What to Use to Clean (Laundry) Washer ...Washer Smells Alittle Musty....

White vinegar - I use it in almost every wash to get rid of musty odors caused by all kinds of things (stale dishcloths and towels, "accident" clothes from my 2 yr old, gym clothes and socks, etc). Buy it in the giant jug at Fred Meyer, Costco or the regular old grocery store. For a couple bucks per gallon it's a worthy addition (a cup or so) to every load. Enjoy fresh smelling laundry again!

One important thing to do is never to close the lid of the clothes washer when it is not washing. This is because the washer is still wet after washing the clothes and it needs to dry out before you shut the lid.

Hi,
there are a few things that you can do.
1. there is a gap between the very top of a waher and the
speen barrel some times things can get traped and they will start to make it smell.
2. pour bleach in the washer and put on e or two white things in and let it do it's thing oh yeh if there
is a part where the rince gose, pour bleach in there
to.
3. keep the lid open when not in use.
4. do not let dirty things (cloths ext) stay in your wash, wash your dirty things right away.
5. don't let wet things (cloths ext) stay in washer. when
lod is done take them out and put them in dryer or hang out to dry.
I clean under my washer and dryer with bleach
my husband pulls them out and I clean them.
I also do a bleach wash about every two mouths just with bleach and a old towel or two, I use about half a bottel.
other than that
good luck

I've also had a washer that smelled musty. I tried everything and eventually gave up and bought a new one. What happened was water had leaked into the inside components and grown mold..

However, you can keep it under control by using vinegar, baking soda, and/or bleach once a week or so. Also, NEVER leave a damp load of clothes in the washer once they're done and always leave the door open between loads. You can probably manage it slightly until you can purchase a new(or used) one. I recently bought a used washer/dryer set off of Craigslist and it works great. Good luck!

Run a load with Vinegar if the smell is still there you might need to do it one more time and the smell should be gone.

Depending on how old your washer is, you should pour 2/3 cup of bleach into the bleach dispenser and run the "clean" cycle. (If you don't have a "clean" cycle, just run a short, regular wash cycle with no clothes in the machine.) Also, you might want to look into a product called "Washer Magic." It's supposed to remove the lime and rust build-up in your washer's hoses and lines. (I was told about this product, but have yet to use it. It is also recommended that you run the "rinse/drain" cycle after the "Washer Magic" just to be sure the product is thoroughly rinsed from your machine.)

Finally, you'll want to leave the washer door open at the end of doing laundry, just so the drum and inside of the door air-dries.

Hope this helps.

Vinegar works great! I dump a gallon in there and run it with no clothes. I do this every couple of months and never get an odor problem.

Have you tried running it through a rinse cycle with plain vinegar? Vinegar is supposed to be safe to rinse your clothes in as well to give a fresher smell.

i use a quarter cup of vinegar in place of softener in every load. clothes don't come out as soft as if i used softener but still softer (and less static) than if i used nothing. my washer doesn't stink anymore and i don't have any funky smelling towels. also, when i forget a load in the washer, it can sit longer before it starts to mildew.

before i figured out the vinegar trick tho, i found some other sources of the funk. you'll have to explore your washers at all angles inside. you'll probably find some mildewy lint above the tank somewhere. my softener part in the middle of the turning thing also had mildew in it. luckily it came apart so i could clean it out.

anyway, i don't have problems anymore since using the vinegar. you don't need a ton but it probably works best if you use it regularly. you could even use it in addition to softener i bet.

Run a cycle without clothes, without detergent and with chlorox or vinegar. You may have to do this more than once.

Always leave the lid up or the door open so that the machine dries out between uses.

After reading other wonderful responses I remembered that if the space between the drum and the outside case needs cleaning, you can remove the back of the washer to clean it. Be sure to unplug the washer first.

You can also clean out the dryer this way. Sometimes lint builds up inside the dryer outside the drum and this can be a fire hazard.

My Dad was an appliance repairman and did these things for me. He said it was safe as long as the plug is pulled. I think a gas dryer would also require that the gas be shut off but I don't really know about that.

You can call an appliance repair shop and ask them about this. My Dad told people how to care for their appliances themselves. He had enough work fixing breakdowns. :):)

Try using a little bit of Sunlight dish soap, about a capful, and run the washer on hot, empty. Also you could try an empty bleach wash too. I keep my washer door open between washes too.
Good luck.

You may have some mildew (mold) build-up in your washing machine. You can do what the others have suggested. I would do a bleach run with a few items just to have something in your machine. I didn't know about this until after getting rid of my old ones and bought a new set. I was told that you should do a bleach run to help clean and keep the mildew (mold) growth down. Since we live in the Pacific Northwest - we have a humid weather and have more mold problems. I hope that you are able to get rid of the musty smell. Also using Borax or even vinegar works too. I don't know if you have a top or front loader. Good luck - there is a lot of great advice here.

White vinegar and HOT water... that should do it. Use at least a cup of vinegar; maybe a little more. Maybe have to do it a couple of times.

Hello M.,

You might want to try BORAX. While washing your whites, use 1/2 cup borax also use some clorox and your detergent. Use the borax almost everytime you wash clothes. It is a cleanser for toilets, clothing, etc....so you should be able to notice the musty smell go away. I'm sure that the smell will cut down dramatically after the first wash. The borax will make the clothes soft as well. I love this stuff. You can pick up Borax reasonably at Walmart. Or just call your local store for it. It comes in a box and is in powder form. So, set aside a measuring cup just for borax, or any cleaning products.

Good luck!
M. W \''/

A good old standby is baking soda. Many use bleach, but I'm extremely sensitive to bleach, and there is always the chance of getting it on something you didn't intend for it to touch, and bleaching the color out of something. Personally I use Shaklee's Basic H2 to clean things, and as it also will get rid of odor, that is a plus. If that would interest you, I could tell you where to get it. But I think that the baking soda might just do the job.
Blessings to you,
N.

There are lots of options available one is good old baking soda and lemon juice. Anither is denture tablets and another yet is tang or lemonade drink mix. yet another is plain white vinegar. I do not know what you would want to use. But judge to yourself and try what like any will work.

I have a front loader and I was told by the washer people to add 1/4 cup of cascade dish detergent and put it through a quick cycle and that should help. I need to do that actually again. Thanks for the reminder. :)