smelly washing machine

J

Just the One

Registered User
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My washing machine is about 5 years old and recently find the clothes are slightly smelly (musty) after wash.

I use the same washing tablets etc as usual and don't leave the clothes in it for ages after a wash cycle is finished.

Has anyone got any suggestions as to what could be causing this problem. I have cleaned out the filter already.
 
Just the One said:
I use the same washing tablets etc as usual and don't leave the clothes in it for ages after a wash cycle is finished.
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OK, but how long is ages? Even a couple of hours might be too long IMO.

Even if I'm not removing the clothes straight away, I always leave the door open within 5 minutes of the wash finishing.

Strangely, I believe musty smells can be caused by overuse of detergent/conditioner too.

Try an empty wash with vinegar added to clear the smell up.
 
Caveat said:
OK, but how long is ages? Even a couple of hours might be too long IMO.

Even if I'm not removing the clothes straight away, I always leave the door open within 5 minutes of the wash finishing.

Strangely, I believe musty smells can be caused by overuse of detergent/conditioner too.

Try an empty wash with vinegar added to clear the smell up.
Click to expand...


I usually try and empty the machine within 1 hour.

I open the door as soon as it becomes unlocked.

Where should I put the vinegar - in the drum or drawer and how much of it? does it have to be white vinegar?
 
Do you do regular service washes in your machine, Firstly I remove the powder drawer and give it a good wash and replace in machine and then I put either milton or domestos (small amount) into the drawer and do a 90 degree wash with the machine empty, I add extra water into the machine by putting jug fulls of water into the detergent drawer until I can see plenty of water in the drum.

If you put too much milton or domestos in it may foam up too much and come back out the detergent drawer (happened to me once).

My machine weighs the clothes and uses the amount of water needed to wash them efficiently and thats why I add extra water manually for the service wash.
 
I had the same problem with a brand new Hotpoint, even the freshly washed clothes were smelly. I just put in a couple of white towels on a 90 degree wash (I was afraid running without anything inside might damage the machine) and used regular washing powder (had been using liquid) and that did the trick.

I would be wary of using bleaches incase it eats the rubber seals. The smell is basically bacteria in the machine and a boil wash will kill them anyway so there is no need for chemicals.
 
i was having the same and took the drastic action of getting a new machine. ok, granted that my machine was ten years old! anyway, a few weeks after getting my new machine it started again. i call zanussi and spoke to this lovely woman who knew straight away what it was. i was using liquid as opposed to powder. liquid leaves this "gunge" on the inside rim of the door (under the rubber). this is what was smelling. i changed there and then to power and have never had the smell since. she told me that you should never use liquis, they dont recommend it as this always happens.
 
Occasionally water get trapped in the bottom of the rubber seal at the door and as it stagnates becomes very smelly, give it a wipe out with a wet cloth and then a dry one, and wipe regularly between washes.
 
It was the bosch service man who told me to use a little milton or domestos especially if you have been washing dirty clothes and want to do a nice white wash after. He was the one who also told me to add extra water to the machine.
 
It is the clothes that come out smelly. The machine is not smelly after a wash - surely any residue would be washed away during a wash.
 
I think you should remove the clothes immediately the machine finishes. The clothes hold the creases longer/make ironing harder. It might be partly responsible for the smell also.
 
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