you expect it to behave.
- NEAR MISS: a burning or hot-plastic smell — Not a hygiene problem at all. Give it a moment rather than glancing; the thing you are looking for is not always obvious.
Where the odds sit
- A dirty filter and sump — First because it traps everything by design, and because a neglected filter holds water and debris between cycles. It belongs in the order here because the check for it is cheap and the answer is unambiguous.
- Residue in the door seal and the channel — The seal traps food at the bottom of the door, where it sits damp and dark. Compare it with how the machine behaved a month ago rather than with how you expect it to behave.
- Blocked spray-arm jets holding debris — Food trapped in an arm ferments there and is sprayed back onto the dishes every cycle. Treat the ordering as a route through the possibilities rather than as a prediction.
- A drain hose that holds standing water — Last, and a genuine cause: a hose looped so it cannot empty keeps a reservoir of stale water. Keep an eye on whether it is getting worse, because the rate of change is itself evidence.
The elimination order
- Take the filter out and smell it separately — If the smell is on the filter, the source is found and the repair is a brush and hot water. It is the sort of check a technician does first, for the same reason.
- Smell the sink waste separately — A sewage smell present at the sink is plumbing rather than appliance. The rank is a starting point, not a verdict; what you observe outranks it.
- Ask what temperature the machine usually runs at — A household that only uses eco and quick programmes has a grease problem by definition. Repeat it once if the answer is ambiguous rather than moving on with a maybe.
What to try before calling anyone
- Clean the door seal and the channel below it — Work a cloth right into the fold at the bottom of the door, which is where food collects. Leave the machine a few minutes afterwards before you decide it has not helped.
Tools: clothAbout 20 min
- Run the hottest programme empty with a machine cleaner — A hot maintenance cycle clears the grease that cool programmes leave behind. Doing it in this order is what keeps the diagnosis short.
Tools: machine cleanerAbout 25 min
- Check the drain hose has no standing loop — The hose should rise and then fall cleanly to the waste, with no low section that holds water. Give the machine a full cycle afterwards before judging whether it worked.
Tools: torchAbout 20 min
- Stop at this point: what follows needs a meter on a live circuit — The remaining causes cannot be told apart by looking, which is why the page stops here.
Power, water and hands
Safety
Power off first. Everything else on this page assumes you have done it. Control boards can stay live briefly after the lights go out. Dry the floor before you kneel, and keep towels between you and any puddle. The machine is designed to stop when it is open, and it is meant to stay that way.
When to stop and call
Draw the line here: you own the hygiene completely, and a technician is only needed when the smell outlives the cleaning. It is drawn where the next step stops being reversible. Do not keep running the machine to see whether it clears; every cycle after a leak starts pushes water further into the floor.
Other pages at this level
Generalized information
This is the generalized page for a Criterion dishwasher, written across model years rather than for one.
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
