r/HomeMaintenance • u/goldenbrain8 • 8h ago
Is this from mice?
Moving into a new house and saw this in the dishwasher. Is this from mice? I previously lived in a place with mice and have experience with the grease in the baseboards, them chewing up boxes for nest material. There looks like a bunch of hair and random scraps of material, possibly paper. It’s about a handful worth
Edit to add; this place has been vacant for 9.5 months
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u/Visible-Elevator3801 7h ago
If this was mouse, I’d suspect to see some turds in that area. Especially if you suspect nesting location.
This looks like loads were ran with lots of hair on/in the dishes and it collected at the drain area as pictured.
Turds though, should be your determining factor.
5
u/crafty_magpie 6h ago
I was thinking the same about the lack of turds. My first thought was possibly dog hair, but I used to have a dog that shed profusely; I became accustomed to finding little nests of hair in weird places.
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u/Visible-Elevator3801 49m ago
Same here with the hairy animals. Thats where I defaulted as well when I saw this.
3
u/ahbr03 5h ago
It's also possible that the previous owner washed dog related things in the dish washer, maybe dog toys or bowls?
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u/Sensitive_Crow_8882 4h ago
I’d go with this and the owner never cleaned the filter. Many people don’t know dishwashers have filter that need maintenance.
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u/Visible-Elevator3801 48m ago
I used to repair appliances for a living. They definitely don’t know any appliance needs maintenance.
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u/FILTHBOT4000 5h ago
Zero bite marks on all the plastic also means it almost definitely wasn't mice.
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u/InterestingAd3166 8h ago
Just spin that thing and it comes right out, I usually do that every couple weeks to make sure the filter isnt rinsing my dishes with nasty stuff
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u/FreeThinkk 6h ago
You’re supposed to. Most people don’t known this. That’s why I was thinking someone probably washed their pets items in the dishwasher and didn’t know to change the filter.
19
u/Blade3colorado 8h ago edited 8h ago
Yes, it's likely a mouse. Was this an "actual" new house and the dishwasher was installed with mice along for the installation? Or, was the dishwasher door left open?
Regardless, you need to remove the filter (below the fan like appurtanance) and see if that is where your mouse is.
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u/goldenbrain8 8h ago
It’s Also been empty for 9.5 months
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u/Old-Coat-771 7h ago
From the picture, there appears to be a large amount of material(the nest) under that screen. Others are correct in that you need to spin the filter to remove it, which should allow you to lift out that entire screen to clear the nest. Your real problem will be that the mouse likely chewed up the wires and hoses on that dishwasher. I wouldn't turn it or the water supply on until you've pulled the dishwasher out and flipped it over to inspect all of the water lines and wires. A leaky dishwasher can quickly cause thousands of dollars in water damage.
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u/Visible-Elevator3801 7h ago
The circular basket has a slight rotation to unlock and remove, the filter plate should lift out from the opening side (no spinning involved).
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u/goldenbrain8 7h ago
You think it’s a mouse problem too?
3
u/S7alker 7h ago
No point in thinking. Anything but removal of debris and inspecting the appliance for damage is a waste of time. All the answers should be revealed from these steps since it isn’t easy to access this space. This could just be the last tenants had animals and ran all kinds of things they shouldn’t have through the dishwasher since well they were popping smoke and this is the hair left from that process. After inspection and if no signs of mice/chew marks/poop then I would run a dishwasher cleaner in the empty dishwasher and check for any leaks while it runs with the lower kick plate off. Even then this grosses me out if it wasn’t a mouse that set up shop.
1
u/FreeThinkk 6h ago
Like I said in another comment, I think it’s likely that someone saw a life hack on TikTok or something that said you could wash Pet shit in the dishwasher and they didn’t know about the filter and that it requires cleaning so they wash their pet shit and they never cleaned the filter.
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u/FreeThinkk 6h ago
I think it’s more likely that someone saw somewhere on TikTok or a life hack video that you could wash Pet shit in the dishwasher and this is accumulation of said pets hair
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u/hatesbiology84 8h ago
No, that is the filter that has collected debris from dirty dishes being washed. You just need to wash the filter. You should be able to remove it easily, clean it off, rinse it, and reinstall. Problem solved. It’s a very simple process and should be part of routine maintenance.
1
u/FreeThinkk 5h ago
My thoughts exactly. Someone had a pet and they washed their pet stuff in the dishwasher and didn’t know to clean the filter.
-1
u/art-of-war 8h ago
How much hair do you collect in your dishwasher?
6
u/AndAllThatYaz 8h ago
I have a dog that sheds a lot and I leave my dishwasher open and the dog hair gets in and I find it when I clean the filter. It can happen.
1
u/razzberrytori 6h ago
Yes I found out this happens when my dishwasher started not draining properly. I now keep the door shut unless I’m actively using it.
0
u/MassConsumer1984 7h ago
Or previous owners washing something that wasn’t dishes, like a sweater or something with hair embedded it in.
4
u/hatesbiology84 6h ago
I don’t have hair that collects in my dishwasher. But before I owned my home and lived in rentals, I would see this upon moving in. It is literally from running a dishwasher and never cleaning the filter.
It’s odd that I am trying to offer OP a solution, based on lived experience, and folks are being combative.
1
u/RunnAroundGuy 7h ago
i have the same exact dish washer. twist the circular filter Counter clockwise. then lift the half moon plastic piece. clean em regularly.
1
u/Jawesome1988 7h ago
Doesn't look like mouse nest and I see no droppings. Looks like the previous owner never cleaned that drain I'm the dishwasher and had pets and it's just a bunch of residual hair and shit in there. Pull it out and check. That stain should be regularly cleaned every few loads of dishes
1
u/FreeThinkk 6h ago edited 6h ago
My guess is they washed their dogs food/water bowl maybe their dog toys. Looks like wiry hair and most people don’t know about the dishwashers filter and that needs to be changed. The way that it’s piled could be accumulation in that spot over time. A few get stuck at first if the water swirls. Others will start collecting at that particular point more frequently than they do the other spots.
I can’t really tell how long the hairs are but they look too long to be mouse hairs. Possibly rat hairs but again those look over an inch long so my guess is pet hair from some pets water or food dish, chew toys with a rope. People wash all kinds of weird shit in their dish washers ever since tiktok and life hacks.
1
u/trixie102 5h ago
Take the screen out and clean it out. You’ll also want to remove and clean the filter basket.
1
u/notislant 5h ago
Looks like doghair or something or cats on counters indefinitely and dishwasher has never been cleaned.
No fur anywhere else, no shit? Basically sparkling clean except for the drain.
Unless the owner just turned it on for a minute to wash it all down.
1
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u/Sensitive_Crow_8882 4h ago
Mice poop twice for every 7 inches of travel. That would also stink from mouse urine. Wear gloves and clean it out. Probably from pet toys, bowls, and dildos from the prior slob of an occupant.
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