An odor problem..any suggestions why?

[sheff]

Dishes in our household are always washed and wiped.However I am always complaining that dishes and pots and pans have that "old food" smell.....that to the contrary they have not that "fresh" smell etc. I have become really obsessed with this to a stage where I have to re-detergent every plate and pot and pan before cooking and eating. My wife thinks that I am insane.
I am just wondering why is this occuring. I mean all utensils are washed in detergent properly. Is it the age of the cookware? Or is it..the detergent?
I'll be happy with any suggestion

 

[kitchenelf]

It might not be your dishes. It could be something that has dropped under the sink?

What kind of dishes do you have?
What kinds of pots and pans do you have?

That may help. It may not. You just may be smelling something else once the smell from cleaning the pots and pans goes away. Even some vegetables or fruits that are in a holder in your kitchen may have leaked some liquid, that can smell over time.

 

[Barb L.]

You could always add a little bleach to your soapy dish water.

 

[YT2095]

and put a little bowl or saucer of Bicarb in the same place you store them, it works in Fridges

 

[JDP]

How old is your house. Could it be a smell they are picking up from the wood in your cabnets? Try leaving the plates on the counter once they are dried to see if they develop the same odor.

JDP

 

[auntdot]

In my experience wives are usually correct, but will not question your olfactory senses here.

Agree with JDP, wash some plates the usual way and place some where you usually store them and put some others on a table or counter. And then go back and smell.

One question would be is this a recent development, or has it been ongoing since you got into your current digs?

Sounds like you need to do some detective work.

Hope you work it out.

 

[Michelemarie]

Could it be the detergent?

 

[StirBlue]

Glad to know that I'm not the only one with smelly dishes. I find that the antibacterial dish detergent helps. I am prone to use Dawn. I use one of those sponges with the green back. I put one corner up when I lay it down so it is not flat on the surface and it can dry.
I try not to store things stacked together tightly. All pots and pans are going to get a little "funky" from time to time. I wash those by themselves.
Tupperware needs to be first washed in cold water and detergent to avoid stains and then washed in warm water with detergent.
Never put detergent directly onto cutting boards as it will absorb the smell. My carrots had a "fresh bouquet" smell. I rinsed the board with vinegar and it was okay.
Like YT said put a box of arm n hammer on one of the shelves. You can also put a cup holder in and hang a refrigerator ordor ball from it.
Sometimes the exterminator has sprayed the cabinets years ago and on a humid day "it's still working".
Somebody is thinking about buying a dishwasher on another thread.

 

[sheff]

Thank you heaps for your suggestions. I'll shall try all suggestions...however the "smell" in the pots and pans seems to be in certain pots...where we use for dishes like tomato sauces (with garlick and onion)..(we like a lot of dishes with garlick and onion).....we wash thoroughly these pots with detergent. I smell them...and they smell "detergent fresh" at the time we store them (in cupboards and in the dish tray near the sink). However when we get them out to use again....it's back to"odour" again.....and it smells of old tomato sauce. So it seems that you may be all right. And I am glad someone else has this problem (not really I feel sorry for him/her too) but I do not feel alone. I think that the antibacterial detergent is really a good idea though

 

[Half Baked]

Good luck Sheff. I live in an old house and sometimes 'weird' smells just show up. It's extremely aggravating....and embarrasssing.

We've just about found all the 'stuff' but it takes awhile.

 

[TATTRAT]

could it be the cabinets?

 

[sheff]

We live in an old house here in metro Sydney Australia (built late 40's early 50's). However the kitchen cabinets are brand new. Maybe it's the old house.
I am going to try all your suggestions though

 

[YT2095]

if it`s only in certain pots and it`s Garlic you can smell, may I take a guess and say these are not Stainless steel pots
the reason I say this is that SS will eliminate garlic odours by breaking down the molecule responsible for the smell, other metals and pot/pan coating won`t do this, and since this smell particle is an oil when you have freshly washed it there`s still a coating of the smell under the layer of water, when this evaps 100% the smell comes back.

I could be wrong, but it would perfectly the info you`ve given us so far.

edit: Taken from my other Site:
"The smelly
active sulphur species in garlic and onions; the volatile selenides in
garlic, cabagge, and broccili; and also the chlorides in salty water will
all attack and destroy the passive film of most stainless steels more
quickly than the film can be repaired in a low oxygen environment.
Some of the smelly compounds will bind to your hands ( onto proteins,
lipids etc ) and will become non-volatile ( non-smelly ), but the number
of binding sites is limited, hence any excess of smellies results in
smelly hands.
By binding to the metals in the stainless steel bar, the unbound smelly
compounds on the surface your hands are transformed into non-volatile
( and thus non-smelly) compounds and complexes on the surface of the
stainless. The new surface layer, which is weakly adhering and fragile,
will be continuously abraded off by the active rubbing of the bar and
replaced by oxides using oxygen from air or water."

this should give you an idea what`s going on

 

[sheff]

yes you are right YT. They are not stainless steel. Actually and come to think of it..the stainless steel pots we have ..DO NOT SMELL..at all. These pots are the "non-stick" type...but where the teflon has most probably worn away (with age). But now we come to the plates. Some are extremely old"pyrex" dishes which we purchased back when I first got married....in 1968. I wonder whether this has anything to do with this problem....the age of them I mean.

 

[tdejarnette]

Just an off the wall thought....I noticed you also asked in another thread about tasting raw egg in cakes. Does your wife also not taste this? If she, or others don't taste or smell things you do, maybe you have a health problem that needs checking out. I found this:


Dysosmia
Infected nasal sinuses and damage to the olfactory bulbs can cause dysosmia, the distorted sense of smell. Head trauma can cause this disorder. Poor oral hygeine can lead to dysosmia. In these cases, a person may also find that disagreeable odors are accompanied by the sensing of unpleasant tastes. In addition, brain-stem disease can cause smelling disorders. An epileptic seizure can include olfactory hallucinations.
Mental conditions such as depression and schizophrenia may be accompanied by dysosmia. In addition, when people who are person severely dependent on alcohol quit drinking, they may experience dysosmia.

 

[bevkile]

Could it be the drying towel? Do you use a softener on your towels? Softeners would not only cut down on the absorbancy, (sp) it probably contains a fragrance. I don't use on either dish towel or bath towels.

Just a thought.

 

[Caine]

Just an off the wall thought....I noticed you also asked in another thread about tasting raw egg in cakes. Does your wife also not taste this? If she, or others don't taste or smell things you do, maybe you have a health problem that needs checking out. I found this:

I was thinking the very same thing because my mother is has a severe obsessive/compulsive disorder, and my father swears she can smell fly s**t in the neighbor's house across the street.