How to de-stinkify metal dog dishes.

[Jinga]

My dogs have stainless steel food/water dishes. I've had the dishes, as long as I've had the dogs ... 4-5 years. They (the bowls, not the dogs) have developed a stinky smell that won't go away with regular cleaning. I've tried soaking and hand scrubbing and then putting them through the dishwasher on hot ... two or three times in a row and the stink doesn't go away. Is there a better way to clean and destinkify metal dishes or should I just replace them? How can I prevent this from happening in the future? The bowls still look fine, they've just absorbed a nasty stank :worried:

[rabid_child]

have you tried soaking them in baking soda and vinegar?

[Jinga]

have you tried soaking them in baking soda and vinegar?

That I have not yet tried. Does it matter what type of vinegar I use?

[bjorn again veg]

apple cider vinegar is good, even on my smelly feet!
Soak in vinegar.
You could also try tea tree oil to wash them in.

[Joe]

I would try baking soda and vinegar first. If that does not work, I'd try soaking them in tomato juice.

[ALL]

tomato juice will remove the smell from anything.

[rabid_child]

That I have not yet tried. Does it matter what type of vinegar I use?

I'd use white or apple cider. Just something cheap, it doesn't matter. Balsamic would just be a waste!!

[Art Vandelay]

Something's amiss... stainless steel shoudn't retain a smell, especially one that can't be removed. I'd replace the bowls with known quality stainless ones.

[Jinga]

Something's amiss... stainless steel shoudn't retain a smell, especially one that can't be removed. I'd replace the bowls with known quality stainless ones.

Yes, thats why I bought them in the first place! I believe the problem lies in brushed texture of the metal, not the metal itself. Tiny particles get into the teenie brushed groves, stain the bowl, and make it stink.

[ilovemydragon]

Yes, thats why I bought them in the first place! I believe the problem lies in brushed texture of the metal, not the metal itself. Tiny particles get into the teenie brushed groves, stain the bowl, and make it stink.

But wouldn't an anti bacterial soap and hot water kill the bacteria?

[Amy SF]

What on earth did you put in those bowls to make them so stinky? :stinkeye:

I use stainless steel bowls for (dry) cat food, and they don't smell after being washed. So there must be something awful in the food you give your dogs to make yours smell bad. :worried:

[Jinga]

Well, obviously the hot water and soap aren't killing whatever it is thats causing the smell ... bacteria, mold, etc.

One dish is a water dish. The other is a food dish. My dogs eat Nutro brand food. Its decent stuff. Certainly nothing more 'awful' than most dog foods. I don't think the food's the problem so much as their eating habits combined with my cleaning habits. My big dog slops water everywhere. The water combines with loose kibble bits and dissolves them. The fun newly created fluid creeps under the dish where it does other fun stuff out of site. Since I don't scrub their dishes daily, kibble crust is going to happen. Dogs are dogs and they do stinky gross things. That brings us back to the question I posted at the beginning of the thread ...

[Amy SF]

Scrub their dishes daily.

[Thalia]

Something's amiss... stainless steel shoudn't retain a smell, especially one that can't be removed. I'd replace the bowls with known quality stainless ones.I'm thinking the same thing. Is there a rubber bottom or edge that yuck could be stuck under? Any weird crevices? And if they have been exposed to boiling water and other germ killing substances, there must be some non-living stink residue giving off the stink.

On mythbusters they found peroxide, baking soda and dish soap rid their bathroom of skunk odor. I used super hot water and baking soda to destink plastic.

[Jinga]

Amy, do you have a suggestion as to how to de-stinkify already stinky dishes? Thats really what I'm looking for.



I'm thinking the same thing. Is there a rubber bottom or edge that yuck could be stuck under? Any weird crevices? And if they have been exposed to boiling water and other germ killing substances, there must be some non-living stink residue giving off the stink.

On mythbusters they found peroxide, baking soda and dish soap rid their bathroom of skunk odor. I used super hot water and baking soda to destink plastic.

There's no rubber. Its all metal. However, the dishes have that brushed texture that has allowed whatever strange stuff in.

I'll try the baking soda and vinegar first. If that doesn't work, I'm going to look for some new non-brushed metal bowls.

[Amy SF]

sorry i couldn't be more helpful. :dunce: If scrubbing w/ baking soda and vinegar doesn't work, i guess replacing the bowls would be the best thing to do.

[skanky]

Jinga Belle, I have the same issue!

The stink in my dog's dishes comes from a wee bit of water becoming trapped between the stainless steel dishes and the plastic base that holds them. Kona has a huge tongue, so I guess when she drinks, some water gets in and around both the water and food dishes. I scrub all sides of the dish with vinegar using the rough side of my sponge. Ideally I do it once a week, but in reality, on average, it's more like once every two weeks. This keeps the odor away for me. I hope you have success whatever you try. Your doggie probably notices the stink too. Let us know how it goes

[rainbow_clouds]

vinegar is really great at getting out smells.

[Jinga]

Jinga Belle, I have the same issue!

The stink in my dog's dishes comes from a wee bit of water becoming trapped between the stainless steel dishes and the plastic base that holds them. Kona has a huge tongue, so I guess when she drinks, some water gets in and around both the water and food dishes. I scrub all sides of the dish with vinegar using the rough side of my sponge. Ideally I do it once a week, but in reality, on average, it's more like once every two weeks. This keeps the odor away for me. I hope you have success whatever you try. Your doggie probably notices the stink too. Let us know how it goes

Oh. You reminded me that I need to change my name to it's seasonal theme. :D

The dishes do in fact sit on a plastic mat. The mat cleans easily. Now, I just have to find a time when I'm home that neither of them are eating to scrub down the dish.


Thanks everyone for the suggestions! Jake and Addie thank you, as well.

[Wolfie]

Your doggie probably notices the stink too. Let us know how it goes

If they're anything like my dogs, they probably like it. :p