New Washing Machine Smell

Mercedes55

I bought a new washer/dryer last Friday from ao.com.  When my husband took all the wrapping off it absolutely stank of what seems to be a mixture of damp and plastic, even the instruction booklet was damp inside the drum.  I did the required first hot wash and have kept the drum and drawer open, plus kitchen windows and door.  Today I can still smell it, when I put my nose to the outside of the machine it seems to be there and not inside the drum.  As I can smell it as soon as I open my front door today I emailed the retailer asking if that is normal.  Their response was to tell me to contact the manufacturer and possibly have an engineer come round to sort it out.  Hmmm I always thought my contract of sale was with the company I bought from, not the manufacturer and as I bought it online that I have some protection under the Distance Selling Laws.  I emailed them back saying as far as I was aware my contract of sale is with them, not the manufacturer.  They have come back to me suggesting a 3 way call tomorrow with myself, the manufacturer and them to try to sort it out.  I have no idea what to do as I don't want to get fobbed off or lose my legal rights. 

Lyn

Aylesbury_Duck

Within 14 days you can return it anyway, since it's a distance sale, but as long as you haven't handled it excessively.  There's no harm seeing what they say on the call tomorrow but if you're not happy with the outcome, just reject it formally (to the retailer).

neilmcl

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Within 14 days you can return it anyway, since it's a distance sale, but as long as you haven't handled it excessively.  There's no harm seeing what they say on the call tomorrow but if you're not happy with the outcome, just reject it formally (to the retailer).

Such as running a wash through it 😉

Mercedes55

I did the recommended hot cotton wash which took about 3hrs which was recommended before using it the first time but I've not done any actual laundry since then.

neilmcl

Mercedes55 said:

I did the recommended hot cotton wash which took about 3hrs which was recommended before using it the first time but I've not done any actual laundry since then.

Doesn't really matter, it would rule out using distance selling legislation for a full refund as you've gone beyond the sort of handling you could do in a bricks and mortar shop. You need to concentrate on your rights under the Consumer Rights Act and reject it for not being of satisfactory quality.

If it's just the exterior that smells have you given it a good clean using a bleach solution?

Mercedes55

No I haven't used bleach as I'm worried about causing damage to it.  My husband is convinced it's the rubber seal that the smell is coming from, he could be right.  I might try some white vinegar on it, don't think that would cause any damage!

Aylesbury_Duck

neilmcl said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Within 14 days you can return it anyway, since it's a distance sale, but as long as you haven't handled it excessively.  There's no harm seeing what they say on the call tomorrow but if you're not happy with the outcome, just reject it formally (to the retailer).

Such as running a wash through it 😉

Yes, I missed that bit!

coffeehound

Mercedes55 said:

My husband is convinced it's the rubber seal that the smell is coming from, he could be right. 

Doesn't that contradict your observation that there was no smell from inside the drum?

born_again

Lift the top off and have a look inside for anything dead....

Rubber can give off strong smell, but you would pick that up sniffing the drum.

Mercedes55

coffeehound said:

Mercedes55 said:

My husband is convinced it's the rubber seal that the smell is coming from, he could be right. 

Doesn't that contradict your observation that there was no smell from inside the drum?

Ha ha yes it does kind of doesn't it!  All I know is when I put my head right inside the drum I can't smell anything, when I put my nose around the outside I can, husband says because I have the door of the machine open the smell from the seal is migrating around the outside, which I don't think makes a lot of sense as surely it would make the inside of the drum smell too.  I might close it and wipe the outside down with something and see if that helps.

mobileron

Clean the seal with white vinegar.