What's the rancid sour milk smell coming from my washing load?

purplephoenix85

Just washed my washing load (inc my lovely pink fleece blanket) in the usual Lenor Orange Blossom, and now it's drying on the radiator, my whole living room smells like rancid sour milk/sick.

Has anyone experienced anything like this? How do I get of the awful smell from my clothes?

I haven't changed my powder or fabric softener lately and have used the same amounts as I usually use. It's really stinking out the flat now

tanith

Do you usually dry washing on a radiator? could be you don't notice the smell when they dry outside..

rising_from_the_ashes

Do you ever give your washing maching a "cleaning wash" - I run an empty cycle through mine every so often (with washing powder/liquid in) and it gives it a good clean out.

The only thing I can suggest is to do this & re-wash it - not very MSE but if the clothes are smelling awful just now it's unlikely it'll go when they dry and you probably won't want to wear them. (Does each item of clothing smell bad?).

ETA: if you run your taps, does the water coming out smell ok?

SpikyHedgehog

Wash it the first time you washed the blanket? I know my new fleece blankets have a very chemically smell to them, worse when washed & wet (not made out of re-cycled plastics I think!)

purplephoenix85

It depends on the weather, sometimes inside and sometimes outside. Febreeze doesn't cover the smell of the clothes or in the room, but the only rooms free from the smell are the rooms with no clothes on the radiators :S

purplephoenix85

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

Do you ever give your washing maching a "cleaning wash" - I run an empty cycle through mine every so often (with washing powder/liquid in) and it gives it a good clean out.

The only thing I can suggest is to do this & re-wash it - not very MSE but if the clothes are smelling awful just now it's unlikely it'll go when they dry and you probably won't want to wear them. (Does each item of clothing smell bad?).

ETA: if you run your taps, does the water coming out smell ok?

The water is smelling and tasting okay and I washed the machine a few weeks ago. Everything has been okay until today. All apart from a few things (socks and tea towels) smell sour. I've just set off another load re-washing them things but put them on a hotter wash. Not very MSE but that smell is really up my nose now lol.

*miaomiao*

It sounds like your machine does need a service wash and then your clothing needs a second wash on a hottish/hot setting, if the blanket is not the item that has caused your load to smell.

If your washer and the soap tray don't dry out between loads a bad smell can develop that will seep into your clothes. This is kind of normal, especially at this time of year. The smell is caused by mildew which lives off the soap/conditioner scum and damp conditions that occur in a dark washing machine between washes. By doing a service wash, which is an empty load on the hottest water setting with biological detergent (because you need the enzymes) and either a touch of bleach or a small amount of soda crystals (about 1 quid or so from the supermarket for a bag), you should be able to sort the mildew out. I also recommend you remove your soap tray afterwards and give it a scrub with a little bleach. We do this about once a month to keep things under control and we leave the tray and door open to dry out.

Following this wash your clothing on the hottest setting they can take with some bio detergent (again you need the enzymes). Don't include fabric softener.

BTW, if you stop using fabric softener you will not only save money but also avoid this problem re-occurring as often.

HTH!

valk_scot

Do you know, I hardly ever do a cleaning wash? I think the last time was about four years ago when I forgot to leave the washing machine door open when I went on holiday. The rest of the time I happily wash away at 30'c or 40'c, non-bio powder, no vinegar orwashing soda or anything. So how come my machine doesn't smell? Could it be because I leave the door open a little when not in use, and I take the soap dispenser tray out once in a while and wash off any grot? Or is it because I live in a soft water area and thus don't use fabric conditioner?

silver_star165

Hi, I have that also, when you take the soap drawer out look inside and generally the little holes in the top of the drawer where the water comes in have little mould spurs on them. This is caused by liquid detergents and fabric softeners. I use an old toothbrush dipped in some bleach and give the holes a good clean to get rid, wash the drawer in bleach and do a high temperature wash with soda crystals and white vinegar. Then I do towels or bedding with soap powder at high temperature again and this solves the problem. Every other week I do my tea towels in a mixture of soda crystals and soap powder, this keeps the inside clean. Hope this helps. Since I have stopped using fabric softener and switched to powder from liquid this seems to have helped also.

rising_from_the_ashes

valk_scot wrote: »

Could it be because I leave the door open a little when not in use, and I take the soap dispenser tray out once in a while and wash off any grot? Or is it because I live in a soft water area and thus don't use fabric conditioner?

Could be ..... I have to shut the door really soon after I've emptied it (the cats are a nightmare for going in it) so it doesn't get to dry out properly.

silver_star165 wrote: »

when you take the soap drawer out look inside and generally the little holes in the top of the drawer where the water comes in have little mould spurs on them.

Yup, my drawers alway yukky (just cleaned a couple of days ago):(.

Interesting about the powder/liquid difference.

I use gel as I find that powder doesn't always dissolve properly at low temps. I did find 1/2 a box at the back of the cupboard last week which I used on my bedding (hot wash) so I may try using powder on the hotter wash stuff and see if that helps.

Purple hope it comes out OK this time, fingers crossed.

purplephoenix85

Just a quick update for you all

The second wash came out okay and is on the radiator drying. No stink so far lol. I've checked the washing machine and it seems okay but it's not the first time that's happened. I really have no ideas on what went wrong
Thanks for your tips, tho