Why does my washing machine stink?

[OneGreyBiscuit]

I use washing machine cleaner and put it on a drum clean wash, I clean the filter out and after one wash it stinks again. I use liquid detergent in a ball, fabric softener in the drawer and leave the door open after a wash to give it an airing. Just fed up with it smelling and don't know where I'm going wrong? Machine is just over a year old.

Switch to powder, it’s much better for the machine

Liquid detergent leave a residue that hums.

i switched back to powder and it completely solved the problem. Though you might need to do a vinegar and bicarbonate wash just to get rid of the old residue first

Try bio powder straight in the drum and the hottest wash your machine does.

Put it on the hottest wash you can with soda crystals it in and switch to powder.

I use the Aldi bio powder for whites, it’s miraculous.

When you use washing liquid in the drum, water still runs through the drawer and the pipes behind it, but they never get cleaned and stay damp. I do 1:4 washes using powder and it seems to keep it clean.

Are they better than a cleaner? Just tip some into the drum?

It's the liquid and softener, and I'm guessing you wash on low temps.

Do you ever run a really hot wash?

We switched to powder when we found we couldn’t keep our washing machine smelling fresh, has definitely made a difference.

Do you dry inside the seal? We always get a puddle in there so dry that, take the drawer out, give it a wipe it and leave on the draining board to dry fully,dry inside the drawer.
Our old washing machine ended up leaving mildew on the washing so with this one we've been really careful keeping it clean.
Also use power instead of liquid as read the same about it leaving scum/residue

Pull your washing machine out and check your drainage pipe. Those can get pretty gunky. It's part of your plumbing system not your washing machine itself.

I use a 40/60 eco wash for everything

Thanks all, think I'll have to switch to powder

Are your seals clean?

Do a 90c wash once a week, either towels or just an empty machine. The pipes get all clogged with fat and oils etc and need to be cleared.

Liquid detergent and the fabric conditioner. Switch to powder and the odour will disappear

I use powder and my machine still smelled a bit and the water was still foamy on a wash with nothing in the machine and we had an engineer out for another issue and he recommended this cleaner. I use it once a month and the machine seems better.

There might be some mould in the rubber lining and it might just need a clean out.

Take some kitchen towel give the lining a once over. Then take a small amount of bicarb and vinegar and put on a hot wash. That should sort you out.

If you're not confident with using vinegar and bicarb than take a cap of bleach and put the machine on the longest hottest wash.

Eco washes use less water and I find they don't get my clothes as clean. It's annoying because I would prefer to use less electricity and don't mind them being long, but I find it's worth using the non eco wash and sometimes pressing the "intensive" button (there is always something like this but the name will vary) which is supposed to be for extra dirty clothes. I think because we wear things a couple of times before washing we have to use this setting because the standard one is maybe based on lightly worn clothing. So I suppose at least we save money/energy that way. One more intensive wash is probably less than 2x eco washes.

When you take your clothes out, do they smell clean or do they smell a bit pongy as well? I would try running the same load through a cycle again and see if it helps.

Oh and don't overfill the drum, 1/2 - 2/3 full is ideal.

That WPro stuff linked is just citric acid in powder form going by the packet. So you can just buy citric acid, which is cheaper, and get the same effect. I usually put it straight in the drum.

Try the hottest wash with just soda crystals.

When I did it, I was appalled at the dirty grey foam that appeared. Had to do it twice before it was clear.
Now I just use powder, no conditioner, nothing else.

Check the drain hose isn’t kinked. Scrub the drum and rubber seal with hot water and a scrubbing brush. I was mortified at how dirty mine was despite doing regular boil washes.

When this happens to us I put white vinegar in all the drawers and chuck a load in the drum and run on 90 for a long wash with rinse plus.

You can buy it on Amazon in big 5l bottles. Also perfect for bleaching water marks out of wood and cleaning glass/ mirrors.

Problem solved

I have used fabric softner and liquid detergent for over a decade and don't have any issues. I always wash with disinfectant so towels, cleaning cloths and pet things don't get that musty smell. I also fully dry the front seal when I finish washing. My machine has a sanitise wash which is really hot and I use that every couple of weeks for pet things. I also regularly use the drum clean cycle. My machine auto doses the laundry liquid and fabric softner, so that probably helps reduce any overuse.

My machine always smells fresh.