Smelly washing machine!

[Janey50]

My washing machine is about 4 years old. Over the last 18 months it has started to whiff a bit. I found that putting a good dose of white vinegar in and running it through on a hot wash cured the problem initially. But not any more. It still smells mouldy. My DD reckons that the rubber door seal is the problem. Any ideas how to deal with this?

Do you use gel or powder?

I always use powder.

Do you leave the door open between washes? It needs to dry out. I would also have a good look in and around the seal to see if it's got anything trapped in it.

I sorted this out last week. Gave the door seal a good clean out getting into all the grooves. Then put a half packet of soda crystals into the empty drum and some vinegar into the drawer dispenser and run it on the hottest wash. Did this twice. It worked a treat after several products specifically for the purpose had failed to work.

Clean the filter that is usually hidden so google your make and model.

I always leave the door ajar between washes,not wide open (to discourage the cat from climbing in!).

Aah the dreaded filter......! No idea where that is!

Mine was smelly because the water heater had broken. Only a year old!

I had this problem - cleaned filters, drawer and seals, did various 90 deg washes with vinegar and soda etc, a special cleaning product - nothing worked.
But I thought about it and realised that nothing but cold water (if you have a cold water only fill machine - as most are these days) goes from the drawer to the drum -no matter how hot a wash you do. So I pulled the drawer out and poured boiling water down into the machine a few times. I also started putting zoflora in the drawer for every wash.
I had got to the point that I thought I was going to have to take it apart and see if there was something trapped and rotting somewhere (I know someone once found a baby sock trapped inside the drum that must have been there for a couple of years...).
Anyway whether it was the hot water or the zoflora - it eventually solved my problem - I now just put zoflora in every 6th wash or something and take the drawer out, tip the water out and leave that in the drum with the door ajar.
I was talking to a repairman (was looking at my dishwasher) and I mentioned the smelly machine - and he said that is one of his main call outs now. He uses a special washing machine cleaning product (sorry don't know which) you put in the machine and do a hot wash with - but he finds it takes 3 lots to solve the problem - the first couple seemed to just loosen the gunk - the third actually shifts it. He also said use powder not liquid and do a hot maintenance wash every month...

Thank you all for your advice. My DD is going to do the soda chrystals and white vinegar one for me this evening,so fingers crossed. If that fails,I am going to try to give the rubber door seal a good clean.