Nasty Nasty Smelling Clothes

[starlite]

Hi hope this is the right place, but you guys on old style are always so helpful anyway...
our washing machine door was stuck closed since thursday..we finally got it to open by doing another rinse cycle, but the washing smells truly rank..i have tried washing it again with liberal amounts of powder, but the smell hasn't gone at all
to add to our problems our machine is so old that the only cycle that works is 40 degrees and i'm sure it will take a higher temperature to kill the bacteria.
i'm worried about soaking the clothes again in case they fall apart or something...
anything i can try?

[squeaky]

I've done that. More as in forgetting there was some in there to take out. For days! Rewashing just doesn't do the job. BUT. Pour a good dollop of febreeze in (not at the very start of filling 'cos the first water is used to fill your pipes up and gets nowhere near your washing) but during the fill when you can see there's some water in the tub. On it's own. Then do a normal wash after that.

[greenlogo]

eww, that's not fun at all starlite - I take it the clothes smell mildewy?

I've not had any that smell really bad of mildew, but the clothes I had in storage for 9 months were a wee bit fusty and my saviour was..... vinegar.

I ran them through a wash with vinegar in every bit of the machine (pre wash, powder and conditioner) then ran them through another wash with the usual washing powder and vinegar rinse and they came out smelling of nothing at all.

The vinegar should kill any nasties (I know it's supposed to for icky feet... must be a similar pinciple?) and stop them making smell.

Good Luck!

[starlite]

they smell not so much mildewy..more like wet dog amplified five thousand times..he he
will either of these ideas work given i can only wash at 40 degrees?
i considered soaking them in the bath with boiling water and detergent, but i've done washing in the bath when the machine packed up before, and they took over a week to dry (it being summer i can't put them on radiators..and we have no washing line!)

[heatherw_01]

I have had clothes that smell like that, but a 40 wash with a decent amount of washing powder/liquid and fabric conditioner ususally does the trick. Try to do 2 smaller loads instead of 1 big one.

[greenlogo]

I've only ever washed at 40 or cooler and I know the vinegar works as an anti-bacterial agent even when it's cold, the chemistry suggests that it should work anyway...

[starlite]

well..i will give it a go..in two smaller loads with the vinegar, as I don't have any febreeze..
will rice vinegar do the job?

[starlite]

just got them out, having rinsed with rice vinegar and then with normal detergent (though that is fragrance free hypoallergenic stuff so wouldnt have made a difference)
and they are defintily better..but not quite fresh..
maybe another go...

[terriermama]

Maybe you can try running through with detergent and bleach on an empty cycle to get that rank smell out of the machine. Hope it helps.

[heatherw_01]

Yes, the smell might be in the machine and transferring to the clothes.

Run a normal wash with nothing in the machine to clean it out.

Has hanging them on the line to dry helped?

[starlite]

i have sorted them out by doing two smaller loads with vinegar, then detregent twice..
unfortunately we don't have a washing line

[soba]

When I've forgotten washing in the machine before, I ususally hang them on the line in sunlight to dry which kind of disinfects them? Then wash again when they're dry and the smell disappears. Obviously no good if you don't have a washing line though or somewhere to drape them in the sun.