How to Fix a Washing Machine That Smells Bad

Get a whiff of something bad when you open your washer door? Laundry not as fresh or bright as it could be? Most likely, your washing machine isn’t broken–it just needs a thorough cleaning. Luckily, you don’t need any fancy soaps to kill the mildew and bacteria that have set up shop in your washer, just time, common household products, and a bit of elbow grease.

In this guide, we’ll cover why washers get smelly and how to stop the stink and prevent it from happening again. Keep reading!

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Why Does My Washer Stink?

So, there are a couple of different reasons why your washing machine may smell funky. What that odor smells like and what type of washer you have (front loading vs top loading) can help you determine the source of your unwanted stink. 

Does Your Washer Smell Mildew-y or Musty?

Heat, moisture, and darkness are pretty much the universal recipe for mold, mildew, and bacterial growth. Over time, built up remnants like soap scum and lint can create a breeding ground for all the things that make foul odors. If your washer has a musty or rotten egg smell, it’s likely because of a mildew or bacterial bloom.

While this can happen regardless of the type of washer you have, it’s significantly more common in front loaders — to the point that it’s often listed as one of the few cons when compared to top loading models. Front loaders are so efficient in their water and energy use that using the wrong type or amount of detergent can stop your washer from adequately rinsing clothes, leaving behind excess soap scum and grime from your laundry, which then, you guessed it, leads to those nasty smells.

Does My Washing Machine Smell Like Rotten Eggs?

As above, this smell is most likely caused by bacterial growth and can be solved by a thorough cleaning of the tub. However, there is a small chance that this could be because of a natural gas leak. Natural gas is odorless, but gas companies add sulfur to create that rotten egg smell. If you suspect the smell could be a gas leak, contact your gas company immediately.

Why Does My Washing Machine Smell Like Sewage?

This is more prevalent in top-load washers. Though it probably just means you need to clean out the washer’s tub, it could also be a plumbing issue, which may be a more serious problem. If there is a clog or other plumbing issue allowing sewer gas into your home, that could be potentially dangerous. Sewer gas is both bad for your health and flammable.

To check if it’s a problem in your pipes, first open a window to create some ventilation and then take a careful sniff around the drain pipe (you may have to pull your washer away from the wall for this). If the smell is definitely localized at the pipes, it is probably a plumbing issue. If you do not have plumbing experience and are not confident that you can safely fix a clog or replace a P-trap, now may be the time to call in a professional plumber to fully identify and fix the issue. Fixing clogs and other problems in your washer’s drain pipes may require the use of specialized tools and machinery.

How To Fix A Washing Machine That Smells Bad

No matter what smells you’re dealing with, you’re probably going to need to clean your washer’s drum to completely get rid of any lingering smells. Luckily, it’s not too hard. You may very well have everything you need at home!

Cleaning Your Washing Machine With Vinegar And Baking Soda

While it does take a bit of elbow grease, cleaning your washing machine isn’t all that difficult, and it can be done with tools you have around your house. Before you begin, make sure you have the following things handy:

• Optionally, rubber gloves
• Baking soda
• White vinegar
• A scrubbing brush, wash cloth, or cleaning toothbrush

Here’s how to clean your washing machine:

1. Start with a scrub around the washer door. You can pull that rubber seal around the washer door (it’s called a gasket) back a little and take a peek underneath. If you’ve never cleaned under there before, what you find might be pretty disgusting. You can clean this with an old toothbrush or damp cloth and either a mix of vinegar and water or a gentle soap. Make sure you wipe down the entire gasket, cleaning inside and out.
2. Clean the soap dispenser if your washer has one. With the same method as above, you can get it clean quickly. It might seem a little weird that the part that holds detergent could be the cause of stinky clothes, but soapy remains and splashed water can turn the dispenser into a hotspot for mildew growth.
3. Run a cleaning cycle with vinegar and baking soda. You’re going to want to run either the self clean cycle, or a normal cycle on the hottest temperature setting. Don’t put any laundry in this cycle!
   1. If you have a front-load washer, put ⅓ cup of baking soda directly into the drum and then pour one cup of distilled white vinegar into the detergent tray.
   2. If you have a top-load washer, let the drum fill up about halfway, then add a cup of baking soda and 2 cups of distilled white vinegar.
4. Let the cycle finish, and leave the door open after to ensure everything air dries.

How to Clean Your Washing Machine With Chlorine Bleach

A surefire way to get rid of moldy smells in your washer is by doing a bleach clean. Before you jump in, make sure you take proper safety precautions. Wear gloves, ensure the space is adequately ventilated (open windows, turn on fans or vents), and never combine chlorine bleach with other cleaners, even vinegar. Letting bleach combine with other cleaning aids can cause chemical reactions, releasing harmful gases into the air and making you very sick.

Gather these items up before you begin:

• Rubber gloves (always wear gloves when working with bleach!)
• Chlorine bleach

Here’s how to sanitize your washing machine tub with bleach:

1. Add bleach to the washer tub. Pay close attention and ensure you use the correct amount of bleach. For a top loading washer, use 4 cups of bleach. For a front loading washer, use 2 cups.
2. Run a wash cycle with the temperature set to hot, letting the tub fill all the way before pausing the cycle. You are going to let this hot water and bleach mix sit for 30 minutes.
3. After 30 minutes have passed, start the wash cycle back up and allow it to run all the way through.
4. Once that wash cycle is done, run one more rinse cycle. This should ensure that all the bleach has been cleared out.
5. If your washer has a dispenser tray for detergent and bleach, you should take it out and thoroughly clean it. You don’t necessarily need to use bleach for this step, a vinegar and baking soda mix should be sufficient.

How to Stop Bad Washing Machine Smells Before They Start

Here are some tips to help stop bad odors from growing out of control:

• Don’t let clothes sit for long. Be quick about getting wet clothes out of the washer and into the dryer. Wet clothes don’t need to sit for too long in the washer or the dryer before mildew starts to grow, causing a musty, moldy smell both on your clothes and in the appliance.

• Leave the washer door open after running it. The inside of your washer may still be a bit damp after a load of laundry. If you close all that moisture up, it becomes a breeding ground for mildew, mold, and bacteria. Leave the washer door/lid open for a few hours after you’ve done a load of laundry to ensure that it dries out. If your washer has a detergent drawer, you can also open that up to increase air flow.

• Make sure you’re using the right detergent in the correct amounts. Got a high efficiency washing machine? You should definitely also be using high efficiency detergent — not just to stop bad smells, but to prevent damage to your washer. Both your washer’s manual and the detergent label should tell you how much detergent you should be using in each laundry load.

• Clean your washing machine regularly! If you’re consistent with cleaning — whether it’s getting in there with a toothbrush and scrubbing or doing a high temp wash cycle with vinegar — you’ll keep those bad smells at bay. Many washing machines now come with a self clean function that will help to stop build up. You don’t even need to use a cleaning agent with a self cleaning cycle!

Wrapping Up

There! See? It isn’t too hard to eradicate odor causing microorganisms in your washing machine. After following this guide, your laundry should be smelling much fresher, and maybe coming out a bit more clean, to boot.

Now that you have the tools to avoid unwanted odors, keep AppliancePartsPros.com in mind for other tips, tutorials, and guides on how to keep your home in tip-top shape. If you ever have any questions about how to replace appliance parts, we’re happy to lend a hand through our site LiveChat or give us a call!