Clothes & washing machine smell - help?

[CraftyPenguin]

I got a second hand washing machine 6 weeks ago. It's been working ok, but this morning I could smell a mouldy smell. I then realised it was the clothes on the airer. They were only put out the evening before so I didn't understand why the smelt, it's not like they'd been there for days.

I then went to the washing machine, and had a look around. I don't know what it's called sorry, but at the bottom of the machine is the thing you turn to let out water. Well I did that and water came out flooded the place and it's all gone now, but that opening smells of damp and mouldy. Why is this? How can I clean it? Could this be the reason why my clothes were smelling?

Clean the dispenser drawer and the bit it fits in to. You have cleaned out the filter (the bit in the front you removed). Now do a few hot washes with soda crystals or vinegar (or a wash each with one then the other) and nothing in the drum to dislodge and clear out any sludge

what kind of wash machine is it? my LG has a tiny concealed (not really concealed but not terribly evident either)door to a "pump filter" which is suppose to be cleaned monthly.
several online tips hot wash with bleach or vinegar.
do you dry the rubber rings (if front load) and leave the door slightly wedged open between cycles?

My washing machine smells weird at the moment - like soil so I have been doing lots of faffing...
Did you have a washing machine there before? Lots of water in the filter sounds like it might not be draining properly. Usually the hose needs be high up into the drain - either look at the handbook or try and find it on line and it will tell you how the waste should be connected. The other thing is it needs to drain into some kind of 'trap' (Ubend)- so if is plumbed in under the sink it needs to go in before the trap (water sits in the trap and stops drain smells coming back up the pipe through the plug hole or washing machine. ) If you are sure that isn't the problem then you can look at cleaning the machine
Clean out the drawer and look at the top of that compartment, might be full of mould...
Then you need to give the door seal a really good clean -look in all the ridges and crease etc.
And the filter (which you have done)
And then do the empty hot washes with vinegar, soda, both, bio washing powder...you can actually buy stuff (not cheap) to clean out washing machines.
Mine stills smells a bit but is a bit better - the one thing that seemed to improve it was the last hot wash I tried - with bio - my washing powder (ecover) foams on a hot wash - the machine filled up with foam so much that I thought it was going to start bubbling out of the drawer. I had to put a drop of fabric conditioner in to stop it foaming so much - but later in the wash I noticed there was black gunk in the water in the drum...after so many hot washes I can only think it came from the fill pipe from the drawer to the drum. Cos all machines are all cold fill now only cold water goes through that even on a boil wash and if the drawer gets mouldy that pipe must get mouldy too...
I'm going to another hot wash with foamy bio and when it is filling pour some nearly boiling water from the kettle into the drawer see if that helps...
If it doesn't I am going to take off the sides etc and see if I can see anything that looks grim - someone I know had a baby sock that had slipped inside the drum and become trapped. The machine started making a noise and an engineer came out to fix it and found the sock. DCs were older - it must have been in there for over a year and it had obviously been rotting before it migrated to get trapped and cause the noise...

It's a Candy grand plus - other than that I have no idea. My dad got it for me, and I just wash the clothes in it. I've never had to maintain a machine before, just leave the door open and every so often clean the rim seal bits that go all the way around by the door. Sorry for sounding really clueless.

Oh and to answer some other questions: the drawer isn't mouldy, nor is the rubber seal thing. It came from a second hand place where it was cleaned before sale and I also bought some stuff to give it a service clean before I used it.

We moved into a house without a washing machine so not sure what it's been like here before. It was really weird as the hot and cold water taps were the wrong way around, so it was initially using hot water. Not sure if that has anything to do with it.

Who plumbed it in for you? Was it your dad?
Was all the pipework there or did he have to fit it? -I'd ask him about the drainage...
Then work on cleaning the machine...

No, my dad didn't want to mess with it as previous tenants had capped off the pipes so a handyman sent by the letting agent did it.

You will have some water in the filter but not that much...maybe a pint at absolute most? - more than that I don't think it is draining properly.
Look for the manual online and it will tell you the minimum drain height for your machine etc - then look where your drainage hose is (usually a grey coloured concertina like one - fill pipes are usually blue but sometimes grey -but smooth and thick walled) and where it goes into the drain and see if it looks right - if it doesn't you need to get the handy man back - actually make sure the waste pipe isn't squashed anywhere too- which would prevent it draining properly
Hot fill - shouldn't have caused a problem ...

Smelly machines are really common these days - down to using cool water washes - but seeing as yours is relatively 'new' install I'd make sure the drain is right first.

We're having the same problems, I've tried all the hot washes and machine cleaning and everything and I just cannot shift the smell. Hopefully you fare better!

Due to tumble dryer issues I'm now having, I've just thought to check the washing machine again.

I did a hot wash with a bit of bleach and since then the clothes seemed to smell ok. I've just unscrewed the thing for the excess water again to check, and a bit of water cae out. It was enough to needed 1 and a half baby towels to soak it up. Is that a normal amount?

Water will always come out the filter. I normally collect it in a shallow container and put it down the sink

Yes that is the normal amount. Don't worry about the smell too much. It will just have been water sat in the pump and pipes while the machine was not being used.

Next time you shop buy some Soda Crystals, they are really cheap - about a pound a kilo, don't pay any more than that, you will get a lot of use out of one packet

www.dri-pak.co.uk/cleaning-products/soda-crystals/

That's good to know. I'm honestly so clueless about all this. It's the first time I've ever owned a washing machine so never had to worry before. Thank you :)

Nah, not clueless, just inexperienced. Keep asking, I seem to be stalking you at the moment

Dad was a 'Domestic Appliance Engineer' for decades, so I know a bit.

There is a poster called PigletJohn for the more difficult bits

Ooh I will do, thank you Blanche. The plumber who came out a few weeks ago reckoned the pipes are probably full of crap from the last tenants as they didn't look after anything so those will do the trick nicely!

I've never had a stalker before Blanche, I feel honoured

Tbh we lived in a house before where everything was integrated and brand new so we were spoilt! Dh did all the washing too. Now I'm a sahm so I'm doing it all, so I thought I just put the washing in, then shove it on an airer, job done! I've never had clothes smell before, needing to empty filters or the luxury of a tumble dryer. It's all so new to me, I feel so silly asking all these questions that I really should know!