Smelly washing machine

Jonny55555

Pingu1 said:

I've noticed my washing machine smells of damp when running. What could the cause be? I'm worried I have a leak.

Half a mug of bicarbonate soda once per month directly in the drum will keep it smell free.  As with any powder if put into the drawer it could start to clog.  Bicarbonate soda will get rid of smells anywhere.  It will also help with cleaning clothes.  It's THE most versatile product you can have and cheap.  In fact there's no need for any of the branded cleaning products for anything. 

flowercandle

You may have a build up of powder if u have water in the tray. It might be quite solid and take a few kettles of boiling water to shift it. This happened to a friend so I only ever put my powder directly in the drum. I think iits because only cold water takes the powder down to the drum. Hope this works for you x

Martyn_H

Our engineer recommends a cupful of pine disinfectant in the drum every week or so to keep it sweet. The one thing he does not recommend is Calgon.

poppellerant

Albermarle said:

poppellerant said:

All front loading washing machines with detergent drawers will fill via the detergent drawer.

Run the drum clean cycle again, with a tablespoon of biological powder.  If you don't use powder, then ask a friend or family for a scoop of theirs.  Don't be tempted to overdose on the powder during the drum clean cycle, or it could make things worse.

Do you use liquid, pods or powder detergent? Liquid and pods (which contain liquid) leave a film of residue inside the drum during each wash. This residue can slowly build up if you're not regularly washing at high temperatures.  This is why the drum clean cycle exists, because it washes at a high temperature.

Yes, but normally should be no water left in there after the initial filling.

That depends which compartment is filled with water.  Fabric conditioner can cause blockages in some machines, if so it's nothing a good scrub in hot water won't fix.  The same goes for if the powder compartments are blocked too.

If the whole drawer is full of water, then that might suggest a blockage in the flexible black pipe that goes from the drawer into the drum - a few gentle and tactical prods with a pipe cleaner or bottle cleaner to loosen up the blockage should help, while flushing the blockages down with hot water.