Causes and consequences: what to do if the laundry smells musty after washing?

Clean washed linen should smell fresh. However, in practice this does not always happen.

Sometimes things give off an unpleasant musty smell. There are several reasons for this.

Read the article about why clothes smell musty or damp after washing in a washing machine and how to deal with the problem.

Why do things smell like dampness, rubber, chemicals?

There are several reasons why your washed clothes may have an unpleasant odor. They must be installed, otherwise it will not be possible to cope with the problem. Factors that contribute to the appearance of a musty odor include:

1. Stagnation of water in the drum or rubber cuff. To prevent this from happening, do not close the door tightly immediately after washing.
2. Storing dirty clothes in the washing machine. In conditions of high humidity, bacteria and mold fungi begin to actively multiply. Regular washing will not help to cope with the smell they cause.
3. Improper care of your washing machine. The source of unpleasant odors can be such elements as: drain hose, detergent tray, water filter.
4. Incorrect connection of the hose to the sewer pipe. In this case, the laundry will emit a characteristic sewage smell after the first wash. Another reason for this “aroma” is the rotting of the old valve, subject to many years of use.
5. Failure to comply with the dosage of detergents. A large amount of powder does not have time to rinse out, covering all the elements of the washing machine with a film. This mucus becomes a reservoir for storing and multiplying bacteria.
6. Long-term joint storage of dirty items in a basket for linen. Microbes and fungi thrive in such conditions, quickly increasing their numbers and causing a rotten smell.
7. Leaving things in water for a long time. If you leave laundry soaked in a basin for 2-3 days, it will begin to rot, emitting a sour smell. Also, things can turn sour in the machine if there is a sudden power outage.

A chemical smell is a consequence of using large amounts of laundry detergent or other detergents. Wearing such things is dangerous to health, especially for small children and pregnant women.

When an unpleasant trail lingers from things after each wash and comes from all the laundry, the reason is hidden in the washing machine.

If this problem occurs once, most likely it is associated with long-term storage of dirty clothes in a basket or drum.

Sometimes a person detects an unpleasant odor not immediately after processing things in the machine, but after drying. It can appear if moisture remains in the fibers of the fabric for a long time.

This happens when things are hung overlapping, at a small distance from each other, which prevents normal air circulation. Drying in a room with poor ventilation and low humidity levels makes the problem worse.

How to get rid of an unpleasant odor?

Dealing with unpleasant odors will take some effort.. Under no circumstances should you put foul-smelling items in a closet. This will cause the rotten smell to transfer to other fabrics.

Methods for eliminating the problem depend on the cause that triggered its occurrence.

Reprocessing clothes in the washing machine

Repeated washing is necessary if the cause of foreign odors is not a malfunction of the washing machine, but improper drying or long-term storage of the laundry.

If the problem cannot be resolved, the items should be washed in hot water and dried thoroughly. To prevent the appearance of an unpleasant odor, iron the laundry.

Folk methods of struggle

If regular washing turns out to be ineffective, then folk remedies come to the rescue. The most effective recipes:

1. Soda. It is poured into the second compartment of the machine. The first compartment should contain washing powder.

   3-4 tbsp is enough for one cycle. l. soda After finishing washing, rinse the item 2-3 times. You need to dry your clothes in the fresh air.

2. Vinegar dining room. You need to soak problematic things in it. To prepare the solution, take 1 tbsp for each liter of water. l. vinegar 9%. Things are soaked for an hour, after which they are washed as usual.
3. Vodka. It is poured into a spray bottle and the item is treated. The procedure must be carried out in the fresh air. Under the influence of alcohol, bacteria living on the fabric will die. An unpleasant plume will go away along with the fumes.
4. Boric acid. To prepare the solution you will need 10 g of powder, which is sold at the pharmacy, and 5 liters of water. Things are soaked for 30 minutes, after which they are washed as usual.
5. Brine. Products are soaked in it for 2-3 hours. For every liter of water take 1.5 tbsp. l. salt. You can enhance the effect if you add hydrogen peroxide (1 tsp) to the solution. However, this composition is only suitable for washing light-colored or strongly colored fabrics.

Use of household chemicals

You can cope with the problem using fabric conditioner. It is best to use flavored formulations, For example:

• Vernel Freshness of a summer morning or Vernel Aromatherapy of serenity, their cost is about 200 rubles per 1 liter;
• Porinse Aroma conditioner with violet scent for 300 rubles;
• concentrated fabric conditioner Lenor Alpine meadows, its cost is 160 rubles.

If the source of the “aroma” is a machine

If the “root of evil” is a washing machine, take the following measures:

1. Clean the detergent tray. Normally, it is removed every time you wash it and washed thoroughly under running water.

   If it is very dirty, then it is soaked in a vinegar solution (3 tablespoons per 1 liter of water), or cleaned with soda.

   You can treat plastic with bleach. It is convenient to use an old toothbrush to remove mucus.

2. Cleaning the drain filter. It is located on the front panel under the hinged hatch. To get to it, the hatch is removed, the filter is twisted and washed with hot water. Then all the elements are returned to their place.
3. Cleaning the heating element. The procedure must be carried out at least once a month.To do this, use one of the following products: citric acid (150 g), table vinegar, a mixture of baking soda and water in equal proportions.

   Having poured or poured the selected product into the powder compartment, turn on the idle washing mode at the highest temperature.

4. Flushing the drain hose. Idle washing helps to cope with the problem. If the smell remains, the hose needs to be replaced.
5. Disinfection of the drum and rubber cuff. To do this, use vinegar solution or hydrogen peroxide.

Helpful information

To avoid the appearance of unpleasant odor from washed items and completely get rid of it, The following information should be taken into account:

1. Correctly dose washing powder and fabric softener. Exceeding its quantity will not improve the quality of washing, but may cause deterioration in the operation of the washing machine with all the ensuing consequences.
2. Before washing or soaking items in any solution, you need to test it on an inconspicuous area of ​​the fabric.
3. It is not recommended to store dirty laundry for more than a day. You need to start washing as quickly as possible.
4. Do not leave dirty clothes in the washing machine drum.
5. After each cycle, the elastic band and drum should be wiped with a damp cloth and ventilated.

You can prevent the appearance of mold and germs by washing things at 90 degrees once every 2 weeks.

Some more useful tips on what to do with laundry that smells unpleasant after washing in the washing machine can be found Here.

You will find maximum useful information about washing clothes and various fabric products Here.

Video on the topic of the article

What to do if your laundry smells unpleasant after washing, video advice:

Conclusion

The cause of a musty smell from laundry may be due to improper washing or drying. Sometimes its source is the washing machine itself. Dealing with a problem is not difficult if you know why it arose.