Nasty smell in washing machine.

Vinegar in soap dispenser..wash at 90 degrees

I agree with swapping to powder from liquid detergent. Much less messy and the detergent drawer doesn't gunk up like my old one did when using liquids.

I tend to use Lidl own brand powder detergents. They're brilliant.

Envious Top loaders waste a lot of water in comparison to front loaders. Not much good if you're on a water meter, which we're not now, thankfully.

I think some people don't realise the need to keep the door open for about an hour after a wash to let the seal dry out properly. My SIL was unaware until I cleaned the machine out for her and hers hasn't been smelly since.

There is a product called Service Engineer which is brilliant. I use it monthly ( sometimes longer gaps)in washing machine & dishwasher. Really keeps everything clean. I get it from Lakeland but shops stock it too.

I understand that the low temperatures used today do not destroy the bacteria - as detergents work as low as 30 degrees can be the reason for the smells.
I have used bleach with great success. Only twice in 4 years!

When we bought our house, the washing machine smelled horrible. I then realised that was the smell I could smell on their clothes when we were viewing. I found out it was the fact that if you keep washing clothes on low temp, bacteria forms and nothing removes it. I poured two bottles of bleach in it, ran it on 90 degrees, but eventually gave up as I did not want my clothes to smell. Bought a new machine!

We had a really foul smell coming from our dishwasher, then it stopped working and water started to seep onto the floor. When the engineer came to fix it he found a hole chewed in the water pipe and the incinerated remains of another mouse which had been chewing the wiring. They had come into the kitchen through a tiny hole in the skirting board. Think our two old cats must have lost their sense of smell as neither of them had shown any interest in the mousey pong.

We have top loading tub washers in the U.S. and it only seems since the popularity of front loading ones have I heard of a problem with smelly washers.

I have the same problem, intermittently, with my dishwasher. It's not the filter, I don't use liquid, I use the hot wash, we've checked the outside drain into which it empties ... any ideas?

I use liquid Persil in my machine but put a small amount of white vinegar in the rinse drawer every wash instead of soft rinse. This keeps the machine very clean and with no mould building up in the drawer section. The washing does not smell of vinegar but recently I have noticed that I get static in some loads when I have tumble dried them so I have bought some dryer sheets to try and see if that stops the static. I have also used white vinegar in the trap of the shower exit when it was both a tad slow draining and also a bit smelly - might just be worth a try running it through your machine. I have only ever had really clean water out of the trap in my washing machine plus the odd button.

I have just tried the soda crystals and put the machine on a 90 degree wash. Hey presto - the smell seems to have gone. Don't know if it will come back, but great at the moment. Thank you everybody.

Ana that sounds like the leather handbag which I hadn't used for a while, I took it out of the cupboard and it smelt horrible. I had left a kiwi fruit in it which I had taken to work and not eaten. Nicely rotting.
A waste of a good leather bag

Ana

My washing machine instructions say to close the door after you've emptied it; however, I always leave mine open for a while.
My tumble drier (condensing) developed a funny smell despite emptying the filter, however lots of damp fluff had got trapped in another filter so we took it outside and hosed it through. I leave the door slightly ajar on that too.

I have that nasty smell in my machine too . I have done all the things you mention over the last few months and nothing has made it go . It only happens at the beginning of a wash so I guess it is something to do with the pipe where the water enters the machine . This is the only one you cant get at to clean out .
I guess I will just have to live with it until the machine dies , it is very annoying as I hate smells I cannot identify !

I was going to post about an unpleasant smell which had developed in my car, but today DD investigated and discovered a small pack of rotting cauliflower which had obviously fallen out of my shopping bag in the boot...

Wow! What a lot of replies. Thank you so much. We have checked the filter and it is completely clear.
I do use liquid detergent, so interesting to hear people's comments on this.
Next step is to buy some soda crystals and a powder detergent! I will keep you posted!

I was going to say that liquid products for washing caused smells in our machine, but then saw that Mrsjones has got there before me. ( I've said it anyway . Going back to powder sorted the problem for us also.

Hi Supermum. The filter on your machine is accessed from within the drum. The instruction book details how to position the drum and open the filter to remove for cleaning. In case you can't find your manual, you can see a copy here :-
co-operativemediacontent.episerverhosting.com/Media/eStore/manuals/Laundry/Zanussi/Zanussi-ZWG6161P.pdf

Unfortunately if I put machine on hottest it blows the trip!!!

I had this problem a little while ago too. I found gunk in the door seal, which I bleached. I then put bleach in the drawer and did a boil wash. It seemed to fix the smell. I now have a limescale and detergent remover, which I run through the washing machine and dishwasher once a month. It leaves both appliances beautifully clean and fresh

I had this problem a while ago and used the machine cleaner and did the filter thing but the smell still lingered. I was then told that long term use of a liquid detergent can cause a "build up" and this could be the reason for the smell. I started to use a powder (Ariel) and the smell has gone.

I was going to buy a new machine as mine is quite old anyway but it's fine now so won't bother yet.

I have neverhad that problem and really I am not one for doing more cleaning than I have to.

You can get musty smells if you leave wet clothes in for too long but it does not usually persist. Have you checked for dead rodents in the vicinity?

Other drain problems nearby?

It is Zanussi. ZWG616P

Supermum Our filter is hidden behind a panel that is at the bottom front of the macine. It just pops off with a bit of brute force !

Supermum, there has to be a filter somewhere, otherwise loose buttons, coins etc could get into the pump and wreck it. The filter sound the most likely cause. What make & model is it ?

I also leave the door ajar but have to check in case my cat has decided to have a snooze. I agree, run soda crystals through at hottest wash and I also pop them down my kitchen sink drain at the same time.

When they are being sold at bargain prices I buy the washing machine cleaners. I know that you have tried those also- there is zilch else I can think of. My machine also does not have a filter- it is a Siemens.