I normally wash at 60 or 40, using Persil 2-in-1 liquid which is one of the few detergents that I like the smell of and doesn't irritate DH's skin.
My problem is that some of DH's tops (tshirts and polo shirts) come out smelly. The smell is not usually very strong although there have been some particularly whiffy ones, and it's usually in the seams around the collar area, rarely in the whole top. It's hard to describe - sort of a damp, left-wet-too-long/taken-too-long-to-dry smell. It's quite distinctive and makes the item of clothing unwearable as body heat seems to make the smell waft... I've noticed it on other people and so wouldn't wear even a slightly whiffy top myself as it is quite unpleasant.
There might be one or five or no tops in a normal wash (washing machine takes 6kg on the cycle I normally use, very conscious of making sure I'm not overloading so usually only put in 3/4 of the max) that come out with this smell, it seems to be totally at random. Sometimes the smell seems to breed onto other clothes; other times, there will be one very whiffy tshirt in a load, while everything else comes out with that lovely freshly-washed smell.
I rarely leave a wash sitting in the machine for more than 10min after it's finished, precisely because I'm fighting this smelly problem! We do have an outside line but rarely the weather to use it as we're in Scotland and it seems to be the law that it rains every weekend, plus I generally prefer to put a wash on after work when we aren't going out, and then hang it on the indoor airer near radiators, rather than wait in on a Saturday to hang it out straight from the machine. In any case, even last summer when stuff dried in the sun in an hour, there was still the occasional smelly top.
My attempted solutions so far have been to dry quickly (radiator, as no tumble dryer) and then rewash; to wash on a high heat (90 max in our machine); or to soak and then machine wash/wash by hand. Sometimes these work; sometimes not, and sometimes nothing will shift the smell so after a few tries, the top goes in the bin. Have even soaked in vinegar and boiling water... no joy.
The really annoying thing is the inconsistency as there's no obvious cause. I've googled numerous times but no new ideas... The washing machine is less than a year old, and doesn't smell itself as I clean it regularly and run cleaning solutions through it on empty every so often.
Does anyone have the same problem and any suggestions?? I am sick of DH getting fed up and deciding to throw his clothes out but I can't blame him!!