How to Cure a Smelly Washing Machine

In my time as a domestic appliance repair man, I have been asked many many times "how can I get rid of that smell from my washing machine?" - here is my PERSONAL method and reasons why your machine smells in the first place.

How to Cure a Smelly Washing Machine

How to Cure a Smelly Washing Machine

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How to Cure a Smelly Washing Machine

How to Cure a Smelly Washing Machine

Why does your machine smell?

There are a couple of reasons you get a smelly washer, firstly mould and fungus - this is caused mainly by our modern liquid detergents that, although great for our clothes and much better for the environment than the old fashioned bleach based powders, they unfortunately leave a residue in the machine that bacteria just love. This bacteria eventually forms into mould and or fungus. This is most easily identified by a nasty black staining around the door seal, and I bet if you remove the dispenser draw, there will be the same black mould all over the back wall of the hole.

The second most common reason for a smelly washing machine is quite simply a clogged drain and/or pipe work. Most UK households machines are plumbed in via the under sink pipe work. The problem with this is that you are sharing the waste pipe with all that food waste and sludge that we all put down the sink, or comes out of our dishwasher. Invariably, when a washing machine has finished pumping out there will be a certain amount of water that will run back into the waste pipe. This water running back into the waste pipe can bring food waste with it and so you have, animal fat, vegetable matter, pasta - you name it, it could be lying in your pipes going mouldy and causing a nasty odour that finds it way back into your home.

My personal cure.

You need to do a "maintenance wash". This means run the machine at its highest temperature wash, with no clothes in the machine - in effect "boiling" the insides of the machine. I personally put a couple of handfuls of old fashioned washing soda into the drum every time I do maintenance wash just to help it along and leave it smelling fresh. Take a look at your plumbing and see if you can install a vertical "stand" for the machine waste to loop in to - this way its impossible for the food waste to get back into the machine or associated pipe work. Finally, try scrubbing the door seal with a non metallic scourer, if the mould has taken a good hold then you will probably need the seal replacing. The mould behind the dispenser will normally scrub off as the plastic does not let the mould cling as much as the rubber seal.

So there it is, do a regular maintenance wash with soda crystals for an odour free machine.

How to Cure a Smelly Washing Machine