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I had a Kenmore dishwasher installed in January, in less than a month we had a repair call because the inside of the machine was always wet and was stinking. The repair man said the new machine needed to be seasoned with the rinse agent being wiped on the entire inside of the machine. Said it would be okey in a matter of time. It still stinks and am having a nightmare with Sears to get this resolved. Their install people came back out and on the bottom of the machine, there is a cup thing that was full of water, up to the level of the machine. He said that much water should not be there, and to get the dish washer replaced. He said a little water was fine, but not over 3 inches of water. The hose under the sink is not looped up, but the hose is looped over the dish washer under the counter. The repair supervisor at Sears said the standing water should be there so smell doesn't back up. I am really questioning his expertise on this issue. They are sending out another repair tech to look at the dish washer.

[Question: who is correct? Is some standing (and stinking) water in the dishwasher normal or not? Would this be a defect in the machine, or in the way it was installed? And if it isn't normal, how can I get Sears to take responsibility and fix it?"]

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    And what's your question?
    – longneck
    Mar 25, 2015 at 20:15
  • I've taken the liberty of adding an explicit question. If you intended to ask something else, please re-edit to clarify. We really do need to know exactly what you want answered.)
    – keshlam
    Mar 25, 2015 at 20:42
  • Sears is saying the water should be there, everything I read on line says no it shouldn't. Okay to have a little, but not up to the level of the dish washer. The dishes are clean and dry after a wash, but the stink remains in the dish washer, and in the inside is always wet.
    – Leanne
    Mar 25, 2015 at 20:42
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    Have you tried running a dishwasher cleaning agent through it? When I moved into my house, the dishwasher (which hadn't been used in months) had a moldy smell, even after several cycles with dish detergent. The dishwasher cleaning agent took care of the odor, and it hasn't come back in 2 years (I run the cleaning agent through around every 6 months). Obviously a new dishwasher shouldn't have any odor, but if they aren't going to replace it, it might be worth a shot.
    – Johnny
    Mar 25, 2015 at 21:55
  • Sears sub contracting installers are idiots........the dish washer has to be looped up over the sink. Sears sub contracting repair techs took care of it today.
    – Leanne
    Mar 26, 2015 at 20:38

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There shouldn't be any standing water inside of your dishwasher while it is not in operation.

The water could be a few different things, but I would check first to see if water from your sink is being siphoned into the dishwasher. Depending on the install, you will either need a high loop on your dishwasher waste line, or an air gap device.

A high loop basically is when you bring the drain up much higher than the trap in the sink so the water from the sink goes down the drain instead of into your dishwasher. I did this in my own home by fastening the pipe to the bottom of my cabinet before it drops down to the dishwasher.

Your dishwasher may also be defective and is not draining correctly. The pump should be sucking out all of the water from your dishwasher down the drain. There is a possibility that there is something clogging it and preventing it from emptying all the way. Since you already had people out to look at it, then that probably isn't what is causing the problem.

Another possibility is that the sewer itself is backing up into your home. Since the dishwasher is one of the lowest points in your home, the water will go in there first.

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