Question

Why does my dishwasher have a burning smell to it?

I'm washing dishes and it's now in the drying cycle and I noticed it started emitting a burning smell?

It smells like burning plastic?

Answer 1

It's most likely the heating element in your dishwasher causing the burning plastic smell.

My moms dishwasher does the same thing after it was used for awhile.

The heating element is used to dry your dishes once the wash cycle is done.