Why does my wasing machine smell?

[WheresTheCat]

I am really sensitive to smell - but in the last few days, when I take a load out I can smell a sort of stagnant smell in the drum. I always leave the door open to air the machine after I've used it, but not sure why it's smelling and what I should do - I tried bicarb yesterday but it doesn't seem to have done anything - help!

this crops up all the time - "search" on "service wash" or washing smell" but it is usually old soap sludge built up in the machine.

A hot hot hot 90 degree cycle with no soap and no fabsoft will start to wash it away. Add a cup of washing soda if you have it. If the water foams up and goes grey that's the old soap sludge dissolving, do it again until it stays clean.

It mostly happens when you do lots of cool washes or use too much powder. If you have white towels and facecloths, give them a hot cotton wash once a week and it will tend to stop sludge building up.

Clean out the pump filter and the soap drawer and slot while you're at it.

I found the machine got smelly when I overfilled it all the time. Now I'm doing much smaller loads and the washing and the machine all smell better.

I followed PigletJohn's advice and also the advice on here and it was spot on.

I had been using laundry liquid, not powder and doing too many low temperature washes.

I now do a couple of 60 degree washes a week using Ariel bio powder and the smell has gone. Another positive result is that DD's eczema has just about disappeared.

put your teatowels into a 90 degree wash and it should wash out/kill all the smelly bacteria.