To run washing machine with no clothes in it?

[Backoff85]

Clothes are coming out clean but kind of fusty smelling. Should i try "washing" my washing machine by running a cycle with soap but no clothes in???

Do a maintenance wash- at the hottest temp you can, with something like soda crystals or bicarb and vinegar?

yip every few months i do this

Yes I do this with vinegar works a treat.

I buy the packs if washer cleaner and that works.

I hate to be that person but... I run some zoflora through with a load of something plain like towels to do this! But you could do it empty too, try something like dettol too, that would work. Nothing that might bleach clothes though just in case.

How much vinegar?

Every couple of months or so I run mine on the hottest setting (90 degrees) with either bicarbonate of soda, white vinegar or tea tree oil in the dispenser and drum. Sometimes I put a small amount of bleach in the drum too.

I believe it's recommended that you do this every now and then. Make sure you clear out the filter while you're at it too. If stuff gets clogged in there, it can get quite smelly

Thought you were meant to do this sometimes to maintain the machine.

I run mine empty with zoflora,

I dont have any of that to hand, should i wait until I do or can I give it a try with normal laundry powder? Or would that not do anything?

Oh wait o do have bicarbonate! YES!!!!!!! Can I put it directly in drum? Will 30C wash do? How much? Cupful?

I do it every few months with either Soda crystals or washing machine cleaner.
Do it with the laundry powder, but don't use too much, you could get an explosion of foam

Put it in the drawer, And on the hottest wash.

Incidentally dont you love it when you realise youve become the sort pf upstanding citizen to have b. soda lying around?

You need to run it hotter that is how you are getting that foosty smell run it empty at 60 . You can shove a bit of bleach in the powder drawer

90 degree wash.

And bicarb is fine. No point adding vinegar because they neutralise each other.

My machine (Samsung) demands a drum wash every so often. I think it is 90 washes. A little symbol comes up on display.

I go all frosty with it as not sure I like being told what to do by a washing machine.

Anyhow it shouldn’t have any detergent in it when I do mine but that does seem weird.

Don’t put bleach in a washing machine, it will make the rubber seal degrade!

just wash towels or bedding at 60 or hotter every now and then.

I've got sachets of machine cleaner that I bought from the manufacturer, for use on the wm and dishwasher. It was about £20 but there are 25 sachets and you do it once a month...definitely worth doing IMO, I wouldn't want to faff with vinegar etc in case it left a smell or something.

Thanks for your help! Currently on 90C empty with bicarb

2 capfuls of zoflora in the drawer & 60c wash. No clothes.

Can you also take the drawer out & scrub it first, sometimes it goes a bit black & mouldy. Mine comes out completely, not sure if all makes do.

Hot wash with a dishwasher tablet in the drum. Works much better than anything else I've tried.

I’ve never done this....but now I just want to go run an empty cycle!!!