The short answer
On a Danby dishwasher, an odour or mould problem most often comes back to food debris trapped in the filter and sump. Danby is a Canadian maker that specialises in compact, portable and apartment-scale appliances, so its units end up in garages, basements, dorms, offices and second kitchens far more often than in a fitted main kitchen. The first two checks below are owner work and need no tools beyond what is already in the house.
What you observe
- A stale or sour smell when the door is opened
- A musty smell that returns within a day of cleaning
- Black or pink film in the door seal channel or around the filter
- A smell that is worst after the machine has stood unused
- Dishes that come out clean but smelling of the machine
Ranked for a Danby dishwasher
- Food debris trapped in the filter and sump — Why this rank: This is where organic matter collects and where a smell nearly always begins; a filter that has never been cleaned is the answer far more often than anything mechanical. — Owner checkable: true
- Water standing in the drain hose or a missing high loop — Why this rank: Without a high loop the hose holds stale water permanently, and every cycle draws that smell back into the tub. — Owner checkable: true
- Biofilm in the door seal channel and around the tub lip — Why this rank: The channel behind the seal never gets sprayed and stays damp, so it grows a film that no cycle can reach — you have to wipe it by hand. — Owner checkable: true
Check in this order
- Twist out the filter and smell it. — Because: It sits at rank 1 on this brand.
- Confirm the hose rises above the tub before falling to the drain. — Because: It sits at rank 2 on this brand.
- Run a paper towel round the inside of the seal channel and look at it. — Because: It sits at rank 3 on this brand.
Steps a homeowner can safely take
- Remove and wash the filter assembly thoroughly in warm soapy water and scrub it with an old toothbrush. — Tools: warm soapy water, old toothbrush
About 20 min
- Wipe inside the door seal channel and around the tub lip with a cloth and a mild detergent — this is the area no cycle ever reaches. — Tools: cloth, mild detergent
About 20 min
- Remove both spray arms, rinse them through under a tap and clear every hole. — Tools: straight pin, running water
About 20 min
- Run an empty cycle at the hottest setting with a dishwasher cleaner, or white vinegar in a bowl on the top rack. — Tools: dishwasher cleaner or white vinegar — Time: 1 cycle
- Confirm the drain hose rises into a high loop so it does not hold stale water between cycles. — Tools: flashlight
About 20 min
- Leave the door ajar between cycles for a week and see whether the smell returns — this alone settles many of these calls. — Tools: none — Time: 1 week
- Stop condition: Stop at the first step that would require a meter on live terminals.
Before you open anything
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel. A capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. Nothing on this page asks you to work at a live terminal, and none of it asks you to defeat a door interlock or a safety switch — those exist to stop the machine running in a state that can injure you, and a machine that will not run with its door open is working correctly. If a breaker trips twice on the same operation, leave it off: a repeat trip is a fault to be found, not a nuisance to be reset. Stop at the first step that would need a meter on live terminals. unplug-before-service branch-circuit-15-20a
Owner fix or service call
The smell returns within days of a full clean and a hot cycle There is a sewage smell that is also present at the sink with the dishwasher idle Water is standing in the tub between cycles There is any burning or hot-plastic smell — that is an electrical matter, not a hygiene one
Nearest pages of the same kind
Generalized information
This page is generalized across the Danby dishwasher range: no model-specific wiring diagrams, no part numbers, no service-manual procedure for any individual unit. Where your model differs, the model documentation wins. Line-specific pages sit below this one and go further for those units — Danby Designer Dishwasher: Odor or Mold. Read that page instead if your unit is one of them. model-specific wiring diagrams part numbers service-manual procedures
Links down: - [Danby Designer Dishwasher: Odor or Mold](/blog/danby-designer-dishwasher-smell-mold)
Danby dishwasher
Other faults on this appliance
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
