Transcript
Getting Rid Of Washing Machine Smells
This article looks at the importance of a maintenance wash using the hottest program, and how to get rid of mouldy, musty or bad smells from washing machines. It also points to the causes so as to protect from the problem in the first place or prevent re-occurrence. A washing machine covered with gunge and grease inside can also cause marks on laundry especially if laundry gets dragged round the rim of the drum and picks up grease from under the door seal. There are various products available online and in supermarkets claiming to freshen up washing machines and get rid of bad odours. My personal experience with these products (which are also aimed at dishwashers) is that they do a good job of freshening up a relatively clean washer or dishwasher but are not so good at curing a genuinely smelly one if the problem has been allowed to get really bad. If your appliance is seriously smelly, especially if coated in black mould or greasy gunge, then it can be very difficult or even impossible to cure, but there are some things worth trying..
Carry out one or more maintenance washes 90° or 95° Not many people use hot washes any more, and this is partly to blame for the bad smells because hot water helps to kill bacteria and cut down grease. One of the first things to try is to put the washing machine on a boil wash cycle (90° or 95°) with detergent inside – but no laundry. You may need to try this more than once, but badly affected washing machines caked in bacteria and grunge may be beyond help if left too late.
Also, you could try to clean the washing machine inside using soda crystals which dissolve grease. I recommend putting half a packet inside the drum and washing on a boil wash (or follow instructions on the packet). Using this method every month or so, or using ordinary detergent if no soda crystals are available can help prevent smells from your washing machine. If your washing machine is badly affected by grease and slime, it may be very difficult to remove it. This is particularly important if you mostly use low temperature washes and (or) liquid detergent, and other washing machine detergent which doesn’t contain bleaching agents such as colour friendly detergent. If you do, then buy some detergent that does, and use it for your maintenance washes. This will help kill off bacteria and prevent black mould and grease. Tip: Look for something like, "bleaching agents" in the ingredients. Some manufacturers recommend using biological detergent for the maintenance wash. I’m not sure exactly why because biological detergent only really works at low temperatures and the biological enzymes get killed off at high temperatures. It might be worth trying both biological and non biological detergent. The main criteria is – no laundry and very hot wash cycle. Don’t put chemical cleaning bleach in the washing machine, there are certain types of bleach (eg. oxygen bleach) that are appropriate for laundry.
Get rid of washing machine odours using vinegar White distilled vinegar has an array of uses. Try putting half a cup of white (distilled) vinegar inside an empty machine and put it on a boil wash. Note that because the first bit of water goes into the sump hose and is sealed off, I recommend that you wait until the washing machine has been filling for about 15 seconds before pouring the vinegar into the soap drawer where water is running in to let it wash down into the machine. I've had reports back from people that this does actually work.
What causes washing machine smells? Causes of grease, slime and black mould inside washing machines Washing machines now commonly suffer from a build up of a greasy deposit and bacteria which causes bad smells, rots hoses & door seals and blocks the pressure system causing overfilling or spin failure. An even more serious consequence of this problem is that the aluminium based drum spiders can be corroded by the build up of grease and gunge, which can cause one or more of the drum’s arms to break. This is often fatal to the washing machine.
This problem was virtually unheard of before the 1980s but when detergents started to become more environmentally "friendly" and liquid detergents were invented this issue suddenly appeared. It seems that the problem is worse when a combination of factors are involved, but almost everyone suffering the worst cases of this slimy grease uses 40 degrees washes almost exclusively. This, combined with either poor quality detergents, not using the recommended quantities, or only using colour-friendly detergents or liquid detergent which contain no bleach allowing bacteria to thrive can seriously rot a washing machine inside. Here’s an example of the level of grunge that can build up inside a washing machine.
Large deposits of grease, slime and un-dissolved detergent have built up on the underside of this door seal, which can cause smells. If you were to wash greasy plates in a plastic washing up bowl with the water at 40 degrees you would expect the plates to come clean but when emptying the bowl there is likely to be a greasy film coating it. To break down grease you need higher temperatures. Washing the same plates at 60 degrees or higher I would expect the grease to be dissolved more effectively. To check if your washing machine is being badly affected, carefully examine the inside of the door seal for slime and grease. Pull the lip back in front of the drum and look underneath and on the lip of the tub. If the door seal is covered in black mould it will probably need replacing.
What causes black mould on washing machines?
Black mould is unpleasant, and potentially hazardous to health. It thrives in damp places. Using more hot washes and detergent which contains bleach will help prevent black mould. They also help kill bacteria that can otherwise multiply inside a washing machine. Many "colour-friendly" detergents and all liquid detergents do not have any bleach in them which is why they are "friendly" to coloured garments. To prevent, or try to get rid of, black mould on washing machines follow the procedures for getting rid of smells and grease on this article – getting rid of bad smells from washer Also, leave the washing machine door open after washing to let it dry out. If the washing machine is in a place where it’s exposed to warm moisture such as in a steamy kitchen then you may need to actually dry out the drum and door seal manually and leave the door closed. At the end of the day mould needs moisture and warmth to grow. Related information: I have also written an article on – Black jelly-like substance in soap dispenser and on soap drawer which looks at what causes the slime on washing machine soap dispensers, and how to prevent and deal with it.
Removing black mould on door seal and soap dispenser Black mould mostly grows on the door seal and in the soap dispenser. On the soap dispenser it can divert jets of water to the front and cause water to leak from the soap drawer. Check the top of the dispenser compartment where the water comes in and use an old toothbrush or something similarly suitable to remove it. Black mould is known to release spores and there are known health hazards such as allergies and some illnesses although as it’s so damp in a washing machine it’s possible the spores don’t get released so easily – unless scrubbing them. You may be able to scrub lightly affected areas of the door seal with a scourer or old toothbrush etc. and something like Jiff. To be on the safe side you should wear goggles and a mask when dealing with black mould. It may be worth trying a black mould remover available from supermarkets but read the instructions to make sure it is safe to use on rubber if intending to use it on the door seal. If badly affected – the only way to get rid of it – is to replace the door seal. Black jelly-like substance in soap dispenser and on soap drawer
If your washing machine has a black jelly-like substance growing in the soap dispenser it is likely to be a fungal, bacterial growth called biofilm. Apart from looking nasty, it can block up the little holes in the top of many soap dispensers causing water flow to be restricted. Partially blocked up nozzles can also cause water to get deflected into the fabric conditioner compartment causing the fabric conditioner to flush out too soon. Finally, deflected water can spray over to the front of the dispenser and leak out of the bottom of the dispenser drawer.
What causes the black jelly-like substance in soap dispenser and on soap drawer? The growth is accelerated by moist environments. Bacteria and fungi need both water, and a source of nutrients, which they can get from detergent. If both are present on a surface the organisms will grow and multiply to produce a grey/black jelly-like (slime) growth or produce a pink/red staining around bathroom tiles.
If you have a water valve not shutting off properly you can get a very small but constant drip of water into the soap dispenser. This can sometimes be observed by removing the soap drawer and seeing if you can see any dripping, or a bulging globule of water some time after the washing machine has finished. (If so, wipe the water away and see if it comes back, if it does you may need to have a new valve fitted although in some cases a badly blocked filter in the back of the valve can cause it not to shut off properly, or even water pressure that’s too low).
How to prevent bio-film growth The best way to prevent this growth is to improve ventilation to allow these damp areas in kitchens and bathrooms to dry rapidly. With a washing machine I would leave the soap dispenser drawer open (at least partially) after using the machine drying it out manually first. If badly affected you may need to remove the drawer and wipe the whole area with kitchen towel or cloth. It’s a pain, but large growths can be troublesome and may require a complete new soap dispenser to be fitted – plus the growth will reoccur if nothing is done to stop it or at least control it. Most soap dispenser drawers can easily be removed as there’s usually a clip to depress at the back which allows the drawer to come out. It is also important to reduce the food sources for the bacteria and fungi to prevent growth. Food sources can include shampoo, soaps, propellants from hair spray and deodorants, and general kitchen food but with washing machines it’s clearly the detergent and fabric conditioner that the growth feeds on.
How to remove bio-film growth Wiping with bleach or commercially available mildew removers should successfully remove the growth unless it’s really well established. Kitchen surfaces and bathroom tiles can be wiped with a household cleaner or mild bleach solution that will kill the bacteria and fungal spores. Black slime associated with tap fittings can be removed by cleaning the inside of the tap or around the base of the tap with a small brush dipped in a mild solution of bleach. I used to have this problem with my bathroom taps. Little flakes of black substance would occasionally hang from the inside of the nozzle and if I pushed a bit of tissue up the nozzle to clean it there would be a slimy black jelly inside the tap. Give your taps a very good clean occasionally by working a little disinfectant around not only the outside, but also the inside of the tap nozzle with a toothbrush or a cotton bud. Removing the black growth from washing machine dispenser and drawer If your washing machine’s soap dispenser is infested with a black growth try to clean it out with the soap drawer removed. Use on old toothbrush to clean the nozzles and top of the dispenser. Try using some of the products mentioned above. If it’s too bad to successfully remove it may need a new soap dispenser fitting
Part 2 (Smells caused by plumbing faults) This is part two of a look at what causes smells from a washing machine and how to get rid of them. The first part looks at problems inside the washing machine (what causes washing machine smells?) but this one looks at smells coming from the plumbing that may be blamed on the washing machine. There’s a link to the first article at the bottom of this one.
Is there a u-bend fitted?
U-bend’s prevent smells If the smell tends to be worse first thing in a morning, and smells a bit like an outside drain, one cause could be that your waste water pipe (on the plumbing) doesn't have a proper U bend fitted. A u-bend always holds some water which acts as a barrier to stop smells getting from the drains back into the house. This water is constantly replaced each time the washer is used. Make sure your washing machine doesn’t pump into a drain system that has a direct run to a drain without some sort of u-bend. Without it, if the plastic waste water piping hangs over an outside drain, then you have, in effect, an open tube leading from over the outside drain into your house. If the drain hose pushes into a stand pipe at the back, make sure there is a u-bend at the bottom of it.
If yours pumps out under the sink
Most washing machines are plumbed directly into a fitting on the u-bend under the sink these days instead of being pushed into a standpipe (as above). Unless fitted properly though, some of the dirty smelly water poured down the sink can run down the drain hose into the washing machine. A drain hose connected to a sink u-bend should first go up 3 or 4 inches high (it may need tying up) before running down to the washing machine as shown in the photo. More information – Make sure that the drain hose is connected correctly
