stinky dishwasher mystery solved

[tristessa]

You aren't going to believe this, but it's true. Several people here were kind enough to post in response when I hijacked (sorry) a post called "stinky dishwasher." It turned out my issue was very, very different from the original post, so I'm starting a new thread to let you know what the problem and resolution was.
I talked to a local plumber on the phone, and he was very helpful in convincing me that my two issues were actually unrelated, and could be solved easily when viewed in that way.
Problem #1 was black crud coming through both sinks in my kitchen, in the hot water only. I don't know where it came from, but taking apart the faucets and reconstructing them solved the problem, and they flow better than ever (although one leans to the right a little now, because I rushed the job).
Problem #2 was sewerage smell in the dishwasher. Here's the tricky part. The story is not very sensible, but the facts are incontrovertible.
1. My old cat was having issues relieving himself in the house. Two days before the dishwasher problem, we decided to put him out at night until the weekend, when we could move him to my inlaws farm. So we removed the cat door.
2. We found poop in the dishwasher while trying to fix the sewer smell. It looked different than normal, but I just assumed it was from my cat, who was somehow attracted by the bad smell. It was on the arm that spins around the bottom.
3. When I took the cat to the farm that weekend, my wife discovered an oppossum in our bedroom closet. It took her quite a while in the middle of the night to get it out of the house. On the way out it hid in our pantry (near the dishwasher and cat food).
4. She also found poop in the dishwasher again, but it couldn't have been the cat. It was the same odd shape as before. Another load of this kind was also later found in a closet of another room.
So, my conclusion is that a wild animal came into my house through the cat door. When I removed the cat door, the animal was trapped inside and, of all places, chose the dishwasher as the place to poop. But that's not really at all likely is it? We ran bleach and vinegar (separately) through the dishwasher and used the steam sanitize setting and it's fine now, thank goodness.

 

[Ian Gills]

I, too, would rather poop in a dishwasher than in a Toto.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Jimbo]

We very much appreciate your getting back to us, and now we can all add the following question to our investigative procedure: "Seen any possum's lately??"

 

[Runs with Bison]

I, too, would rather poop in a dishwasher than in a Toto.

Which is why nobody will invite you to dinner.

 

[Runs with Bison]

So, my conclusion is that a wild animal came into my house through the cat door. When I removed the cat door, the animal was trapped inside and, of all places, chose the dishwasher as the place to poop.

How in the world was the possum getting into the dishwasher? Were you leaving the dishwasher door open? Or are you saying it was pooping beneath/around it within the enclosed space?

It's interesting about the cat door though. I've had to kill possum's before because they became quite bold about going after cat food in a garage. (They aren't bullet proof on the driveway, I can assure you of that. ) I guess it stands to reason that they would wander in the same as the cat would.

 

[Nate R]

Time to get one of the cat doors that only works when an animal with the proper collar triggers it. Like a coded garage door opener!

 

[tristessa]

how?

Yes, we were leaving the dishwasher door open. It's kind of out of the way, and so instead of using the heated dry cycle, we just leave it open, and it ends up being open most of the time when it's not on. (still though, it must have been jumping to get in. It was quite small.)
Our cat door was great when we first bought it. It was one of these sliding glass door panels that allows you to add a cat door without cutting anything. It had a magnet triggered door that worked great for a couple years. Then I found out that you couldn't replace just the door, you had to replace the entire panel. What a stupid design decision that was. The company sent me new parts for the door, but it never worked well after that, and then it cracked. By the time the possum was using it, it consisted of a flap of pond liner and some duct tape. But the panel looked great!