Never had anything like that happen - have you tried one of those commercial cleaners that you run through it while empty?If you have small children they could have helped by putting something in it. I remember back in 1962 my parents rented a house where there was a dishwasher - my sisters and I were thrilled. It didn't work very well, there was a problem with it not getting the dishes cleaned and when the repairman came out he found a lot of rocks and various types items in it. We didn't know who lived there before us - but it made us curious what they expected from a dishwasher.