I received the following e-mail this morning from a Washerhelp user who had managed to get rid of a nasty smell coming from their washing machine after reading advice on Washerhelp. I thought I would publish this on my blog as it may help others trying to remove nasty smells from their washing machine.
Hi Andy,
We experienced a dreadful smell from our washing machine the other day and nothing seemed to shift it. We had tried soda crystals in a maintenance wash but it was still there
In desperation we turned to the computer and came across your website. Distilled white vinegar it seemed held some promise – it worked a treat!
From now on we will use it twice a year in scheduled maintenance washes
Thank you so much for your advice, it was a Godsend
Tony & Sue
LoughboroughPS We know from past experience that a lot of gunge and slime can collect in the pipe and past the U-bend – does this action clear that too?
In reply to the PS question, I advised that I would expect the distilled wine vinegar should help clear smells from the waste water pipe and u-bend also although it may take repeated treatment to clear it all. If it’s gunged up quite badly it may not be enough though and you may need to put some drain cleaner down there if possible. I suggested that the best temperature to do a maintenance wash containing vinegar or any other substance even normal detergent is 90°
Here is a link to the main article about washing machine smells, the causes, and how to cure it – Washing machine smells – causes of grease, slime and black mould inside washing machines
The vinegar trick nearly always work in getting rid of moldy and musty smell from the washer. It is also a great way of decalcifying washer pipes. A good substitute is lemon juice. It works just like the vinegar trick. Baking soda is also a good cleaning solution in removing washing machine’s bad odor.