Musty washing machine

[Tollington]

Hi,

We had a power cut recently and the washing machine was half way through a cycle. We removed the clothes and let them dry on the line outside

It was quite some time before we were able to get the washing machine back on and the cycle finished. Because the dirty water sat in the machine for the best part of the day the machine now smells musty. We’ve done a number of washes since and have just ran an empty cycle at 90 degrees with baking soda as I keep seeing suggested on line but the musty smell remains

It’s really annoying as the machine isn’t even a year old yet. Any tips or suggestions?

I have to drain the water sometimes. There's a little hatch and I drain it from there. Take out the powder dispenser tray and clean that too.
Have you cleaned the rubber seal too? A simply vinegar solution sprayed on should sort that with a wipe.
You can also buy machine cleaner capsules which I think work better than baking soda as they have a smell

White vinegar in the wash can help with the smell. Leave the door open afterwards too.
check the filter as well

Thanks,

I’ll have a look in to the hatch, there might be some old water in there

I always give the rubber seal a good wipe with kitchen towel after a wash and leave the door open. It smelt pretty much brand new until this power cut half way through the cycle

I cleaned my old washing machine with bleach- I put bleach (literally just plain toilet bleach) in the hole you put detergent, then ran a cool cycle (I think bleach doesn't work so well when it's hot), with nothing in the drum.
If you use bleach regularly it can break down the seals etc, but a one off clean should be fine.
I think I probably used about 30-40 ml, which was probs too much because it foamed/bubbled sooo much, so I'd recommend using slightly less, maybe just 10ml
The first cycle after the bleach, I just put in old towels etc, in case there was any bleach remaining.
I've used used a commercial washing machine cleaner (Dr Beckman?) in the same machine and it actually made the musty smell worse. I also tried vinegar, which defs helped but didn't eliminate it completely like the bleach did.
:-)

Thanks, I’ll see how I get on with the things I bought yesterday and if no good I’ll try some bleach

I did two 60c washes with distilled vinegar and a third at 90c and then used Dettol antibacterial at 60c and the machine smells a million times better!