Smelly wash machine

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Forum -> Household Management -> Cleaning & Laundry

Smelly wash machine

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View latest: 24h 48h 72h

amother

Thu, Jan 11 2024, 6:01 pm

My wash machine has a moldy smell and my clothes smell when I wash it how to I get it out? I already tried affresh and it didn't help

ra_mom

Thu, Jan 11 2024, 6:25 pm

Check the gasket of the washing machine for mold. The rubber ring around the opening of the machine, that's visible when the door is open.

coffee icecream

Thu, Jan 11 2024, 6:34 pm

How do you clean the dirt in there?

amother

Mimosa

Thu, Jan 11 2024, 7:00 pm

BTW washing machines have filters...

amother

Holly

Thu, Jan 11 2024, 8:02 pm

2 cups of vinegar in the machine.
In the detergent part mix 2 tablespoons water and 2 tablespoons baking soda in a cup and then pour into detergent part and run on hottest cycle.
I just did that this week
If you don’t have a front loader google how this is for machines that’s don’t have that spinny thing in the middle of the drum

ra_mom

Thu, Jan 11 2024, 8:10 pm

Buy Glisten washing machine cleaner (Jewish supermarkets usually carry it).
https://a.co/d/1XUUCXs
Pour a small amount on a rag. Wipe inside the rubber seal with the treated rag until mold/goop residue is removed. (If there's actual mold there now, it may take a few such rags.)
With machine empty, add 1/2 cup Glisten to detergent drawer.
Run washer on normal using full load cycle.
Repeat wipe down and laundry cycle, if still not fully clean.

Do this once a month as maintenance to keep it clean.

Always keep door open when machine is not in use. Closing it causes mold.

Wash towels on super hot, so that machine is getting regular sanitizing while in use.

Use very little detergent. Too much ruins the machine with the build up, as well as makes the machine dirty.

zaq

Thu, Jan 11 2024, 8:23 pm

coffee icecream wrote:

How do you clean the dirt in there?

The old-fashioned way. You take a cloth soaked in bleach or ammonia, separate the folds of the gasket, get your cloth right in there and scrub away, all the way around. That's not just plain dirt: it's mold, which you have to kill with EITHER bleach or ammonia, NOT BOTH. Then you take a clean damp cloth and repeat to get rid of the bleach or ammonia, then you repeat with a dry cloth to dry.

Then , to keep from having to do this ever again, you wipe down that gasket with a dry cloth after every laundry session.

amother

Fri, Jan 12 2024, 12:29 pm

Thanks it might be mold I kept putting more and more detergent cuz smell was really bad I cant keep the door open because the machine is in a main room

zaq

Fri, Jan 12 2024, 2:20 pm

More detergent only makes it worse. Mold thrives on detergent residue. Better to give it a good rinse with vinegar to dissolve the detergent.

amother

Holly

Fri, Jan 12 2024, 2:21 pm

amother OP wrote:

Thanks it might be mold I kept putting more and more detergent cuz smell was really bad I cant keep the door open because the machine is in a main room

I have same issue but leave the door open anyway. When we someone passes by they close it and I keep having to open it weather is family or the cleaning lady.

ra_mom

Fri, Jan 12 2024, 2:27 pm

amother OP wrote:

Thanks it might be mold I kept putting more and more detergent cuz smell was really bad I cant keep the door open because the machine is in a main room

This is designed to keep the door open just a drop when not in use. So it's not a nuisance to keep the door slightly adjar, and the door doesn't swing out all the way and bump into people.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09L.....23660
After your click on the link, swipe until you see the video showing you how it's used.

zaq

Fri, Jan 12 2024, 2:35 pm

I keep a good size thick shmatta folded in the opening so the door can't close all the way

6000miles

Sat, Jan 13 2024, 4:22 pm

You have to remove the detergent tray and clean it thoroughly, and also clean the rubber around the opening. Then run an empty load but use a cup of white vinegar instead of detergent. Also keep the door open until it’s completely dry. All this is what helped me when my washer had a bad odor and the clean clothes came out smelly.

Last edited by 6000miles on Sat, Jan 13 2024, 7:04 pm; edited 1 time in total

amother

Moonstone

Sat, Jan 13 2024, 6:34 pm

Using vinegar often in loads can help with that.

amother

Indigo

Sun, Jan 14 2024, 4:46 am

Doesn't vinegar ruin the machine?

zaq

Sun, Jan 14 2024, 9:42 am

Not at all.

amother

Khaki

Sun, Jan 14 2024, 10:22 am

Clean rubber seal around door.

Remove detergent drawer and scrub clean.

Remove filter (where bobby pins, collar stiffeners, coins can collect) and give a clean. Drain off the residue water.

Then run machine on the hottest cycle, no detergent.

Try leave door open, especially after a load, in the future.

All tried and true methods above.

YounginBP

Sun, Jan 14 2024, 11:12 am

Anyone with a fridigaire machine can tell me where the filter is?

amother

Holly

Sun, Jan 14 2024, 11:13 am

YounginBP wrote:

Anyone with a fridigaire machine can tell me where the filter is?

Possibly lower left near the floor.
That where mine is on LG

amother

Black

Tue, Jan 16 2024, 8:58 pm

Have a LG washing machine. How do I clean it?

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