plastic melted on dish water heating element

run the heat cycle only or let the machine cycle through to the drying segment

let the heat only run for long enough to heat the plastic & gently scrap of the residue with the side of a small putty knife.

BTDT ...if the stuff cools, reheat by closing the machine. When most / all is gone....let the element cool & use acetone or Goof-Off to clean up the trace. Followup with with scrubber sponge & some Softscrub.

smell should be greatly reduced

cheers Bob

That seems to have worked, thanks. The fumes from the burning plastic were terrible. It gave me a bad headache and burned my eyes. My wife said it burned her eyes and bothered her throat.