Does Your Dishwasher Sometimes Smell Like a Drain : A dishwasher is seen with an outside drain cover in the bottom of its chamber, as the narrator suggests if the dishwasher sometimes smells like a drain, then all the dishes could be washed in the filthy water shown underneath. She advises that we use Finish dishwasher cleaner, which she declares has a dual layer formula, illustrated on screen, removing grease and attacking limescale.