My Clothes Washer smells "SOURED", how do I fix this?

[DemiZZZZ]

I keep getting the smell of soured clothes from my Clothes Washer. No doubt some clothes have soured at some point in my washer but I use it daily and I almost always use bleach when I wash. This should kill any lingering germs that can cause the smell. I ALWAYS smell it but it is WORSE when I go a day or two without washing. Can anyone even suggest something to help me with this? I know jack about washers and can't pay to have mine fixed. I have no clue on what it could possible be. And as I said I use A LOT of bleach. That should kill anything in the line I'd think.

If you respond, then thanks in advance. I'll thank you again when I read your (surely) helpful message.

Demhi

[John Doe]

Let me guess...an Energy Star water-saving front loader?

[zxcvbob]

It's a front-loader isn't it? Leave the door open.

-Bob

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, Wonder if your water is doing it. I'd try running it with baking soda w/o a load couple times and see.

[JimT]

If it's a front loader check the door seal for mold. Pull the seal back and look underneath. Dry behind seal with each load and run HE washing machine washer. Tide makes some.

[Earl]

[e-mail] wrote in news: [e-mail]:

I see you've been watching those ads on TV.

[HeyBub]

Rare, but possible, the vent stack for the drain line is plugged. If so, you may have sewer gas backing up to your washer.

Run this experiement:

After washing a load of clothes, remove the drain hose from the dump pipe and hang nearby. Put it back for the next load.

If there's a significant difference, the "sour" smell is coming from the drain and has nothing to do with your washer. If you can't clear the vent stack, perhaps you can fashion some ad hoc p-trap of your own.

[Evan]

@Demhi:

Your problem sounds like your front loading HE washing machine has developed a bleach resistant biofilm on the outer surface of the drum inside the machine where you can not see it...

You need to obtain some commercial strength biological cleaning chemicals of the same type used in a hospital...

Run that industrial strength biocidial cleanser through a couple of cycles in your machine to get ride of the biofilm build up and smell...

If bleach can not kill the biofilm in your machine, then baking soda and other residential strength cleaning products won't be of much help to you...

~~ Evan

[Art Todesco]

I always say, "if I had all the money in the world that I wanted or needed" and then add something I want but don't necessarily have a real pressing need. So, I said this to my wife and others recently, if I had all the money in the world, I dump that 2 year old front loading, Energy Star washer (BTW, made in China) and replace it with a traditional top loading washer that actually fills the tub with water. But there are other things I want or need, which are higher on the list.

That said, can you really use TSP in one of these front loaders? If so, about how much per load?

[Art Todesco]

But then your cloths will smell like a salad. I did this once on a water heater. The water heater company spokesperson said to add clean it out with vinegar. I don't even remember why I was doing this, probably to get rid of sediment or something. I did it, rinsed it multiple times using many, many gallons of water, and still, for about a week, I took showers and had a strange hankering for salad for breakfast!

[Art Todesco]

Let's see, wash a few loads today, and then clean it with commercial stuff, or vinegar or baking soda. I wonder if the bean counter Energy Star brains ever added all these extra loads to their calculations? Or the extra rinse that we always do because these machines leave a lot of soap in the cloths.

[Robert Macy]

full load: Bleach 1, water 4 rinse full load galtial acetic acid 1, water 10 rinse

key is the bleach kills EVRYTHING

vinegar sweetens

[Robert Macy]

Ah, the internet and the voices of reason...my spelling was from memory

Thank you for the URLs from the first URL:

enjoyed the reason for calling it 'glacial' always wondered.

"It becomes a flammable risk if the ambient temperature exceeds 39 =B0C (102 =B0F), and can form explosive mixtures with air above this temperature (explosive limits: 5.4=9616%)."

I have cases of this stuff labeled 'flammable', not combustible. With bright warnings for the fire dept.

I suggested diluting that amount, from MY experience. My wife uses at

4:1 !!!

without hood, without gloves, without argg!

[Robert Macy]

oglegroups.com...

all the incoming air goes through activated charcoal granules and removes a lot of stuff

[Evan]

@Stormin:

Table vinegar sold in grocery stores is between 4% and 8% solution acetic acid... There are some stronger acetic acid solutions sold as cleansers that are 10% to 15% solution...

To obtain acetic acid at strengths above 25% solution requires that you do so through a chemical supply house and that you use personal protective equipment when handling it...

Lab grade stuff on the order of 90% + solution is extremely corrosive and needs to be handled under a fume hood very carefully...

~~ Evan

[tim birr]

I found an easy, somewhat cheap, solution.

I have a washer that stunk when filled with water, but the clothes all came out O.K. I have an old dishwasher that works fine, but was sorta "mucky" inside.

And, glasses run through the dishwasher, despite being clean, were developing deposits.

Found something called Lemi Shine -- Google it. They make a couple of different types, but with "every now and then" use, washer smells clean, dishwasher is clean and deposits on glassware are gone.

I tried bleach in the washer, but it really did not seem too work too well -- and I don't like running bleach down my septic system. The Lemi Shine was about $3-$4 at the local discount store. The three pack I bought has lasted me about a year, so not so bad, cost-wise.