Laundry does not smell fresh

[rosegold74]

Hi there.

Thanks for your help in the past and hoping for some advice with my washing!

I have a Zanussi Lindo1000 washer/dryer that I am generally quite happy with. I don’t actually use it for drying-I have a separate dryer (it came together with my new-build home so didn’t choose it- I’d never choose a washer dryer willingly). Now I have very occasionally used it for drying in the past (it is 2 years old) before I bought the separate dryer.

Anyway to get to the point, my laundry comes out smelling quite unfresh. It doesn’t smell of laundry detergent, just musty.
I can’t see any signs of mould on the seal. I wash a 60 cotton wash every week, plus 90 maintenance wash every couple of months. I called Zanussi who told me to take off the seal, clean it and put it back- but I don’t quite see how to do that without taking off the front of the machine.

The machine doesn’t have a filter, I think it must be internal so I can’t clean that out.
Any advice on how to rectify this would be greatly appreciated!

Oh I will add that I have read the articles on this site on getting rid of smells in laundry. I’ve tried vinegar and bicarb of soda, tried several brands of washing machine cleaners, to no avail…

I am quite desperate!

Thanks so much in advance.

Regards.

[don]

Hi

If the waste water goes out via a sink trap that could be worth checking, also remove the soap drawer and clean it thoroughly including the roof of the housing. Door seal is another area of smelly washers, if it’s black then you have bacteria build up, changing it will help.

After all that there is a whole raft of info on smelly washers and routine maintenance here to read and digest.

​​​​​​​Don​​​​​​​

[rosegold74]

Hi,

I’m slightly OCD with the drawer:) Clean it with an electric toothbrush all the time. Sorry I am clueless, where would I find the waste water sink trap?

[don]

You need to follow the grey crinkly waste hose if it connects to the sink waste check the trap at the bottom of the waste. It usually unscrews be careful as there will be water and sludge in there.

Don

[rosegold74]

Hi,

The washing machine is in a utility room- not under a sink.
Does that still apply?
I would have to move out the machine but will do it if necessary…

[don]

In that case the hose in question is probably going into a standpipe. As before track the grey crinkly hose to see where it goes and investigate with your nose 😉

[andyjawa]

This MIGHT apply to you. If the seal looks ok and it looks ok where the drum mets the door seal under normal circumstances it`ll be the drying condenser blocked-up with smelly lint as this will be above the water line but still gets damp = rots. Though you said you only used the dryer rarely but was that fluffy cotton towels and more times on t/dry than you think you have used the dryer?
All things being well with washer dryers esp having done washing at 60 degrees and the 90 degree maintenance wash you would not normally come to grief esp if then using the t/dryer as the heat would destroy any bacteria BUT what is often forgotten is the lint that gets trapped in the condenser, so it is a catch 22 senario! I think the condenser is where your problem could well be.OR something got under the drum and has got caught on the heaters bracket and is rotting there the bracket and heater is lower than you think other wise the offending cloth rolls into a sausage shape and you`d have a stiff drum.

[electrofix]

as a long shot

you say your doing a 60 and 90 wash but is it getting hot ?

these machines dont normally show a fault code if the heater fails, the programmes last longer and it continues the wash in cold water

so unless you go out and feel for the heat you wont know since the rinses are cold water

Dave

[rosegold74]

[USER=”19014″]andyjawa[/USER] is there anything I can do if it is actually the condensor? Or is it just unreachable?
[USER=”60″]dave[/USER] it definitely is heating up- the machine feels hot during the wash.

Still not got fresh smelling laundry. I have done several washes with- whoops, my memory is failing me! The cleaner recommended on this site and it has improved the smell somewhat but certainly not perfect.

[electrofix]

in order to find out how to access condenser we would ned a model and pnc number off the label inside the door

Dave

[andyjawa]

is there anything I can do if it is actually the condenser? Or is it just unreachable? No it is not user friendly to remove, do not attempt it. OK this is what I have done on my 18 year old Hotpoint WM56 washing machine I use 1x box of Aqua Softener descaler mixed with 3 to 4 CAP fulls of Flash liquid lemon multipurpose cleaner at 60 degrees every 8 weeks. If you have soft water lay of the descaler and use only 1 to 2 capfulls. Try this firstly twice first month then once next 3 weeks after that and see if anything happens that is positive.

[andyjawa]

Further, this will not unblock, should it be the condenser, as that can only be manually cleaned out. As per my past posts to you. If the Aqua softener and Flash liquid trick does not work the condenser will be where the problem lies. ( if you have discounted the stand pipe and something caught rotting at the bottom of the tank – usually caught around the heater area ). I get the impression you want a simple answer without spending the spons, I think that is probably wishful thinking on your part. Anyway, see what happens if anything.

[Author]

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