The Washing Machine Needs Washing Too

The options around cleaning a washing machine are set out side by side below, with the conditions that genuinely favour one over the other.

Why a machine develops a smell

Low-temperature washing has become standard, and low temperatures do not kill the organisms that accumulate inside a machine. Detergent residue, fabric softener and body oils build up in places the wash water never properly flushes. That mixture stays damp between washes in a warm room, which is close to ideal conditions for bacterial and mould growth.

The result is a machine that transfers a musty smell to clean laundry, which people usually blame on the detergent. The cure is mechanical cleaning of three specific areas plus an occasional hot cycle, rather than any product poured in.

The door seal

The rubber bellows on a front loader has a fold designed to keep water in, and that fold traps water, hair and residue. Pull the fold back gently and wipe right round it, and the amount of black deposit found the first time is usually startling. Do this regularly and dry it after the last wash of the day, which prevents the growth rather than repeatedly removing it.

In a small flat, check inside the fold for coins, hair grips and small items, which is where they collect before they reach the pump. A seal already badly stained with black mould may not fully clean up, and a replacement seal is a straightforward service part.

The filter and the drawer

Most front loaders have a filter or pump trap behind a small hatch near the floor, designed to catch what the drum lets through. Have a shallow tray and a towel ready, because there will be trapped water behind it and it comes out immediately. Clear it every few months, and always before calling anyone about a machine that will not drain, since a blocked filter is the most common cause.

In a small flat, the detergent drawer usually pulls fully out and can be washed in the sink, and the housing behind it needs a brush too. Check the machine's own manual for the correct procedure, since the arrangement differs between designs and some models have no accessible filter.

The maintenance wash

Running an empty cycle at the highest temperature the machine offers, with no laundry in it, flushes the drum and hoses. Doing this once a month is the common recommendation, and machines with a self-clean programme are effectively automating the same thing. A dedicated machine cleaner or a suitable quantity of an oxygen-based product can be used, following the machine manufacturer's guidance.

Never mix cleaning products in a machine, and in particular never combine chlorine bleach with acidic descalers, since the combination produces toxic gas.

In hard water areas descaling occasionally also matters, because scale on the heating element reduces efficiency and shortens its life.

Habits that prevent the problem

Leave the door and the detergent drawer ajar between washes so the interior dries out rather than staying damp. Take laundry out promptly, since wet clothes sitting in a warm drum for hours are the fastest route to a smell.

Once the deposit is down, use the correct detergent dose, because residue is the food supply for everything growing in there. Run one hotter wash regularly, whether towels or bedding, which incidentally keeps the machine's own interior above growth temperatures. These four habits together eliminate almost all machine smell problems without any cleaning product at all.

Knowing when it is not a cleaning problem

Water on the floor, a burning smell, a machine that trips the electricity or one that moves violently during spin are faults rather than maintenance. Stop using it, unplug it at the socket and report it, since a washing machine combines water and mains electricity in one box. Never attempt repairs inside the casing, and never bypass an interlock or a safety device to make a machine run with the door open.

In rented accommodation a machine supplied with the property is usually the landlord's responsibility to repair or replace. For your own machine, a manufacturer-approved engineer is the right call for anything beyond the filter, the drawer and the seal.

Side by side

The takeaway

Wipe the seal, clear the filter, leave the door open, and run one hot cycle a month.

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