Musty laundry when drying

[LittleadventureB]

My laundry is driving me insane at the moment.

I do not own a tumble dryer so everything has to be put on an airer during the winter, I do have a heated airer which has helped.

Lately however the clothes are drying with a musty wet dog smell to them. I have cleaned the washing machine, hung them on the heated airer and normal airer with a dehumidifier on, tried reducing the amount of laundry softener, put vinegar and those soda crystal things in the wash with them and put them on extra spins to try and dry them out even more.

It has been far too damp and cold to hang them outside lately, I am just starting to get to the end of my tether with it. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I could be doing wrong or new things to try maybe?

Have you cleaned the drawer and the rubber seal? And done a 90/95 degree wash with a scoop of vanish or a glut of ace bleach?

Glug

Are they quite wet when they come out of the machine? Do they need an extra spin perhaps? Do you take the clothes out straight away?

Yep done a 90 degree clean, I haven't bleach as it's not eco friendly, I used the ecozone washing machine cleaner and used white vinegar to clean the draw and inside the rim.

And have you cleaned the washing machine filter?

Are you taking the clothes out of the washing machine as soon as the cycle has finished? I know if we leave ours in the machine wet even for a short time they get smelly very quickly.

Yep the machine filter is clean and it is hung up as soon as it's finished.

I am wondering if it's either just the clothes being old and not washing as well anymore, maybe clothing made from certain materials start to smell worse then others or maybe I need to change to a powder instead of a liquid.

I'm still drying stuff outside, the wind does most of the work. It's not completely dry when I bring it in but it's much fresher. In Scotland this is.

Powder instead of liquid would help.

A hot hot wash with bleach will kill the smell

Eco isn’t going to cut it for this I don’t think

I dry inside during winter as I can't be bothered with chasing back and forth if it rains, but some things need to go on the line occasionally, I find hoodie, anything fleece, thick jogging trousers. I peg them out when the weather is decent (even if they've already dried) just to get a blow. Try that maybe.

Open a window in the room you're drying them maybe. I know it's cold but the condensation from the washing ends up round the windows if they're closed and then it's a viscous cycle of making both the room and the laundry smell musty and damp.

They're not drying fast enough.

We wash a lot of stuff at 20 degrees, honestly, if you can bung it outside in the wind for a bit it makes a huge difference, reduces the moisture you're introducing to the the house/flat and you can then put the likes of jeans and joggers on a radiator for a wee bit to finish off. We don't possess a tumble drier. Nobody did when I was a child!

I'd use powder as they contain bleaches that help keep the drum cleaner. Liquids/pods don't contain them

Thanks everyone for your replies, I have just purchased a rotary airer with legs so I can bring it in and out. We did have a washing line up the garden but with it being all hedged and trees I kept getting birds and insect poop all over the washing. This way I can have it down on the yard away from it :) I have also purchased some powder again.

I don't have a tumble drier. I give all loads a spin after cycle is finished and the I put all the clothes on coat hangers and hang outside (if it's not raining) I find clothes on airers do not dry fast enough outside of in and clothes smell musty. If it's raining, I hang all of the clothes on curtain rail (on hangers) in one of the bedrooms and open the Windows as far as possible and shut the door.

As Pellegrino says above, they aren’t drying quickly enough. Get a dehumidifier and run it in the same room until the clothes are dry. Once the clothes have that musty smell, it’s hard to get out, sadly.

Is it possible to dry near to a radiator when you can’t dry outside? Put the airer in front of rad as close as you can get. I have read on here that if you cover the airer with a clean and tuck around the rad, it dries quicker? Might be worth a try?

Despite faster drying efforts, if the musty smell seems ingrained, you can try a laundry sanitiser/ disinfectant/antibacterial wash. The type like dettol laundry cleanser that you put two caps in the wash to kill bacteria. Most supermarkets have own brands now too.

I buy some of that halo sports wash when I get a musty smell from clothes. Usually shifts it.

I've stopped using liquid, gel and pods and went back to powder. What a difference, no musty washing.

Don't try and squeeze too many things on your airer, if they are bunched up and air can't flow then they won't dry and will smell. Only time I've had this is when I haven't pulled a sleeve of a top out properly. I put the airer in the warmest room (kitchen/diner) overnight and make sure there is room for air flow round it and most things dry overnight even now.

I find hanging stuff outside for just half an hour stops it getting musty. Mostly I use a dehumifidier indoors at this time of year, things dry in about 24 hours.

Yes, as someone else says they are drying too slowly and so staying damp for a while and you get a musty smell from that

I had this and a dehumidifier was really good in stopping it, I think the clothes were just taking too long to dry