Very stinky washing machine HELP

[deepwater56]

My washing machine was pretty grim so I've scrubbed all the seals, the drawer, done 3 90 degree washes, 2 with white wine vinegar. It's worse than ever. I've left it all open to dry. What next? I'm desperate to do a wash: will my clothes come out smelling like the machine?

Did you do the bit the drawer fits into and cleaned out the filter?

Have you tried running it with disinfectant? Also you need to use a LOT of vinegar, it's not a very strong descaler. You might want to get descaler tablets as they are usually stronger. The smell is often bacteria trapped in the limescale, so dealing with that should help.

Have you tried deep cleaning your machine?

Do a few boiling hot washes with powder detergent after a deep clean with a specific cleaner. It might get worse before it gets better ime.

Soda crystals are better for degreasing than vinegar

White wine vinegar is not the one to use, you need the cheap white vinegar.

You could use Washing soda crystals in the drum on a hot wash and a lot of white vinegar in the rinse.

Clean the filter, remove the drawer and clean it, and inside where it came out.

When you get it cleaned you would be better off not using gel for laundry. I alternate between powder and liquid, if I use liquids all the time I notice the machine is not so fresh.

You need to leave door open when it is not in use and pull the little drawer out too. Wipe the door seal dry after use.

Zoflora man.

You should know that it's mnet superpower.

Take out the soap draw, kneel down and look at the roof of the slot.

I swear mine had life developing.

Vinegar is vinegar so other than white wine vinegar being more expensive, there won't be any difference in effectiveness.

Sounds as though you have loosened the gunk and it needs flushing through. If it doesn't improve, it's possible there is an issue with the pipework the machine drains into.

I did a 95 degree wash yesterday with a scoop of those freshener / fabric softener burst things- worked better than the specific washing machine cleaners!

Had a repair man out last week for something else - he told me do a 90 degree wash with bleach to remove gunk & smells. Then an empty wash with detergent at 90.
No idea if this works, not tried it!

I sprayed a lot of Flash with bleach spray into my empty drawer compartment and left it for several hours, that seemed to work a bit with getting the black stuff off

It could be limescale build up somewhere inside the machine. It sounds as though it needs a thorough clean with a limescale remover

Get one of the service engineer packets that gobler recommends - this is really strong cleaner and it works.

Leave the powder drawer and the door open for at least an hour after EVERY wash.

Use Ariel white powder and not the bloody liquid stuff, which gunks up the machine and makes it smell. Doing a 90 degree white wash with lots of this in it straight after you use the service engineer is helpful. It also smells SO much cleaner.

Have you checked your drains?

Last year my washing machine had a horrid smell, nothing worked in terms of cleaning the machine - a couple of weeks later the kitchen drain outside (the one that the washing machine drained into) blocked completely. Turns out the smell was coming up the drain and into the machine. Once we had the drain unblocked, the smell went away. Might be worth a look?

Agree to not using liquid washing stuff - ours got so bad, nothing would shift it and we had to get a new one.
I now do a hot wash regularly, only use powder, and leave it open after every cycle.

Hot wash with 20p asda white vinegar, use only powder detergent. Leave the door ajar after washing. Worked for me.

Agree with others re soap powder. I stopped using powder and quickly found that my washing machine was absolutely stinking. Nothing would help but I changed back to using soap powder and a couple of maintenance washes and it really improved.
It's to do with the abrasive action of the powder keeping the tubes etc clean