Whiffy washing machine, advice from my repair chap!

About five years ago I stopped using fabric conditioner and started using white vinegar for rinsing. Machine hasn't smelt since.

Lots of people said it would damage the machine, but as it looked like it was going to die anyway I went ahead. Guess what. My ancient machine is still going strong (apart from the bleep to tell me it's finished, that stopped some years ago), no black mouldy bits around the drawer, no bad smells, washing smells nice.

OH went bananas when I told him what I was doing - he hates the smell of vinegar. When I told him I'd been doing it for six months already he shut up. When he realised we could buy about 20 litres of vinegar for the price of one bottle of fabric conditioner he even smiled.

Phoenix- when my washing machine got sniffy, the repair chap said run it on a very hot wash a couple of times. He also advised strongly, never use liquid washing products
. It worked

Well, it's definitely better!

Might give it another go tomorrow, especially as I (ahem) seem to have acquired 2 dishwasher tablets (we don't actually have a dishwasher, but there is one at work..........)

I wonder if it has something to do with the water temperature.

I know that many people are ecologically minded and rarely use a temperature above 30-40c .

I’m a bit OCD about my linen. Everything is white and I wash it at 95c , both sheets and towels. Everything else is washed according to label.

My machine has never ever smelt. So it may be that?

Katyj tried every which one, and liquid, and pods, none of which cured the problem.

I had this problem all I did was change to washing powder, never had anymore smells .

I've tried vinegar, lemon juice and the Dr Beckmann stuff with no joy, so giving this a go.

Have had mine since 2005 and considering it's a combination washer/dryer I'm amazed it's still going!

It's had a couple of visits from the repair man, new door catch once, can't remember what the other thing was, but as he charges a flat fee of £45 plus parts (no matter how long the job takes) I can't complain!

I’ve heard in the past from white goods’ repair people that a problem often occurs because so many of us wash at low temperatures. You need a very hot wash...with nothing in the machine except maybe white vinegar - say once a month to blitz the smelly little bugs. Also advised years ago that washing powder, especially at low temperatures can occasionally not dissolve properly and clump together in the pipes. My chap said loads of his breakdown call outs were due to that, so he said liquid or wash tabs were safer.

The advice you have sounds worth a try especially if you can’t access the filter. My dishwasher is currently cleaning itself and the kitchen is filled with lemony smells...I wonder if dishwasher cleaner in the washing machine might do the same job? I always used Dr Beckmann cleaner - works like a charm - but have been told white vinegar is a fraction of the price and works just as well.

Expect you know all this as you are wise ! ? Hope you have a sweet smelling machine again ASAP !

I'm going to give my trusty" old-timer " a whirl with a dishwashing tablet sometime as I've detected a musty smell for long enough and keep forgetting to do something about it. It's been doing me proud for over 14 years now and I'm hanging on to it for as long as I can.
It keeps on doing everything I want it to. I had a previous one for 15 years and gave it away in the end, still working.

I've heard about this Phoenix and what worries me is this - what if the machine starts dancing around the kitchen in a wild fashion - you know what I mean!
I've been told that if a modern washing machine isn't loaded right, ie too much laundry or not enough, you get this problem as they are so sensitive to how they're loaded. I'll be interested to see how you get on.