Smelly clothes

madlyn

I am having an issue with smelly clothes, I either dry them on the washing line or over the airer but they smell musty and I think it could be my washer.
I put my empty washer on a hot wash once a month but is there anything else I could do?

littlegreenparrot

Try running the hottest wash with white vinegar and washing soda in the drawer. 

They will clear out any gunk that has built up, although you might find you need to do it a few times. 

I do this this every couple of weeks with towels or sheets in the drum to maintain it. 

I'm sure I've read somewhere that Liquid laundry detergent is more likely to cause this than powder, so it also might be worth switching if you use the liquid to try and prevent it. 

madlyn

So put a cup of each in the draw where the detergent would go?

Stompa

You can get products like:

https://www.dettol.co.uk/household-disinfection/laundry/dettol-washing-machine-cleaner-original-250-ml/

I've no idea whether they work any  better (or worse) than vinegar and washing soda.

Edgeoftheburn

I stopped using liquid detergent and went back to powder and put it directly in the drum with the clothes and remove straight after wash is complete, no more issues

madlyn

Going to give the vinegar a go, also going to start adding soda crystals to each wash.

littlegreenparrot

madlyn said:

So put a cup of each in the draw where the detergent would go?

Vinegar in the bit for fabric conditioner, soda crystals where the powder would be. 

I also usually put some soda crystals in with the powder for a normal wash.  

goldfinches

littlegreenparrot said:

madlyn said:

So put a cup of each in the draw where the detergent would go?

Vinegar in the bit for fabric conditioner, soda crystals where the powder would be. 

I also usually put some soda crystals in with the powder for a normal wash.  

This is exactly what I do each time and whenever I think it's about time, which is probably two or three times a year, I use a D*ttol or a Dr B*ckm*nn cleaner bottle too. I also pull the drawer out and give it a clean and use my sonic scrubber to clean the bits of the inside of the machine that I can reach fairly regularly.
I buy the proprietary washing machine cleaner bottles from Home B*rg*ins where they are pounds cheaper than any of the supermarkets.

njk1012

We had the same issue a couple of months ago and it seems the waste pipes outside had some build up which didn't block the pipes totally but did cause some back up, so worth checking this and the filters. my OH ended up taking all the pipes apart and putting them back together when clean. We got to the point we were going to replace the machine after trying all the different cleaners and changing wash powder, bleaching and book washing the machine etc..