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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

my washing machine smells a bit musty..

14 replies

camperli · 16/01/2011 13:08

is there something you can do like doing a wash with just vinegar to get rid of the smell?
Or another cleaning method..it smells like damp clothes all the time at the moment..

Thank you

OP posts:
JenniL1977 · 16/01/2011 13:13

Do a really hot wash to kill the bacteria, then make sure you leave the door open (even just a little bit) after each wash so it dries out.

mamijacacalys · 16/01/2011 14:34

Doing the odd 60oC towels or bedding wash with powder rather than liquid.
Also leaving the door open as Jenni says.

tassisssss · 16/01/2011 14:36

empty load as high as it'll go with white vinegar in the soap drawer should sort it!

valiumredhead · 16/01/2011 15:23

Half a bag of soda crystals - about 90p from Tescos - in the drum and put through on a the hottest wash. do this once a month.

Clunge · 16/01/2011 15:25

I put soda crystals in the drum and a good slug of vinegar in the drawer. Hottest wash possible. Do this about once every month and no nasty niffs Grin

Ooopsadaisy · 16/01/2011 15:33

It needs a really hot wash through it every now and then to really clean it through.

TheMonster · 16/01/2011 15:38
Grin

Mine smells if I use liquid for a while, so I try to alternate and make sure I use powder sometimes even though it leaves a yucky mess in the drawer.

FluteyBoots · 16/01/2011 15:43

Ooh I love it when you have a nice sparkly washing machine.

Yy to the vinegar and hot wash, I also clean the rubber door seal with a bit of dilute bleach and rinse well.

PigletJohn · 16/01/2011 16:22

There are two common causes of a smelly washing machine

(1) congealed old soap and fabsoft. This is usually caused by excessive amounts, and/or doing lots of low temp washes. To cure it, take out the powder drawer first, and scrub it, and the aperture it slides into, in hot water (you may find it has black mildew in it, in which case you can use kitchen cleaner with bleach and an old toothbrush). Then do a max temp wash, with NO POWDER OR LIQUID and preferably some old white cotton towels. If the water foams up, you will know it is from the resident old soap. Do it again until the water is no longer soapy. Veey rarely, if you use a lot of bath oil or moisturiser, or work in a chip shop, and do cool washes, the inside of the machine gets coated with grease. In this case use Ariel powder and a max hot wash (and those old white cotton towels) to clean the tub. Check that the pump filter is not blocked with rotting socks or fluff (check your instruction book for how)

(2) luckily less common
If the waste hose connects to the sink waste, it is possible for old sink water to drain into the machine, including tealeaves, bacon fat etc. To cure this, either put the crook of the waste hose into a waste standpipe (this needs a bit of DIY plumbing if you do not already have one spare) or else lopop up the waste hose so that it higher than the water level in the sink, and preferably looped up so it is right up against the ubderside of teh worktop or draining board. As water will not flow uphill, this will stop sink water running into the machine. BTW never pour fat down the sink as it sets in the pipes and is horrible to remove.

camperli · 16/01/2011 19:16

THANK YOU ALL.

now to work on unblocking the dishwasher...
Smile

OP posts:
HollyBollyBooBoo · 16/01/2011 20:23

I read somewhere that doing a hot wash with a couple of dishwasher tablets in the machine works - but I have never done this myself so can't personally recommend it!

valiumredhead · 17/01/2011 07:54

Hottest wash with a dishwasher cleaner - Tescos do their own make, or Oust do one, once ever 6 weeks. Use lots of salt even if you live in a soft water area and use all in one tablets - the salt keeps the pipes clear of grease.

Carrotsandcelery · 17/01/2011 13:57

My washing machine engineer advised me to buy a small box of biological powder and to run the machine on hot wash, empty, with that about once a month - it worked a treat for us. Not environmentally sound but neither is bleach I imagine.

sarahfreck · 17/01/2011 16:22

The "How Clean is your House" Ladies recommend running on a very hot wash every so often with either washing soda or vinegar.

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