# Moldy smell in washer?



## Deb862 (Jun 22, 2005)

Does anyone know what might be causing a moldy smell inside our washer? It seems to be draining appropriately but after we do a washload,take the laudry out, and let it set for a few hours it smells heavily of mold inside the tub. We have a whole-house water softener but it probably doesn't have anything to do with that. We thought it might be a drainage problem but we hear it draining apropriately when rinsing/spinning and there are no kinks in the drain hose.


----------



## TnMtngirl (Jun 30, 2002)

I have the same problem,have never found a solution.I tried running bleach water thru it but it still smells.May try baking soda & vinegar next,I really think its my detergent causing the smell.


----------



## TnMtngirl (Jun 30, 2002)

I found a YouTube video that says to run white vinegar (looks like 1 qt) and hot water cycle.The guy says a buildup of soap & hard water deposits cause the smell.I do have soft water so it must be the detergent causing the smell in mine.Vinegar is cheap & worth a try.


----------



## Deb862 (Jun 22, 2005)

Thanks for the advice. It could be because of the hard water but we did have a softener put on a while back but definitely worth a try. It smells baaaddddd.


----------



## MontanaKJ (Aug 10, 2009)

Friend of mine went through this. Sales guy at store told her it was because she used too much soap. Told her to try the vinegar rinse (or bleach if not on septic) the first time, but she would need to run the washer 6-7 times before it would clean all of the soap and residue out of the pipes.

Good news, not only did it stop the smell, but it also stopped the washer from "rumbling".


----------



## TnMtngirl (Jun 30, 2002)

One good thing about our water I can only use about 1 table spoonfull of liquid detergent per load if I put more in I have to bail out the suds.A bottle of detergent lasts me a long time.We have a drilled well & the water is awesome!


----------



## Deb862 (Jun 22, 2005)

Thanks for that advice. We just had a repair guy in and he took it apart and there was moldy stuff between the inner tub and outer tub. He said the same thing about the soap but also said it happens with the newer washers where the outer tub is made of plastic and not metal anymore. 

With the softener I think we definitely are using too much soap. Also gonna run several loads of hot bleach water through tomorrow. Thanks all!!


----------



## fetch33 (Jan 15, 2010)

Is it a front-loader? If it is, check the folds of the gasket. I have to clean mine with vinegar to keep the buildup down.


----------

