Smelly washing machine

[needthistowork]

My washing machine smells damp, if i open the door the whole room smells and the smell travels into the next room so it is quite bad.

I tried a hot wash with some bleach in which worked for a few days but then the smell came back and its making my clothes smell.

Any advice?

ditto.. marking my spot for answers

I'm getting a sudden feeling of déjà vu.

I'm getting a sudden feeling of déjà vu.

but try www.mumsnet.com/Talk/good_housekeeping/1419426-Have-I-just-buggered-up-my-washing-machine

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/1413690-Oh-fuck-oh-fuck-oh-fuck-I-just-put-a-95-deg-clean-out-the-washing-machine-innards-wash-on

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/1422622-Has-mumsnet-increased-the-amount-of-housework-washing-you-do

you don't need bleach, just HOT HOT HOT wash with no powder of fabsoft.

And scrub out the rubber door seal and the powder drawer

Oust washing machine cleaner is the best one I found. It did a pretty good job for me for a while but the smell came back after a few weeks. Tbh mine is getting past the point of no return.

I also tried putting white vinegar in, and a couple of other special cleaner products but they didn't seem to budge the whiff.

Hot maintencance washes regularly, clean and dry the powder dispenser after every use, wipe the rubber seal and keep the door ajar.

Mine only strated to smell when I ditched washing powder for eco balls. A thread on here led me to this website. I went back to washing powder and do a couple of 60 degree washes a week and the smell has disappeared.

where is Anyfucker.....she is an expert with this one!

when mine did the same the advice was to do hot hot hot wash with either white vinegar or soda crystals.

clean the seal

clean the filter. (which i have yet to find.....)

Using liquid detergent at 40 degrees is supposed to cause it. Switching to powder and higher temps has sorted my stinky machine

You are right weedoll. I did the same and switched to powder and don't have a problem any more.

I read the posts that pigletjohn linked to and tried doing a 90 degree wash with bleach in the powder dispenser (had tried all the other options including switching to powder).
I assume this tactic is pretty bad for the environment, but it has certainly got rid of the smell for the moment!

Fgs don't do a maintenance wash! My machine was fresh as a daisy until I got carried away by peer pressure on here and put it on an empty boil wash. Now it stinks and nothing will shift it - you have been warned!

I was going to post the same thing! Did a 90 degree wash with white vinegar, machine smelt amazing until I used it an hour later. Now it smells like horrible damp. AGAIN. I've only had it since the beginning of February!

I'm going to try powder from now on instead of liquid tab things.

Ohbugrit, mine was stinky before I had even heard of a maintenance wash... The bleach was last chance saloon for that washing machine. Hopefully it's done the trick but we shall see.

Mine stopped stinking when I threw out the ecoballs and started using biological washing powder in 60 degree washes. The smell is caused by bacteria that aren't killed off at low temperature washes.

Interestingly, using biological washing powder has made no difference to my daughter's sensitive skin.

ohbugrit

Did it foam? If so that will be the old soap sludge coming out. Do it again, with no powder or fabsoft, just HOT HOT HOT water and old cotton towels if you have them, until it no longer foams and the water stays clear.

This may be way down the expert tips scale compared to the above, but have you tried leaving the washing machine door open after each wash for at least an hour? MIL recommended this for the grub in my washing machine door and it works very well - it seems to be the damp that causes the smell.

No foam. Just stench!

the stink is most often bacteria feeding on the old sludge of soap and fabsoft. Sometimes it is shredded socks rotting in the filter, so empty that. Sometimes it is the waste hose being incorrectly positioned so that dirty water and fish heads drain from the sink waste into the washer. If you have been using eco-bolls or no-soap-nuts then the residue will be dirt and grease, not soap.

In order or probability, work on the sludge first. Hot water will go cloudy and usually foam as it dissolves the sludge. Washing soda will speed up removal of soap and also grease residue e.g. if you use bath oil or lots of skin lard. Vinegar should not be added at this point since it will neutralise the soda. Bleach is not needed at this point since although it will kill the bacteria for a day, it does not dissolve the sludge which will soon be recolonised.

If you have a lot of sludge, once you start softening and loosening it, it may smell more until you have finished washing it away by repeated hot washes. Don't be fooled into thinking that starting the cleaning process has caused the sludge.

Take the dispenser drawer out then look up at where the water jets come out. If its gunky, clean it out with a toothbrush. This solved the problem for me. Also agree about using powder. Tried liquid and it caused all sorts of problems.

Quick update - did my second vinegar wash in 3 days and switched to powder. No more horrible damp smell!