Smelly washing machine

What do you do if your washer smells? I bought washing machine cleaner and am in the process of washing the machine again but other than that, what do you do? I don't think the machine is cleaning things super well (I just tried washing jackets and they basically came out the way they went in)..thoughts?

Re: Smelly washing machine

Do you have a front loader? We had that issue with our front loader all the time. The tablets are a big help. You need to leave it open between uses as well.

Re: Smelly washing machine

No it's a top loader..it's not new but from what I hear about the front loaders, I don't know if I want one

Re: Smelly washing machine

I do 1 load of just bleach, no clothes...and i put the bleach in the detergent section and run it on hot hot. After that I do about 3 loads of towels just in case there is left over bleach. The machine smells great after that.

Re: Smelly washing machine

i actually took apart MIL's top loader to figure out what the smell was.. it was about (im guessing) 5-7yrs old.. turned out that "gunk" was building up under a plastic rig that goes around the actual tub...

top loader are pretty simple to take apart... there are normally two "clips" that you can push in with a flat head screwdriver which will allow the top to flip up exposing the tub...

Not sure how handy you or ur DH is... but i can provide more detail if needed.. or you can Google to find directions.

I ended up pulling the entire tub out and all the plastic i could find.. bringing it out back and washing it off with the hose and a bit a bleach... im pretty sure it was overkill and i took apart more then i needed to... but it worked! no more stink!!

Ohh.. and leaving the top open when not being used will help too

Message edited 1/23/2012 11:42:46 PM.

Re: Smelly washing machine

I did 2 hot washes with no clothes...one with bleach and then the 2nd with vinegar...