How to Remove Washing Machine Odors

At times all washing machines may take on a "funky" odor. Most of the time, this is a result of mildew, it can however be a build up of soap scum that bacteria have attached to or something further down the drain.
Front loading machines are especially prone to bad smells and mildew build up due to the tight seal around the door. In fact, this door seal is often the sources of smells coming from a front loading machine.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Baking Soda
• Vinegar
• Bleach
• Dry Towel

1. For a top loading machine, run your hand over and around the tub when the machine is completely dry. If you feel anything slimy anywhere, soap scum is likely your problem. If not, it may be more likely to be mildew.
   In a front loading machine, the problem is almost certainly mildew if you have been using the correct amount of a HE detergent.

2. For a top loader, for either soap scum or mildew, I suggest first sprinkling about 1/2 small box of baking soda in the machine, closing the lid and allowing it to sit for about 2 hours. Then run the machine on a large load cycle with hot water with either 1 cup of bleach for mildew or 2 cups of vinegar for soap scum.
   Stop the cycle after about 5 min. of agitation and allow to sit for about 1 hour. Finish the cycle.

3. For a front loading machine, use a clean dry towel to clean out around the door seal, stretching the seal out and being sure to get into all the crevices. Take a spray bottle with a 10% bleach solution and spray the seal well, inside and out. Allow to sit for 2 hours.
   After sitting, run a load an empty load with hot water and 1 cup of bleach.
   For a simple freshening, you can simply run a load of hot water with a cup of vinegar.
   After the cycle has run, leave the door open until the washer is completely dry.

4. Assuming no mildew or soap scum build up, one of my favorite freshening tricks is to take either a lemon or a lime (your choice), poke a large number of small holes in it with a fork, and run it in a hot water load.
   When the cycle is over, remove the citrus and dispose of it.

5. Finally,
   A note on front loaders. As previously mentioned, they are very prone to mildew build up in the door seal. A good preventive measure is to use a dry towel to wipe the door seal dry each time you are finished with your machine. I like to then leave a small dry towel tucked around the inside of the seal when I close the machine to absorb any remaining moisture.
   This towel just gets washed with the next load.

[3bigdogs]

on 12/18/2009 Really great tips. I just noticed that funky smell the other day, I'm going to give these a try. Thanks so much. 5*

[randymo1965]

on 12/3/2009 Definitely been there, good solutions.

[susanhorton72]

on 10/17/2009 Oh, great tips for cleaning odors out of washing machines. The man of my life gets a little creative with the washer and dryer, so I might just need to put this information to use eventually!

[sbarry77]

on 9/27/2009 gREAT TIPS! 5* AND RECOMMENDED!

[romian1]

on 9/25/2009 Thanks for these ideas. The moldy smell on the washing machine transfers to the clothes. Another problem is leaving damped clothes in the dryer for one reason or another. That also puts some funk in your clothes.