Washing Machine that doesn’t make clothes smell recs!

[macaroni234]

Washing machine is broken and needs replacing and we need to buy a new one. We’ve always had a problem with this one - Bosch making clothes musty. Previous Bosch was fine. We’ve tried everything. Washing hotter, hot cleaning cycles, citric acid, vinegar, different cleaning detergent etc

If you have a machine that gives you nice fresh clothes please recommend. Even if it’s on the pricey side. In an ideal world it would be around £500 though which a replacement for ours would be.

That’s interesting as I have a fairly new Bosch machine (never had problems with previous hotpoint) and I’ve noticed the machine smells a bit musty. It hasn’t started affecting my clothes yet - I always leave the door ajar. Might switch to powder and see if that helps.

ok, maybe not that one. 5 years is nothing. The Bosch before lasted 12 years and did all the kids washing and had one in cloth nappies.

I have used the anti-fungal stuff before but can’t use it regularly due to child with sensitive skin. I’m going to try Persil non bio powder and see if that helps. And then will see if vinegar also helps keep any mould at bay.

90 degree wash only makes the next wash fresh if that. Previous machine needed none of this. We’ve looked at pipes behind to see if it’s a problem with that. But not sure we could look downstream of the filter.

macaroni234

I have 4 kids and do 2-3 washes a day so bear that in mind!!!

I love my Bosch S6 prior to that had a Miele which outlived it welcome- never smelled thought.
After 18 years of service in a hard water area

Think the Miele is better on the whole.

anyways I am not helping but my friends got one where you fill it up with any detergent and it auto doses it wasn’t expensive one either and it sounds awesome!

Can I ask, do you put the powder in loose or in something in the drum? And how much white vinegar do you use? Thanks

washing machines have a filter?

I have a dead cheap machine that's now about ten years old. Never any smells from it at all, I leave the door and powder dispenser drawer open between washes, do an occasional 90 degree wash without clothes in and use powder and no fabric softener.

I find modern machines ridiculously overcomplicated though, I want an On/Off button, one dial for temperature and that's all. I have never thought that I want my clothes a bit less spun or washed for a few minutes more. So I go for simple machines and they've never done me wrong yet!

We have a Samsung eco bubble here too, no smells. We use biological powder for mine and DP's washes, and non-bio Bio D liquid for DD's clothes and bedding. We always keep the door open and are diligent about doing the drum clean wash when the reminder comes up.

Leave the detergent drawer open to dry as well. That can get moldy sometimes.

White vinegar in the conditioner drawer (about quarter of a cup) disinfects clothes and machine.

Do a very hot wash once a month - this can help to dislodge the detergent gunk.

i agree that powder is much better than liquid for getting clothes clean and smelling good. I also make sure I get the washing straight out of the machine and put in tumbler or on the airer / line as immediately as if it gets left more than a few minutes it smells musty.

JL machine. Ten years old. I use persil non bio but once a week wash the cleaning cloths and teatowels on 95° with aerial bio and a handful of washing soda. Never a problem.

Take out the detergent drawer and scrub and clean all the crevices, then look inside the upper and back surfaces of the bit the drawer fits in.

On a previous machine I used to clean this area with a dishwasher brush as black mould would gather, on my current machine I remove the drawer after use and have no problems.

i also do a 90 wash every few weeks for towels and kitchen cloths.

I have a Siemens one and it’s been great, had it just under 6 years, paid £360 for it in a sale and it’s been one of the best ones I’ve had - it’s now started making random noises but hasn’t died yet. I’ve said that now so it will completely pack in. I also have the tumble dryer which is still going strong.

We struggle with seriously hard water so that has destroyed a lot of our machines on top of all the heavy washing I do, think rural, cats/dogs, kids football & rugby stuff. We’ve been through so many appliances due to it. Our kettle fuzzes up within 3 days of being descaled.

I hate my eco bubble and was glad when the hard water go to it in the end. I did have a reasonably decent washer dryer from John Lewis but again only lasted just under 2 years.

Miele are supposed to be great but I don’t have the ££££ for a washing machine.

Sorry to jump in, do you find clothes that say wash at 30 are ok after a hotter wash? Hottest I’ve gone so far is 40 for clothes.
I do use Dettol laundry sanitizer.

We have a Bosch WAN28259GB and wash at 30 without any issues with smell. We leave the door and drawer open after use and use non-bio washing powder (either bio D or Surcare) and vinegar (instead of fabric softener).

@redboxerclub there was an auto-dosing Bosch in our holiday rental this summer. Was so quiet but I looked into them and apparently the auto-dosing bit goes wrong a lot and stops the whole machine working not just the dosing bit. The door seems to have got an upgrade on that. We’ve busted the catch.

@Hisappotomusyes the filter is usually at the bottom on the front. Usually has a little door and the filter screws out.
It used to have a penny in it when we used to use actual money!

We have a Samsung eco bubble and it’s 15 years old. Best purchase of a white good ever. It’s got us through 3 babies and does well for our family of 5. We’ll replace it with another - a basic bottom end version.

Interesting what you say about washing powder/liquid. We’re a family with bad eczema and non bio is the worst for reactions here. I can only use persil bio and I’m scared to change to try anything else.

It's not the machine it's the method.
Use powder, any powder, put it in the drum directly with the washing.
Vinegar instead of fabric conditioner - it won't make anything smell of vinegar.

If the machine is already smelly it will take time but I promise you this works.

@TheOtteyi use vinegar quite a lot. Doesn’t seem to make any difference. But will get Persil non bio powder and try again. Have used it in the past and straight in the drum.
I remember now that I switched from powder because there was residue left on clothes. Possibly from being on eco cycle

DD gets itchy skin if anything different is used in the machine even if not on her clothes but Persil non-bio has been fine in the past. She has to sleep in a sleeping bag liner on holiday or other houses or long PJs. Not sure how she will cope at Uni next year.

Powder over tablets
you can buy deep clean washing machine cleaner which is use about once a month
also our Hoover washing machine is a nightmare for keeping clean and smell free, I’d avoid this brand.
before that we had a cheap beko and it dust be need cleaning once never smelt ever 🙈

Had Bosch previously, last time got a cheap Hoover.

Only time anything smells is when it's been overloaded and not emptied promptly - we use Fairy powder (in the drawer for standard wash, in the drum for a smaller quick cycle), occasional Comfort pure and it's usually on 20-30 with a longer hot wash for bedding and towels. Used to use Ecover bio before they stopped doing the cheaper - relatively speaking - large pack and their fabric softener and didn't have any problems either.

The worst thing for smells were using liquid detergent, concentrated fabric softener and not cleaning the inevitable gloop and mould from those in the drawer, behind the drawer or wiping through the drum as well as the seal.

I have an Indesit Push & Go 8kg drum/1400 spin speed and it's a brilliant machine. It weighs the washing, calculates water usage and has variable spin speeds and temperature and programmes from 15mins to 3.5hrs. It's the best washer that I've ever had and it's also fairly reasonable to buy.

Your Bosch machine smells because it's probably got tubing or pockets where water & detergent sit between washes and then bacteria causes the smell which is then really difficult to get rid of. It's a machine fault I would think.

I noticed that you said that you use white vinegar in your machine but are you using it correctly? You shouldn't need to use it in every wash or on a clothes wash at all. Every 4-6 months I fill the empty drum with half a bottle of white vinegar and then put a quarter of a bottle into the drawer and then run the machine empty on a 90 wash cycle. When it's done the machine should have no smell at all. I'm also quite strict on machine maintenance. After I've finished using it for the day I wipe the drum and seals dry and then take out the drawer and dry that too. I then leave the door open by a few cms to let it air. I've had my current washer 5 years and it's mould, limescale and smell free.

TeenLifeMum

That’s interesting- will try persil bio (son has horrific eczema)- the non bio for him is all that seems to ease it- surf, daz and fairy non bio and all bio have all aggravated it but I think when we found persil non bio we just stopped searching as it made a decent difference! As I was saying I do 2/3 washes a day so that could be why it’s only lasted five years- hsd two guys out, one said it could be on its last legs the other sayid it was an amazing machine so dh ran with that guy to avoid us replacing and our clothes are awful now all the time!