Washing doesn't smell fresh - any ideas?

adandem

We've had this problem before, we pulled out the washer and found that the waste pipe was completely bunged up with old powder/product. We gave it a good clean along with cleaning the machine with soda crystals and all was well. It might also be worth checking the rim inside your door seal as this can hold and harbour lots of gunk too.

TDA10

Just trying the bleach suggestion now - hope when I next wash the darks they don't all lose their colour! :eek:

Think I'll wash some old white towels or summit first! Must dig the vinegar out the back of the cupboard soon too - bloomin utility room gonna smell like a chippy at this rate! And as for the leccy and water bill - breaks my heart washing nothing!!! TWICE! :rotfl:

Thanks again for all the tips though - I'll report back in a few days when I next do a full wash.

wannabe_a_mum

My washing has just started to absolutely stink...even though I've tried various different stronger smelling powders recently - such as SURF essential oils etc.

I think it's where when I pull the drawer out to wash it, I'm not able to reash and ckean the area behind it, which is a horrible black/mouldy colour

How would I clean that area as I can't reach it whatever I try!

OLS

Ours is like this as well, but has been since day one. Its a washer drier though and a fee peeps have said that there clothes smell of nothingness with their washer drier as well so we I (finally) move, Im excited about having a 'proper' washing machine.....how sad is that at 27 years old

I always slyly drop a few things in mums basket when I go round, few of my fave tops, and some of the little ones clothes, you could try that next time if you cant get yours to smell nice:D

TDA10

Ok, well I did the bleach thing and a load of bleachy suds came back up and out of the dispenser drawer and all over the floor! :eek:

Luckily I haven't put the flooring down in the utility room yet so it got a good wash if nothing else! There was loads of suds left in the drum after the wash finished so it's just having an extra rinse as I type...

Methinks I overdid the bleach Only put an eggcupful in though.

The annoying thing is that I am quite particular about my washer - I always dry the rubber door seal and the door glass after almost every wash and regularly wash the dispenser drawer out too, so neither of those are causing this problem.

BTW 'wannabe_a_mum', it took some doing but I used a hard toothbrush and paintbrush to get in the nooks and crannies of my drawer area on the one occasion that it did get gunked up a few months ago.

Will see what the vinegar does now!

moonrakerz

Not trying to be funny, but -

Have you been brainwashed into thinking that everything should smell (reek ?) of mountain dew/tropical sunset/Evening on the Nile/Camel's armpit/etc/etc instead of just smelling normal.
According to television a modern house isn't smelling right until every room has something pumping smelly make believe chemical "airs" into the perfectly good atmosphere and your washing machine/tumbler/dishwasher isn't also high on some "dope" or other !

Don't fall for it !

TDA10

No - like I said on the original post - I hadn't even noticed anything until MIL did some washing which smelt lovely and after checking with her today I found that she also used the same powder as me, so I can't grasp why mine doesn't smell similar.

My washing doesn't smell 'normal' just smells of nothing at all, which it didn't used to do.

Charis

TDA10 wrote: »

No - like I said on the original post - I hadn't even noticed anything until MIL did some washing which smelt lovely and after checking with her today I found that she also used the same powder as me, so I can't grasp why mine doesn't smell similar.

My washing doesn't smell 'normal' just smells of nothing at all, which it didn't used to do.

Does your MIL use the same conditioner? My latest has quite a pungent aroma.

Also do you leave enough space in the machine for the water to do its work? I was told by an engineer to leave one third of the space empty, don't fill to the top.

If your answer to both of those is 'yes', I reckon the previous poster who said her outlet pipe was clogged might have the answer to your problems. In addition some machines have a 'lint filter' or a 'coin trap' that gets filled with rubbish, sweet wrappings, coins etc. Sometimes you can access it, some makes require you to call out an engineer. Look in your appliance instruction book. If you don't know where it is, many of them are online now, under customer support.

Pennylane

Could be build up of lime scale. Is it a Zanussi?

Could also be blocked drain - depends on how it is plumbed in too. You should see some of the DIY plumbing that DH goes out to.:rolleyes: People think they'll save a few bob by DIYing but if they don't know what they're doing it can cost a LOT more.

He went to one recently where woman had bought house with all appliances left in by previous owner. They had obviously "bodged" it all up behind the scenes but it "looked" very stylish when you looked around. The washing machine was smelling and the pipe went straight down to a hole in the floor!:rotfl: :rotfl:

TDA10

It's a Beko - (no insults please - was all I could afford at the time!:D)

Am just running the vinegar through like another poster suggested, so will see how that goes, but I was thinking along the lines of dodgy plumbing TBH.

Washer used to be in kitchen until a few months ago, then extension inc utility room was built and FIL moved washer into there. Although he has plumbed many appliances in before so I'd be surprised if it was that at fault, but maybe there is a kink in the waste water hose or something and it's back siphoning (if that's the right term?)
Thanks again though - keep them suggestions coming!