Why does my fresh laundry smell?

[Needallthesleep]

Ever since I can remember my fresh laundry has had an odd smell that I can’t put my finger on...for context:

• we have lived in two rented and one owned place, with five different washing machines from old to brand new. We have one currently that is six months old. Laundry still smells.

• we have used bio and non bio, across various brands, with fab con. It still smells.

• It’s not a damp smell, and the smell occurs when we put stuff straight to a drying cycle in our current washer dryer, or when we take out and hang dry

• in that time we have washed new clothes, old clothes, cotton, polyester, and both have boring office jobs where we wouldn’t get anything odd on them

I’m so confused. And it’s driving me crazy not knowing what the problem is!

Can anyone solve the mystery?

Can anyone else smell it or is it just you. I can smell the hard water in my new house whereas dh couldn't, it smelled to me a bit like rain on dirt but its clean. It's wearing off as I get used to it

Are you using a liquid or gel laundry product? I found that they were making my washing machine and washing really smelly. I switched to powder and my washing smells lovely every time.

Is it only you who smells it? Have you asked anyone else? It could just be your nose .

Definitely DH smells it as well. It seems to go once they have been out of the laundry for a while. We live in London so could be a hard water thing?

Have you tried running the empty machine at 90° a couple of times? Bacteria can build up inside the washer if you only use 40° programmes or lower and this will smell eventually. You need to wash some things eg towels at 60 ° anyway.

If you've already tried that then maybe it is your local water ??

I know the smell you mean! It's a washer/dryer thing and only seems to happen with the drying function. I dont know what causes it though, sorry.

I had the same problem when we moved from up north to down south
Someone told me to buy a bag of soda crystals (about a pound a bag in Tesco) and mix it well into the washing powder it softens the water and helps lift stains out too
I ran the machine empty on a 90 wash and then used the powder/crystals mix and never had a problem since

Thanks for the responses.

We wash things at 60/90 every couple of weeks. And use napisan to kill bacteria. It’s even happened on our current brand new washing machine.

We have had washing machines and washer dryers and it happens on both types.

As Campion says run a 90c wash and see if it clears at all .I would also recommend putting a couple of old towels in as my machine doesnt spin if too light a load! .Many washes say to use gel/liquid in a very cool wash ,and this can cause a smell ./also some black mildew around the door

Do you over fill the machine? How much space do you leave when you put clothes in. That can leave to a smell because the clothes can't move around enough in the drum.

Oh yes definitely over fill. Thanks so much that makes sense.

Maybe it is just how YOU smell?

Everyone smells a bit differently and our homes and clothes reflect that, laundered or not (well, obviously a bit more if not...)

I have found that switching from liquid/gel to powder has made a massive difference. My laundry actually comes out of the machine smelling clean now.

I live in a very hard water area and also add soda crystals to soften the water.

I've had this too. I think mold/bacteria build up in the washing machine and then the smell is hard to get out of clothes. I now use washing machine cleaner regularly and leave the door open. I managed to get smell out of some of my clothes eventually, others I threw away.

How long do you leave the wet washing in the machine once it's finished?

I always leave the door open between washes and once a week run a 60 degree wash just with Zoflora, that does the trick.