smelly smelly clothes! what's up?

MATH

I know just the smell you mean. I found a load in the spinner I had left 'resting' over the weekend and it took three washes to get them smelling nice again.

black-saturn

It sounds like the water isnt emptying properly from each wash so inbetween washes it goes stagnant and ends up makign your clothes stink. If you can't afford a new washer the best thing you can do is just run a rinse on the machine before you do a new load of washing. Also put about a tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda in the wash which will get rid of nasty smells.

Wardy

I have a similar problem, but only with the towels - I guess this is because they take so long to dry? But even in the summer when they've dried quickly on the line, once they get used, they immediately smell damp and horrible.

I change the towels most days because of this. Is this the norm or can I 'freshen' my towels up and get rid of the smell?

squeaky

This problem is almost always because of stagnant water in your washer. Cleaning filters and doing maintenance washes, empty, with a good dose of bicarb in the wash and an equally good dose of vinegar in the rinse should clear this up.

Doors should ALWAYS be left ajar - not just to allow air to circulate but to protect your door spatt (the rubber seal) from the effects of hard water drying on it and graining the surface.

MORPH3US

We have a flat so have to dry our clothes inside on the clothes horse.

Unless we have the heating on, they take ages to dry and I think thats why mine smell, because they are left damp for so long!

M

squeaky

Have a bowl handy and an old towel ready just in case..

Slip your outlet hose out of the drain pipe a day or so after your last wash and lower it until some of the water runs into the bowl.

Get close and breathe deeply. Same smell?


Be sure to put the hose back correctly.

Smiley_Mum

squeaky wrote:

Get close and breathe deeply. Same smell?

Wardy

Can I do a maintenance wash with malt vinegar and bicarb?

I've got no white vinegar, and don't plan on going shopping now for a couple of weeks, but have a bottle of malt vinegar in the cupboard.

Also do I put the vinegar in the fabric conditioner compartment and what's the highest wash I should do this freshen up on?

squeaky

Malt vinegar is fine and yes it goes in the fabric conditioner thing.

The freshen up wash should ideally be your hottest wash.

HTH

Wardy

Thanks Squeaky, I'll give it a go when I get home.