Laundry with stale smell :-(

[hiddenhome]

I usually use Persil, but it's quite expensive, so tried buying Daz and now Sainsburys own brand bio. I found the Daz a bit strong and the Sainsburys doesn't smell of much at all. I don't like flowery or chemically smells.

I've noticed that the washing smells a bit now Sort of stale and it's worse when I iron it.

I always wash at 40 degrees and use unscented fabric softener because I don't like the way softeners smell.

I always dry outside when I can and don't have a tumble dryer, but have a high speed spinner which gets rid of excess water.

How can I get rid of the slightly stale smell?

Is the laundry actually clean if it smells like this?

give the washer a hot hot hot service wash with no powder or fabsoft but a cup of washing soda crystals. You can put in a load of cotton towels as the heat will not hurt them. If the water goes grey and foams up that's the old soap sludge dissolving. Do it again until it stays clear. Your towels will also go surprisingly soft and white.

scrub the rubber door seal grooves, and the soap drawer aperture, with kitchen spray with bleach.

I do the odd bleach wash at 90 degrees, but haven't for a while.

I have washing soda crystals in the cupboard.

From my experience it could be 2 things

1. in this weather when it's on the cooler side if I hang my clothes outside I have a strange outdoor clothes smell that I don't like. This doesn't happen in warm/ summer weather

2. smell of detergent and stuff clogged up in the machine.

Try:

1. after every wash keep the washing machine door open so there is no build up of smell

2. do a very hot wash I.e. the hottest setting on your washing machine mines 90 degrees without any detergent, conditioner no clothes.
   I once spoke to some salesperson who said we should be doing a hot empty wash I think every six weeks.