This is only be pertinent if you the low-end Bosch that was recommended by Consumer Reports: I followed someone's suggestion upthread about wiping down the rubber gasket at the base of the door where it closes, and sometimes the door too. I skeptically did this and saw an immediate improvement. For awhile I did it regularly, now I hardly ever remember - but the smell seems like it's just gotten much better. I do clean the filter thing as well as I'm able, but there's never anything but a tiny bit of residue on it.
Like most of you, I really thought the smell was a deal-breaker. So there's hope. At first I thought I was going to have to run the machine every day, just to reset the smell, which was not in my plans.