The 2 main causes of bad smells emanating from your washing machine and 6 natural, effective methods to solve this problem
It sometimes happens that our washing machine gives off unpleasant smells, which can even be transferred to the laundry. Identifying the cause is the first step in eliminating this problem and usually a thorough cleaning of all the components of the appliance will suffice.
The main causes of the development of bad smells inside the washing machine are: 1) an accumulation of limescale and; 2) the pipes. If our local water is very hard, limescale build-up will occur in the machine, creating the smells. Dirty, smelly pipes, on the other hand, will not only affect our washing, but all the drains in the home.
Finally, a third possible cause is the accumulation of soap residue inside the pipes of the washing machine itself, which produces a characteristic odor similar to that of waste water.
Let's find out together what we can do to eliminate bad smells from emanating from our washing machine.
Creativo
To effectively eliminate any possible bad smells emanating from your washing machine, you need to thoroughly clean each part of it:
- the water inlet and outlet filters must be removed regularly with the machine off and the taps closed, washing these filters with solutions of vinegar, bicarbonate or lemon or with a mixture of these 3 ingredients;
- the drum of the washing machine must be left open between one wash and another, to guarantee the exchange of air and prevent the formation of a musty smell;
- wash the drum regularly with a mixture of water and vinegar, taking care to thoroughly clean all the gaskets as well; then, do an empty wash with 100 ml of vinegar and 1 tablespoon of bicarbonate put directly in the drum;
- the machine's pipes can be effectively cleaned on this empty wash too by adding 1 tablespoon of coarse/rock salt;
- to effectively clean all the different components of your washing machine, you can make a detergent mixture consisting of 100 ml of white vinegar, 1 tablespoon of liquid or flake Marseille soap, 1 tablespoon of bicarbonate and 50 ml of lemon juice. Mix these thoroughly, ensuring all the solid ingredients dissolve completely and use this mixture to clean all the components with a damp cloth; finish with an empty wash;
- technology can also come to our aid: by using an ozonizer for our washing machine, not only will we be able to effectively sanitize our laundry without damaging it, but we will also be able to prevent the formation of bad smells. In fact, ozone has a strong oxidizing action, which eliminates bacteria, viruses and fungi present in the washing machine or on our laundry, while allowing us to save on the purchase of expensive detergents.
What method do you use to eliminate bad smells from your washing machine?
