I found this link:

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/laundry/msg041137222895.html

I like the suggestion about soaking some cloths in lemon oil and tumble drying them. I think soaking them in vinegar would work also.

I would try wiping it out the barrel with vinegar and also wiping out anything else you can get to, including the lint filter and any duct work you can expose without too much hassle. Now might be a good time to vacuume out the ducting like I think they recommend (just a vague recollection, I might be wrong). It's probably the traces of fish oil stuck in places that are keeping the smell around. Good luck!

I would also clean out the lint collector, washing it with vinegar. You might need to get a long brush to get the extra lint out of the dryer that could still be hanging onto the oils.

I found a "washer cleaner" in the detergent aisle. I think it's made by Tide. It worked pretty well for me!

I was also going to suggest white vinegar. Seems to be a trend here!

I wonder if putting a few charcoal briquettes in the dryer (not with it on, obviously) and letting it sit a day or two would help? Charcoal absorbs odors really well.

Baking soda? Maybe mixed with the vinegar for a scrub down or used similarly to the charcoal that Charise suggested?

You could try Borax- it works well on moldy smells in the washer.

Everything was washed down with a rag dipped in baking soda solution. The dryer, vent, washer, and kid, just for good measure. Then I did the same, with white vinegar. Then drank a bowl of wine. Rinse and repeat, people. Rinse and repeat. After 2 days of lemon juice, baking soda, white vinegar, and a very nice bottle of Cab, my dryer no longer smells of fish. I lost 1 shirt to the battle- it just wouldn't let go of the odor. Or at least that's what I told my husband. Thanks for all the suggestions!!!!!!! You were right, the power of white vinegar is unreal.

I have no suggestions, but I feel for you. My mother would have just placed the entire house on the market. Furnished. And started over somewhere else.

She hates the smell of fish THAT much!

The power of white vinigar is amazing. I use it with every wash, and we do cloth diapers. The diapers never smell, are stain free, and super soft (use it instead of fabric softener, it is better for the environment, and actually removes oders instead of just covering them up). My husbands smelly work clothes, towels, everything is soft and smells like nothing, not like detergent or food or poo. Put it into the bleach dispenser!

thanks for the tip, Daisy- we cloth diaper too. I use Rockin' Green detergent, and we clean the house with vinegar and lemon oil, so I don't know why I never thought to add it to the wash! Thanks!!!

First off, as much as it might make sense to use good smelling oil to cancel out bad smelling oil, PLEASE check with a dryer repair man before deliberately putting an oily rag in a heated environment. I'm not sure, but I think it screams "fire hazard"!!!!!

Secondly, here's a link to how a clothes dryer works, and how the air (and the oil) flows through the machine:
http://home.howstuffworks.com/dryer.htm

Your best DIY steps would be to clean the inside of the drum, the exhaust hose and the lint trapper.

You'll need the following:
A grease cutter to get the oil off. Formula 409 is the best there is.
Dawn dishwashing liquid
baking soda
A soft toothbrush
A dryer vent cleaning kit
(they sell them at www.flylady.net)

UNPLUG the machine, remove the lint trap and set it to soak in the Dawn, a tblsp of baking soda and hot water (if you use fabric softener, there's a coating of fats from that on the lint trap as well as the fish oil, the baking soda softens the water and helps dissolve the fats).
Use a soft clean cloth and the 409 to wipe out the inside of the dryer. Repeat a few times, changing cloths.
Use the vent cleaner to pull all lint out of the hose (there will be some in there) when you can't get any more lint out, clean off the brush, then dampen with the 409 and use it to clean out the exhaust hose again.
Use the toothbrush to scrub off the lint trap, and wash it a second time.
Let the trap dry, and let the dryer air out for a while, then give it a test run.
It the smell persists, the oil may be coating parts of the dryer you can't safely reach. Call your friendly local repairman for advice. :-)

PLEASE check with a dryer repair man before deliberately putting an oily rag in a heated environment.

Really? Only a man can be of help in this situation?

Seriously? You're objecting to the word *man* in that sentence?

I have done this before and thought I had ruined a lot of my new maternity clothes. For some reason Simple Green worked. Good luck