 A modern clothes washing machine can suffer from odors or mildew. It may
build to the point where the odors seem to overwhelm all other
aspect of the clothes washing experience. The causes can be varied
but generally are due to moisture build-up within the clothes tub.
Since the washing machine itself operates full of water the presence of
moisture is typical. The problems usually begin either when the
water is not removed at the end of the cycle by the drain system,
or for some other reason, excess water accumulates inside the tub.
If the drain system is suspected test the clothes immediately after the
cycle has ended. The ‘cheek method’ works well. Remove a towel
from your completed load of washing and place it against your cheek.
The towel should feel cool against your cheek without feeling wet.
If the towel feels wet place it back into the washing machine and
re-spin the load. If a second spin removes more moisture then your
washing machine is not reaching its maximum spin speed.
All washing machines must come to maximum spin speed to remove the
moisture from the clothes. Although the drain pump will remove the
majority of water, it's the spinning that removes the moisture
from the clothing. If the maximum spin speed is not
reached the moisture within the clothing will tend to redeposit
itself inside the washing machine. This problem may be associated
with some of the other problems discussed later in the article or
it may be mechanical. A loose of worn drive belt is often the
cause.
Associated with the slow spin speed is overloading of the washer. To test
for overloading wait until your washer has completed its cycle and come
to a full stop. Then remove two or three items and restart the
cycle from the rinse position. Let the washing machine fill with
water, and go completely through the rinse, drain, and spin
cycles. Again let the machine complete the cycle and come to a
full stop. If the clothes are now properly spun, suspect
overloading.
There are many things that can affect the spin speed. The most common is
an unbalanced load. An unbalanced load will not allow the tub to
reach the maximum spin speed. It’s usually accompanied by the
washing machine either jumping, or being noisy. If this is allowed
to continue moisture will remain inside the tub at cycle’s end.
This will cause the machine to smell musty and can eventually lead
to the presence of mildew.
Another
cause of too much moisture left in the washer is when people allow the wet clothes to sit inside the machine long after the
wash cycle has been completed. To avoid
odors or mildew the clothes should be removed from the machine
soon after the cycle has ended. For this reason avoid starting a
wash right before
bedtime, or as you leave the house in the morning.
Another
cause of odours may be associated with the excessive use of fabric
softeners. If the softener is not washed
away
it can build up between the tubs and over time become stale and
very smelly.
If your clothes washing machine presently has an odor
use some of the above methods to isolate the cause. If cleaning
the problem area is unsuccessful you may need to take further
action. Many consumer websites suggest multiple applications of
hot water and a cup of white vinegar. This may be helpful but our experience has shown this method
to be more preventative than
corrective. An alternate solution is to use a washing machine
cleaner. The one we have had success with is
called 'Glisten'. It's affective
and can be picked up at appliance parts stores for approximately
$10.
By
Donald Grummett
Copyright © 2005
Donald Grummett. All rights reserved
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