Need Help Cleaning Washing Machine!

I clean mine by...filling the machine with vinegar, not just adding it to the water (white vinegar is pretty cheap so buy lots of the large containers of it.) I also throw in about 1/2 to full box of baking soda, run it like normal, and use the hottest setting for rinse you have!

Do you have a front loading washer?? If so, they have something called Affresh that you can probably find at Home Depot, Lowes, Best Buy and online. Might do the trick....

I've washed diapers a few times and have never had a problem with smells. Are you sure that's the cause and not something else? If I was dealing with a smelly washing machine, I would fill it with the hottest water possible on the largest load setting, empty a whole bottle of bleach into the drum of the washing machine and let it soak for most of a day, then run it a few times with hot water and bleach in the bleach dispenser. If that doesn't work, I would call a repairman before replacing it. The repairman will know how to remove the drum and might be able to find the cause of the smell. Good luck!

Yikes!Have you tried running thru a couple cycles of a nice scented laundry detergent in hot water (probably, right)? Or how about adding a box of baking soda to the hot water? Maybe that would help. Baking soda absorbs lots of odors.

Maybe try a pet enzyme cleaner. I throw a little nature's miracle in if I am washing the pet beds or if one of the cats pees on something nature's miracle goes in and it doesn't smell when I'm done. I'm assuming it is safe to do that, otherwise keep bleaching and leave the door open and call the company and see if they have any suggestions. Good luck

You need to use HOT water, LOTS of bleach or an entire bottle of vinegar. Don't use the cheap stuff...it's not strong enough. I recommend Heinz if you do vinegar. Run it on the longest cycle. Are you sure the washer doesn't have a leak? That happened to me--the drum cracked and we had a nice puddle of stagnet water underneath we weren't aware of for weeks. Good luck!

My advise is to just keep running it with hot water, vinegar, baking soda or bleach (do not use all at the same time). till the smell is gone. I have taken my washer apart to repair it and believe me you do not want to get into that. Taking the drum out is not an easy job. And putting it back in is an even harder job. It's just not worth it. Besides I doubt very much the smell is coming from the drum. It's probably coming from the lint trap, as someone else suggested. Another option is to replace the drain hose on the back. The lint trap is washed out by the water and flushes thru the hose so it may have something stuck in it that is causing the smell.

Call the manufacturer and ask them what to do. They will probably be able to help. Maybe you could ask them about using something else, like a septic system cleaner or something. I don't know, just trying to think outside the box.

That being said, I don't think a wet diaper would cause this. I mean I washed peed on sheets every morning for years in my washing machine and never had this problem....

Definitely call the manufacturer and ask for suggestions.

OK Disposable diaper or cloth diaper?? Cloth should not have been an issue I washed tons of peed on diapers, sheets, whatever, and never got an odor. Disposable?? I would strongly suspect the filling (which can vary) is trapped in either a lint trap yes your washer has one too, or in some part of the agitator and getting funky.

I would say if that is the case I would do as the other mother said and contact the manufacturer for advice or seek a repairman to take it apart and clean it out. Good Luck!

we had this problem (kinda) with towels that got left in the washer for 3 days in the summer!! HORRID smell, both hubby and I forgot about them. The washer stank, the towels stank.. the ROOM stank! (the door was closed so we didnt notice till we went in to do another load) the ONLY thing I found that worked at all was baking soda wash, then vinegar wash, then oxyclean. I used I think 4 or 5 cups of the baking soda, then about the same amount of vinegar, and a regular scoop of the oxyclean. that helped the washer (all of course with HOTHOTHOTHOTHOT water) then to help the towels that were soooo gross I wanted to toss them (but my favorite towel was in there.. dont ask lol) again HOTHOTHOTHOTHOT water and washed with the baking soda (about a cup) and then in the rinse water vinegar (about the same amount used for fabric softener) and I had to do that 2 or 3 times and the towels are ok now..

Dump a box of baking soda in and run a cycle. Is it possible pieces of the diaper are still stuck in the drum somewhere?

There are some new products on the market just for this purpose. I have seen them in liquid & tablet form. Have personally used a liquid from Tide. Put the product in the washer, run a regular washing cycle, when it's done, it's clean. Takes care of odors, mineral deposits, & mustyness.

How much vinegar are you using? You want to use a lot, like a gallon or more. Also, you want it on the very hottest setting. You could even turn the water heater up a bit, to get it very hot. I've never heard of vinegar not working...yikes!! Hope you get it clean, soon!

Look up the manufacturer's website and look for a user's manual and frequently asked questions. If you don't find anything useful there, the company should have a toll-free number you can call for further suggestions. Good luck.

Hi Christina,

If your washing machine is working right the only place there could be any smell is inside the drum or in the hoses. Taking it apart really shouldn't help. I use Solumel to clean my washer. If you don't have access to that, you can go to the health store and buy a bottle of high (the highest you can find) tea tree oil. It is a solvent that will get anything out even smells absorbed in rubber. Make sure it is not caustic. Some are and some aren't, so ask. I order mine online and it is non-caustic. Fill the drum and let the solution sit for a while before you finish the wash cycle. If it doesn't work, let me know and I can get you some info on the Solumel.

Regards,

M.

C.,
Does your washer have a metal or plastic tub?

You will need to run a hot wash with rags and soap in it. This is what I had to do for my front loader after DH didn't rinse out some other diapers. : ( It smelled for 3 loads after that and I had to redo all the loads. ugh!

My front loader also has a clean cycle; I'm guessing you don't have that.

Another option if you can't get very hot water is to run the hot water at the tap closest to your washer, THEN do a hot load. OR, add boiling water to an already hot wash (like a huge pot was what I did with my old washer after DH ran a load with a ton of dog stuff - plastic tub though and had to be careful!)

go easy on the bleach - it's carcinogenic. Try the hot load first then hot load with vinegar again. Chances are you'll have an easier time. Or after all these washes and you get it clean: put a sign up that says ALL diapers go in COLD PREWASH FIRST or you get to clean up the mess!

Good luck,
M.