Washing Machine Odor – What Causes A Front Or Top Load Washer To Have Odors
The sour smelling odor is most likely from the stagnant water that is left behind after every wash. Bacteria and mold can form and cause this odor. The water stays standing in the drum and the drain hose. One smart thing to do to remove or reduce this odor is to wipe all the rubber seals and the inside of the washer out with a wash rag and a simple spray cleaner. After you have removed any excess water, mold, or gunk that may have been inside the washer, pour in 2 cups of white vinegarright into the drum. Close the washer door and let it sit or soak for 3 hours. Once the 3 hours is up, run a normal wash or rinse cycle to wash away the vinegar. You can also use baking soda or a commercial washing machine cleaner product. By letting the vinegar sit, it will kill and clean out any mold or smells that may be inside the drum and hoses. Running the washer in rinse cycle after letting the vinegar sit, will flush the drain pump, inside drum, and the drain hose. You may need to perform this a few times to kill the odor for good. Clean Washing Machine With Vinegar - Front Load and Top Load Washers Clean Washing Machine With Baking Soda - Front Load or Top Load Washers HINT: Whether you have a front load or top load washer, you should leave the door open after you wash a load of clothes. By keeping the door open you are letting the inside of the washer air out therefore letting the stagnant water evaporate and will not be able to cause mold or bad sour smells. If you are concerned that the drain hose may be causing the odor, there is a valve that stops the water from coming back though the drain pipe after its stopped draining. So more than likely the odor is coming from the inside of the washer drum.
A few other washer cleaning methods to try are:
1 - Use a bit of bleach or commercial washing machine cleaning detergents to kill the bugs. These bugs or bacteria make the smell that can be in the stagnant water. Never use any type of cleaner that is corrosive as it will cause damage to your washer. 2 - Make sure you clean out the lint trap on your washer (front load washers only) as stagnant smells can come from there also. Find your washer manual or search online for the instructions to clean it out. Clean it out regularly as the lint trap or drain pump clean out filter catches any gunk or grime that goes through your washer. Keeping the lint trap or filter clean will keep your washer smelling fresh. The filter is located at the bottom front right or left on most front load washers. 3 - You may have hard water build up inside of your top load washer basket and elsewhere. Hard water build up can cause smells to never go away. You can use a use a descaler cleaner to try and remove the hard water if you choose. The best way to remove the hard water smell is to remove the washer basket using a spanner nut wrench. Once removed, clean out the basket and the insides of the washer to remove any hard water and reassemble the washer. Run a wash cycle with vinegar afterwards to clean out any hard water that may still be present. You can find YouTube videos on how to remove the washer basket for cleaning purposes. 4 - You could also pour vinegar down the fabric softener dispenser. This cleans out the dispenser where the fabric softener runs through and can clean it out if the smell is coming from that area. After pouring the vinegar into the fabric softener dispenser, run a rinse cycle. 5 - Most commercial washing machine cleaners will get rid of the sour smell also. If you have hard water use a descaler first and then the commercial cleaner. The bacteria that causes the smell can come back on the limescale in the outer drum. So constant cleaning may be necessary. 6 - Use a few tablespoons of Oxyclean in your washer with most of your clothing loads. This can help to clean not only your clothes but cleans the washer out at the same time. 7 - Stop using so much fabric softener as this makes a sticky area for the bacteria to stick to. 8 - If it is a front loading machine clean and dry the rubber door gasket in all areas after every single wash and leave the door open when not in use.
These cleaning methods work with all washing machines including front load and top load washers and brands Whirlpool, LG, GE, Samsung, Kenmore, Frigidaire, Estate, and more.
My washing machine is front loader and it has an odd sour smell to it inside My clothing does not smell totally fresh when wash my clothes do not know if maybe there is water stuck...
The following link can give you some advice on common causes of front
loader washer odors and some preventive measures you can take to keep
them from coming back:
The most common causes of persistent odors comes from not leaving the
door OPEN between washes. The manufacturer recommends this to allow the
wash tub to air out and to prevent mold and mildew from forming.
NOTE: Residual water in the drain lines and pump reservoir is NORMAL.
Leaving the door open will NOT make this water evaporate, but will
allow constant air flow to prevent it from becoming stagnant.
A common secondary cause comes from debris becoming trapped in the
rubber door bellow and/or drain pump. It is recommended that you pull
back the rubber folds in the door bellow (gray rubber seal) and check
for dirt, debris or small articles of clothing that may have become
trapped there. Socks are a common thing that become trapped, and if
left for a long period of time, become stagnant. The drain pump
reservoir is another common place for things to collect and become
stagnant.
If you need to check the drain pump, the following link explains how:
All these are preventive measures that can drastically prevent odors,
mold and mildew. Read through the advice given and post back and let me
kow if you require additional assistance. I hope you find this
information helpful.
The following link can give you some advice on common causes of front loader washer odors and some preventive measures you can take to keep them from coming back:
The most common causes of persistent odors comes from not leaving the door OPEN between washes. The manufacturer recommends this to allow the wash tub to air out and to prevent mold and mildew from forming.
NOTE: Residual water in the drain lines and pump reservoir is NORMAL. Leaving the door open will NOT make this water evaporate, but will allow constant air flow to prevent it from becoming stagnant.
A common secondary cause comes from debris becoming trapped in the rubber door bellow and/or drain pump. It is recommended that you pull back the rubber folds in the door bellow (gray rubber seal) and check for dirt, debris or small articles of clothing that may have become trapped there. Socks are a common thing that become trapped, and if left for a long period of time, become stagnant. The drain pump reservoir is another common place for things to collect and become stagnant.
If you need to check the drain pump, the following link explains how:
All these are preventive measures that can drastically prevent odors, mold and mildew. Read through the advice given and post back and let me kow if you require additional assistance. I hope you find this information helpful.
The odor that you are experiencing may be from the growth of mold. Inside the washer, some small pools of water may be left standing and is harboring mold spores. Even though you may operate the washer regularly, the mold spores are not being washed away.I have a couple of tips that might help to eliminate odor issues in your washing machine. First, and the most effective in my research is to, leave the lid, or door to the unit open. By leaving the door open, it promotes air circulation and evaporation of standing water. The reduction in odor, will occur quickly and dramatically.
My second tip is to run the washer empty for a quick rinse cycle(on hot water cycle). Add an entire cup of bleach at the start of the cycle. The bleach is effective at destroying organisms, such as mold and bacteria. However, running it once will not be completely effective. I suggest pouring another cup of bleach into the wash tub, after the cycle has completed. This will leave bleach as the standing pool and should prevent the growth of mold or bacteria. However, if you do this, before doing a load of laundry you should run an empty rinse cycle again, to avoid damage to the clothes from the bleach left standing in the wash tub.
Additionally, inspect the door gasket for gunk or mold. Clean the gasket well. This is another gathering spot of bacteria and mold growth.
The odor that you are experiencing may be from the growth of mold. Inside the washer, some small pools of water may be left standing and is harboring mold spores. Even though you may operate the washer regularly, the mold spores are not being washed away.I have a couple of tips that might help to eliminate odor issues in your washing machine. First, and the most effective in my research is to, leave the lid, or door to the unit open. By leaving the door open, it promotes air circulation and evaporation of standing water. The reduction in odor, will occur quickly and dramatically.
My second tip is to run the washer empty for a quick rinse cycle. Add an entire cup of bleach at the start of the cycle. The bleach is effective at destroying organisms, such as mold and bacteria. However, running it once will not be completely effective. I suggest pouring another cup of bleach into the wash tub, after the cycle has completed. This will leave bleach as the standing pool and should prevent the growth of mold or bacteria. However, if you do this, before doing a load of laundry you should run an empty rinse cycle again, to avoid damage to the clothes from the bleach left standing in the wash tub.
At the risk of being rude... it's not your washer that is causing the problem it's your washing habits. Jeff is "right on the money" when he stated water temperature is important. It's fine to use mainly cold water but it makes preventive maintenance very important. A hot soak or wash as your last cycle on was day will help dissolve and flush out residue. Just as important is the amount of detergent used and use of fabric softener. To remove odor from your washer and laundry the "splash area" just above the normal waterline must be cleaned. This is invariably the area of heaviest buildup of odor-causing residue. To clean the splash area add 1 or 2 caps of smelly washer cleaner to a full load of laundry and wash in a hot setting. The added bulk of the laundry will raise the water level to include the splash area. Intermittently pause to soak for more extreme cases.
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