One Year old washing machine stinks badly and leaves clothes dirty.

[Nottodayy]

I have a one year old washing machine( Hisense)
It makes my washing dirty by leaving white/grey lines on it.
I use Calgon every single wash, and usually detergent capsules in the drum like Persil etc and Comfort conditioner in the drawer.
I also every few months use Dr Beckmann washing machine cleaning powder sachets to clean it however it does nothing really.
I leave the door and drawer open after I used it.
However it stinks moldy/ damp - disgusting anytime I’m near it.
Last week I decided to run 90 degrees wash to see if that worked, it worked for a day when it smelled ok and now it starts smelled badly again.
Also I cleaned the drawer thoroughly.
What to use to clean it?
I read about to use dishwasher tablets, but I have no dishwasher so I don’t want to buy a whole pack of them and it will be useless..

We moved into our house 20 years ago and are still using the same washing machine that was plumbed in when we moved in.

I use powder
I wash sheets and towels on full 60 degree washes

My washing machine doesn't smell.

Thanks all, yes, I will do the longer washes. It’s just I’m always in a rush and those 20 washes ( less than 2kg) fit fine around my work etc as I’m always on the run in and out the house with spare half hr there and then so I put a quick wash on while I’m in..

I do a mix of 30⁰C, 40⁰C and 60⁰C (towels and bedding). I dont use the 29 minute cycle as its only for small loads and i prefer to have a full machine. My most used wash cycle is 1h 24minutes. I mostly use powder

This is your problem.

I never do short washes and use liquid. My washing machine (s) have never stunk.

Make sure your clothes are dirty enough to wash at 30/40 Celsius and do a longer cycle of over 60 minutes. Make sure you do a full load.

If you have eczema prone skin then use something like Fairy powder.

Then every couple of weeks do a load at over 60 degrees that at least lasts an hour . A load of bedding or towels is a good wash to do it on.

I just put half of this inside for 2 hr 60 deg wash.

Is it heating up? When my heating element broke i didn't realise until it stank and wasn't clean. Do a 90 drum clean cycle and put your hand on the glass mid cycle. Check it's definitely heating the water.

@Nottodayy In between washes and the machine is not in use, do you close the door or leave it open?

The man from Miele told me that you should always use powder, not liquid or gel detergents and you never need more than a tablespoon of powder. (I keep a tablespoon measure in the box) Also that you should use hot washes frequently, I wash all towels and bed linen at 60 degrees, and you should run a 90 degree wash once a month with the machine empty, then clean out the drawer, round the door and rubber seal. Check the filter every couple of months.

It is heating up well, last week I did the 90 deg wash and it was so hot I couldn’t even touch it.
I always leave door and drawer opened between washes.

Will see how the soda crystals will work…

That's a lot of excess foam from detergent residue in your drum!

It's the liquid detergent. Swapping to powder will solve it totally. i was told this by a washing machine engineer. i was using them because i don't like the mess power made in the drawer. He told me just to being the powder in the drum before the clothes.

BUNG not being!

This I’m afraid … if you wipe round with a cloth you will probably be horrified

I found the same when I used liquid and the seal was disgusting so when I pulled clothes out they got a sort of grey slime on them. Hot wash with white vinegar and bicarbonate of soda. Clean the seals switch to powder.

Fewer washes and daz powder on a 40c cycle. Problem solved.

The Miele man told me that once a month you should (as in must) run the hottest wash you can (mine is 95°) using biological powder. Powder into the drawer (so that the water pipes get a clean) and nothing in the drum. Works a treat - my machine is 17, coming up for its 18th birthday. One visit from Miele right back when it was 1 and not an issue since.

I had this problem in the past but not since I switched to powder.

Put the powder in the drum, not the drawer. Not too much.

Never use fabric conditioner, I squirt a dash of white vinegar in the drawer for every wash.
Don't wash at low temperatures all the time. I wash bedding and towels at 60 and the rest at 40.
If your washer has a cleaning cycle do it once a month. If it doesn't then put it on empty at the hottest setting once a month.

Wow I am having an education here! Mine started smelling and thought it was the drains...

@dementedpixie thats not residue, it’s the soda crystals powder in.

Make sure you are not overloading the machine, especially if you're doing quick washes. Each programme will have a different max load.

@Dreamwatchwait i done all that. Still smells.

@spottybug I definitely don’t overload it, I aware of this, and even when I use the full 10kg load I never fill it up- maybe like 3/4 maximum for the full load.

Definitely check the hose isn't pushed too much into the drainage pipe as it causes dirty water to get sucked back in - this happened to my machine even though it was installed by a plumber! I pulled the hose out, cleaned it then didn't put it back in as far and it solved the problem!

I had this problem recently - washing machine was clean but still smelt and it turned out that a load of gunk had built up in the P-trap (the U shaped pipe between the washing machine and pipe that leads outside).

It was gross but apparently its not uncommon, especially if you don't regularly do a really hot wash. Which for the past year was true as I was only doing 40 degrees with laundry sanitizer.

We just removed some of the pipe and cleared it out and now its fine